Page 24 - BEQ Magazine Iss 20 Fall 2021 WebRev09272021

hosted the best talent it can, then we must be open to the
c o mp a - whole spectrum of candidates. And those potential
ny-wide meetings with hun- employees must know, before they even consider
dreds of employees joining in each time. Siemens, that they can be comfortable being them-
Grant was pleasantly surprised when she began to selves at work—on site or remotely. If a person
hear that smaller groups began hosting their own cannot be their authentic self at work, then they
Courageous Conversations. are often spending time worrying what other people
“Out of being a top-down initiative, people are will think of them. That’s energy that isn’t going
creating their own ways of having dialogue,” she into pursuing goals, innovation and career develop-
said. “It’s really taken off and expanded beyond ment,” she wrote.
racial justice to women’s issues, LGBTQ issues, the Jason Montgomery, senior consultant in global
rise in acts of violence against the AAPI community, human resources and a member of the BEQ Pride
and more. We want our employees to feel like they 40 LGBTQ Leaders Under 40 Class of 2021, is the
can come to work and have these conversations national LGBTQ+ employee resource group chair.
productively because that’s how we create a culture “Under Nichelle’s leadership these past two
where people feel fulfilled and appreciated.” years, Siemens USA has seen a significant increase
Courageous Conversations is just part of the in meaningful and intentional DEI Belonging prac-
framework Siemens is building to promote inclusive tices,” he said. “Nichelle is an advocate and ally
business. Grant works closely with supplier diversity that puts her full support behind every employee
and procurement, legal, human resources and other resource group at Siemens. She has strengthened
departments to promote co-ownership of DEI goals. the professional development of all ERG leaders and
Currently, she is focused on how to engage middle challenges the status quo. I would venture to say
management without overwhelming them with that the awareness of DEI Belonging initiatives is at
additional responsibilities. an all-time high at Siemens USA.”
“We’re not asking employees to do something in Ultimately, Grant wants to incorporate DEI into
addition to their jobs. If we hired you to do a partic- every part of how Siemens USA operates. Gone are
ular job, I want you to do that with a diversity, equity the days of “diversity month”, she said. Now, DEI is
and inclusion lens,” she said. “How can you be more all day, every month.
inclusive? How can you diversify the sources you’re “June used to be Diversity Month and then you
JASON using? How can you make sure that we’re offering don’t hear anything else the rest of the year,” she
MONTGOMERY, fairness internally and externally?” said. “It’s just a blip on the calendar. Now DEI is
Senior One answer is through employee resource groups always part of the conversation. You can be in a
Consultant in
Global Human (ERGs). July was ERG Month at Siemens USA, cele- meeting with legal or with suppliers and it comes
Resources at brating and highlighting the company’s ten ERGs. In up, there’s a dialogue about DEI. People are thinking
Siemens USA an article published on the corporate website, Grant about how they can be champions of diversity and
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asserted that ERGs provide value in many ways. inclusion all the time.” 
They encourage conversations, volunteerism
and networking. Most importantly, she said,
they create a sense of belonging that allows
employees to bring their whole selves
to work.
“If Siemens wants to attract

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