Kim Sponem, CEO & President of one of the largest credit unions in Wisconsin, recently joined a rapidly growing number of CEOs from some of the world’s top companies in signing the CEO Action Pledge for Diversity and Inclusion™.
The CEO Action Pledge, in its fourth year, has nearly 2,000 business leaders signing the pledge, and is the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace in the United States.
Almost 50 Wisconsin CEOs have signed the pledge.
The pledge represents Summit’s recognition that diversity and inclusion are urgent issues in society.
“For almost a decade Summit has worked on making diversity and inclusion a key focus. With this pledge, we reinforce our continued effort,” said Sponem.
By signing, Sponem and Summit agree to uphold the pledge’s four commitments:
- To make the workplace a trusting place to have complex, and sometimes difficult, conversations about diversity and inclusion;
- To implement and expand unconscious bias education;
- To share best—and unsuccessful—practices for diversity and inclusion;
- To create and share strategic inclusion and diversity plans with its board of directors.
Summit Credit Union has worked on several innovative DEI initiatives including:
- Employee development opportunities, such as creating a “Diversity is our Strength” floating holiday to encourage self-directed learning about diverse communities;
- Four Employee Resource Groups, including Summit Employees Empowering Diversity and Summit Pride & Inclusion Network, that engage employees in contributing to the company’s inclusive practices;
- Conversation Circles in which employees discuss topics such as unconscious bias and micro aggressions in a safe atmosphere.
For more information about Summit’s commitment to racial and social justice and its efforts to create a more equitable future, visit https://www.summitcreditunion.