CVMIC’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
CVMIC is dedicated to serving our municipal partners who serve their communities every day, and this commitment to serving a unique and diverse community places local government on the front-line of the DEI conversation. As a result, Cities & Villages Mutual Insurance Company has been working hard to redesign our programming, resources, and partnership with our members to offer more support in the diversity, equity, and inclusion space.
DEI is a complex fast-moving conversation that can feel difficult to keep up with! When talking about words like diversity, equity, inclusion, equality, and belonging it is hard to know what we are striving toward. When looking at important deeply personal issues like #MeToo, LBGTQIA+, and Black Lives Matter it is easy to get lost in the politics of identity and charged conversations. It does not help that buzz words like cancel, woke, and problematic are wielded like weapons.
Adding to the challenges discussed above, each CVMIC member is in a different place on their DEI journey. Some CVMIC members have been working toward strategic DEI goals for years, have hired dedicated DEI staff, and have had difficult internal organizational conversations; other CVMIC members have not.
So, with this in mind, what is CVMIC preparing?
- A self-service resource document to support your internal DEI initiatives
- Pursuing DEI certifications to improve our fluency in this conversation
- Advanced training workshops are being researched and developed
- The EPL team is developing a program to partner with our members to improve on DEI
- The regional calendar will feature several DEI programs from CVMIC staff and outside experts to help build knowledge and skills in the DEI space
Meaningful change requires a multi-year commitment, leadership support, and strategic use of resources.
Currently, CVMIC offers a variety of DEI resources including eLearning programs, CoastalFlix videos, and a full day of regional training (Emerging Leader Module 3 Day 2- Inclusivity). These foundational pieces are available now and are a great place to start the DEI conversation.
The research and the practice tell us that improvement in the DEI space is not an easy process. Yet, anything worth doing is worth doing well and CVMIC looks forward to partnering with our members as they continue their DEI journeys!
