Moving Beyond the Conversation

CMB is known for its relentless business decision focus, cutting-edge creativity, and insights innovation. We pride ourselves on helping leading brands make critical decisions with confidence. Recently, we’ve harnessed both our strengths and passion inward towards advancing our diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Like many organizations, we’ve realized that the foundational steps we’ve taken weren’t enough. We’re committed to do more to achieve greater diversity of people & perspectives, greater inclusion of power, voice, & organizational culture, and greater equity throughout our policies & practices. Our DEI efforts must move from good intentions, to delivering measurable and positive impact for our colleagues, clients, and communities.

As our 2022 foresight states, we’re ready to deliver big on this promise. We partnered with YW Boston to help us drive change and monitor our progress along the journey. Our shared vision in the future of work at CMB will be supported by carrying out intentional inclusiveness efforts, including:

• Creating a diverse, inclusive, and equitable organization where employees bring their entire selves to work.
  • The activities:
    • Redefine CMB’s culture mission statement and goals with tangible implementation
    • Assess and review current practices within CMB using a DEI lens to identify weaknesses and gaps
    • Strengthen and support structures and processes that enhance and recognize our commitment to DEI
    • Continuously solicit employee feedback for ways to make CMB more inclusive, communicate the process, share results, and adapt as needed.
• Concretely defining equity goals across all of our critical functions and practices.
  • The activities:
    • Review current practices/processes for identifying priorities: evaluate practices with a DEI lens to identify equity weaknesses and inclusion gaps
    • Prioritize responses to weaknesses and gaps for implementation (assess understanding and develop training plan)
    • Strengthen transparency in the process through communication plan (consider frequency, mode, messaging)
    • Develop an equity impact assessment tool to guide organizational planning and decision-making
    • Build in/define calendar for periodic check-ins to track/reflect on goals (e.g., annual audit, quarterly progress reports)
• Establishing affinity groups to provide opportunities for people to explore the various interpersonal dynamics, beliefs, and thoughts that shape experiences.
  • The activities:
    • Solicit topics and areas of interest for discussion
    • Develop charter/community agreements for group
    • Determine overarching goals
    • Schedule regular meetings
    • Implement quarterly review of outcomes

In the coming months and years, we will fulfill CMB’s potential as an organization that has full participation and shared power with diverse racial, cultural, and economic groups and a sense of restored community and mutual caring. I am confident that we are well positioned to tackle these fresh challenges and opportunities, so that CMB can better deliver on its promise to help leading brands engage, innovate, and grow. And thank you YW Boston for your partnership this past year and in the months and years to come.  For more on how we plan to make an impact, visit: DEI at CMB.

About YW Boston:

YWCA Boston is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. YW Boston is systemically working for social, racial and gender equity. Specifically, we are working to increase access to better health, make neighborhoods safer for everyone, and close the educational achievement gap. YW Boston works across divides, bringing together women and men, adults and youth, communities and companies. Learn more here.