“What better way to commemorate this day than by recognizing and celebrating the diverse team here at LodgeLink,” said Covenden. “Without a doubt, the varying perspectives and backgrounds positively impacts performance and innovation.”
As the panel came to a close, everyone broadly addressed the progress that has been made regarding diversity and inclusion, while noting the journey is one that is continuous with more progress to be made.
“First of all, I am grateful for inclusion myself, because of the work that has already been done to level the playing field,” said Grover. “I try to be very intentional in my practice about inclusivity because we need all kinds of personalities and viewpoints to build something great.”
Latimer added that often it can be helpful to approach inclusion from the oppositive viewpoint, and instead consider what it means to be excluded, versus included.
“We know how it stings to have been excluded from something, and in a weird way, it's sometimes easier to think about how to be nonexclusive than inclusive,” said Latimer “Access is absolutely the gateway to inclusion and a vital piece of advice I learned from someone early on was avoid making assumptions that inadvertently exclude someone.”
LodgeLink is a Black Diamond Group company, and we are committed to equal opportunity for all employees and believe that a high-performance team is best built by measuring objective performance goals and merit regardless of age, gender, or ethnicity. We value and celebrate our individual differences and believe our diversity makes us stronger and more innovative.