“Inclusion is not just the right thing to do. It makes good business sense,” said Al Ramsay, vice-president and head of the 2SLGBTQ+ and Black customer segments at TD Bank Group. “Inclusion, we think is a competitive advantage.”
“Nissan’s done a lot of work on making sure they’re building a workplace where everyone has a voice,” Smith said. In one recent initiative, called inclusive conversation training, leaders are taught how to have inclusive conversations with their teams.“And, you know, I shared my journey in those conversations and some of the things that I've experienced in my career. And it allowed other people to open up,” he said. “I just allowed us all to relate to each other as humans.
Panelists spoke of the difficulty of “coming out” 15 to 20 years ago, at a time when awareness of LGBTQ issues was just emerging. Ramsay encouraged LGBTQ members to be outspoken about their rights. The “power of storytelling – that’s how we change hearts and minds.”