St. Louis Fed Recognized Again for Inclusive Culture

ST. LOUIS ― The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis was recognized for the second year in a row for the organization’s commitment to inclusive culture. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation honored the St. Louis Fed with the 2018 Best Places to Work Corporate Equality Index Award. The award is known as a national benchmarking tool on corporate policies and practices related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer workplace equality.

“Receiving the Corporate Equality Index Award for the second straight year means a lot because it recognizes the hard work being done across the Bank to build and nurture a diverse and inclusive work culture here,” said Karen Branding, senior vice president of Public Affairs and executive sponsor of the St. Louis Fed’s Central Pride employee resource group.

The St. Louis Fed received a perfect score of 100 in the Corporate Equality Index rating criteria, which included:

• Equal employment opportunity (35 points)
• Employment benefits (30 points)
• Organizational LGBTQ competency (20 points)
• Public engagements (15 points)

Co-chairs for Central Pride Philip Dell, who works in IT, and Ish Rodriguez, who works in guest services, also expressed their appreciation of the award.

“The HRC Corporate Equality Index is a critical factor for many when considering where to start a career and how authentic one can be after walking through the door each day,” Dell said. “Though the HRC award’s focus is LGBTQ+ equality in the workplace, this recognition should encourage all to bring the best of themselves to work. The Bank’s ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion is clear.”

Rodriguez said, “Being recognized by the HRC in their CEI Survey has a great impact on our diverse and inclusive culture and at the same time sends a powerful message of genuine commitment from our leadership to potential and current employees.”

The award follows another recent honor for the St. Louis Fed from DiversityInc, which ranked the Bank 10^th in its Top Regional Companies list in recognition of the diverse and inclusive workplace culture.

The St. Louis Fed is committed to building an inclusive workplace, where employees’ differences are recognized as strengths ‑‑ including age, gender, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression and disability, as well as cultural traditions, religion, life experiences, education and socioeconomic backgrounds.

More information about St. Louis Fed awards and honors can be found at the St. Louis Fed’s Career Central webpage.