Donna Griffin has won plenty of awards throughout her career, but she says winning the Corporate Diversity Leader of the Year Award at the NGLCC's Diversity & Leadership in Financial Services Awards earlier this month was something special.
"In this case I was nominated by people in our diverse supplier area, so in a way I was getting recognition from my own area—sort of like getting a "People's Choice" award rather than an award from management," said Griffin, chief diversity officer at Chubb.
Although she's been responsible for leading and overseeing corporate activities that drive Chubb's diversity strategy for just two years, Griffin has always been a strong advocate for diversity outside of Chubb, serving on the board of several groups focused on issues facing women in business. She has also made great strides for Chubb's internal diversity efforts, including acting as the founding corporate sponsor of Chubb's Black Employee Network and serving on Chubb's Women's Development Council and the Gay and Lesbian Employee Network.
In an interview with BIZ, Griffin discussed why it's important for companies to have a diverse workforce, how companies should develop their own effective diversity and inclusion policies, and why success in her own career has given her a voice to help others.
BIZ: Have you always been interested in diversity/inclusion issues or has this come up as a result of working at a corporation that supports diversity and inclusion?
DG: I've only been in my diversity position for two years, but I was engaged in the diversity arena long before. I spent most of my career on the corporate and business side as the head of global operations at Chubb for 15 years, so I was working with the worker bees of the organization—I was always really a champion for the underdog. In my operations job I also had the opportunity to travel and meet people from so many different areas and cultures. Outside of Chubb, I was also on a number of nonprofit boards, including Jersey Battered Women's Service and the Women's Fund of New Jersey.
BIZ: Why is it so important for companies to be diverse in today's social, political and economic climate?
DG: Companies that don't do this are really missing out on capturing the best talent. Especially when you look generational—the younger generation is used to being in an environment that is very diverse and they want to work for a company that respects diversity too.
As for the ability to relate to customers, it's good to have people in your ranks that can teach you about a particular segment of the population and their buying habits and marketing methods.
It's also good for innovation and creativity. If you have people who are just alike, the creativity is not there. The diversity in the United States gives us an edge as a country over other national superpowers such as China. Our diversity gives us our strength when it comes to creativity and innovation.
BIZ: What do you feel is the most important thing for large companies to do when they are developing a diversity/inclusion policy?
DG: They have to really think about what they're putting in place and intend to stand behind it. When you're putting diversity and inclusion policies in place, you have to cast a large net—it can't just be gender diversity, for example. You have to support it in all ways. You also can't just create a great set of policies and then provide support to an outside organization that goes against that policy. It's important that you're looking at diversity as a whole, and when you commit to something within those policies, you have to think about the broad implications of those words.
BIZ: What can diverse businesses do to engage with large companies such as Chubb?
DG: Most of the large companies have either a department or a few people who are responsible for supplier diversity. At Chubb we have a manager responsible for diverse suppliers, so they can go through the certification process, like the NGLCC provides, and then get on the company's list of suppliers. What some of the smaller diverse business owners have to understand is that, yes, as a large company we do want to do business with them, but we're also under budget constraints. The cost and quality are important to us as well.
BIZ: What does receiving the NGLCC's award for Corporate Diversity Leader of the Year mean to you?
DG: I've received a number of awards throughout my career, but I was really thrilled to receive this award. It was exciting because I've been really fortunate to be successful in my career, but this diversity platform has given me a platform to use my voice for other people.
The NGLCC was partnering with many diverse organizations for the event this year, so it was extra special to have all those groups there as well. I was flattered to have been successful in this category since there were such notable people also nominated for the award.
