With ‘Region of Choice’ pledge, MMAC member companies commit to increasing workplace diversity in Metro Milwaukee

64 of Milwaukee’s leading employers make initial commitment; full MMAC membership invited to join

MILWAUKEE – A group of 64 of Metro Milwaukee’s leading employers are pledging to increase diversity in their workforce and management, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) announced at its All Member Meeting on Thursday night.

Representing more than 128,000 employees in the region, these companies made the first round of commitments to the MMAC’s “Region of Choice” pledge in front of more than 1,400 Milwaukee business and community leaders during Thursday’s meeting at Fiserv Forum. MMAC now is opening the pledge to all its member companies and beyond.

With the goal of making Milwaukee’s workplaces and community more welcoming, companies taking the pledge are committing to increase the number of African-American and Hispanic/Latino employees in Metro Milwaukee by 15 percent, and the number of African-American and Hispanic/Latino managers in Metro Milwaukee by 25 percent, by 2025. MMAC will use 2019 data from employers to set a baseline, then will report aggregate data on an annual basis to track progress.

“As a business community, we have a significant role to play in resolving the stark racial disparities we see in Metro Milwaukee,” said outgoing MMAC Chair Todd Teske, President and CEO of Briggs & Stratton. “As business leaders, we all own the current reality of our workplaces, and we all can work to make them more diverse and inclusive. When we do so, we will make Milwaukee an even better place to live and work.”

Added incoming MMAC Chair Jonas Prising, Chairman and CEO of ManpowerGroup: “When Milwaukee’s companies and community make an intentional effort to ensure that their doors are open to everyone, more of our young people will want to build a career here and more talented employees will want to move here. When 46% of U.S. employers cannot find the skilled talent they need, becoming a Region of Choice for all – where anyone from any background would want to live and work – is how our people, our business and our community reach their full potential.”

Added incoming MMAC Chair Jonas Prising, Chairman and CEO of ManpowerGroup: “When Milwaukee’s companies and community make an intentional effort to ensure that their doors are open to everyone, more of our young people will want to build a career here and more talented employees will want to move here. When 46% of U.S. employers cannot find the skilled talent they need, becoming a Region of Choice for all – where anyone from any background would want to live and work – is how our people, our business and our community reach their full potential.”

A 2018 survey of the MMAC’s Board of Directors and CEOs of its member companies identified racial disparities as the biggest challenge facing the Milwaukee Region. Based on that feedback, MMAC spent the past year engaging with consultants and forming a task force to conduct comprehensive research on the challenges and opportunities that diverse employees face in Metro Milwaukee, focusing particularly on diverse management-level employees. The goals of this research included benchmarking Milwaukee against peer metro areas and soliciting extensive feedback from diverse managers who work here.

Using key metrics of prosperity to rank Milwaukee against 20 other peer metro areas, MMAC research found that while Milwaukee’s white population ranks 6th in overall prosperity, our African-American and Hispanic/Latino populations both rank at the bottom. Metro Milwaukee also has the widest gap in prosperity between its white population and African-American and Hispanic populations.

“For most people, it will come as no surprise that Milwaukee has significant racial disparities and the numbers show us just how pronounced this problem really is,” said task force member Christopher Rowland, Global Diversity Officer at ManpowerGroup. “CEOs from the business community asked to hear the voices of their people to understand the challenges they face and collectively take action to drive measurable change. The work MMAC is doing, and will do, are important steps in the journey to ensure our region has access to the best, diverse talent and people have the skills they need to stay employable and develop in their careers.”

MMAC and its consultants then sent a survey to diverse managers who work at 32 companies and organizations in Metro Milwaukee and received more than 1,100 responses. An overview of survey results is available online. An additional 400 respondents volunteered to participate in subsequent focus groups. The MMAC and its consultants also solicited feedback from 16 Metro Milwaukee company CEOs.
The main takeaways from that study include:

• 60% believe that diversity and inclusion efforts at their company are focused on meeting compliance goals, not on improving company culture. As one respondent shared, “It’s hard to be successful if you don’t feel you can bring yourself to work. I’m often told to leave my ethnic heritage at home.”
• 62% of African-American managers feel they have limited exposure to opportunities.
  “To better overcome the barriers, there must be sincere, personalized commitments to mentoring and sponsoring up-and-coming leaders,” one respondent told us.
• 56% of Hispanic/Latino managers feel they are overlooked or ignored. As one respondent said, “It is essential that individuals from various cultures are represented at every level of the organization.”
• 43% of diverse managers felt discrimination or bias in their workplace. “During talent reviews, it seems like Black and Latino employees are frequently rated as ‘not ready’ while white male counterparts are ready for promotions,” according to one respondent.
• Outside of their workplace, 64% felt discrimination in the community. As one respondent shared, “The number of racial incidents I’ve had while living here for the past 8 months is disheartening – all because of the color of my skin.”

“We thank everyone who participated in this research. The most important takeaway we heard from participants was that we must address these findings with urgency,” said MMAC Executive Vice President Julie Granger, who led the research project. “This pledge is a call to action, and a statement from MMAC and its members that diversity and inclusion is a top priority. But it is only the first step. We now invite all our member companies to take the pledge. Beyond that, we will focus on bringing companies together to share best practices and strategies to achieve greater diversity.”

Added Corry Joe Biddle, Executive Director of the FUEL Milwaukee young professionals’ group and a member of the task force: “Research has established that fostering diverse work environments makes businesses better. A new generation of employees inherently understands this. For young talent entering the work force, increasing workplace diversity isn’t just a plus – it’s a must. As business leaders in the Milwaukee Region, we have got to rise to meet this challenge. Businesses are making a pledge today, but we’re also asking Millennials and Gen Zers to make a commitment to stay here, build strong careers and become a part of helping us solve these challenges.”

>>Learn more or take the pledge

Contact:
CHRIS JENKINS
Director of Communications
414/287-4152
cjenkins@mmac.org

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Companies included in the first round of Region of Choice pledge commitments include:

• Addison-Clifton
• Advocate Aurora Health
• American Roller & Plasma Coatings
• Ascension Wisconsin
• Associated Bank
• ATI Forged Products
  
• Badger Meter
• Robert W. Baird & Co.
• Beer Capitol Distributing
• BMO Harris Bank
• Briggs & Stratton
• Charter Manufacturing
• Children's Hospital of WI
• Columbus McKinnon Corp.
• Cross Management
• Services
• Deloitte
• Ernst & Young
• FIS
• Foley & Lardner
• Froedtert Health
• GE Healthcare
• Generation Growth Capital
• GenMet
• Godfrey & Kahn
• Goodwill Industries of SE WI
• Grant Thornton
• HARIBO
• Harley-Davidson
• Haywood Group
• Husch Blackwell
• Husco International
  
• Johnson Controls
• Johnson Financial Group
• JWS Classics
• Komatsu Mining Corp.
• KPMG
• Lubar & Co.
• ManpowerGroup
• The Marcus Corp.
• Medical College of WI
• Metal-Era
• Michael Best & Friedrich
• MillerCoors
• Milwaukee Bucks
• Milwaukee Tool
• MMAC
• Northwestern Mutual
• Old National Bank
• Park Bank
• Payne & Dolan
• PNC Bank
• PricewaterhouseCoopers
• PS Capital Partners
• QPS Employment Group
• Quad
• Quarles & Brady
• Reinhart Boerner
• Van Deuren
• Rexnord
• Rockwell Automation
• Spancrete
• Trefoil Group
• Waukesha Metals Products
  
• WEC Energy Group
• YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee