Diversified Communications’ Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Mission Statement

As a leader in the global expositions and conference industry, Diversified Communications recognizes its responsibility to drive discussions and actively advance the principles of racial equality, social justice, and inclusion. We believe that our communities — the DC organization, Maine, and the global events industry — are richer, stronger, and more dynamic when they are diverse, equitable, and welcoming.

Our mission is to:

Acknowledge that change begins from within. We will educate ourselves to champion diversity, equity, and inclusion. We will be staunchly anti-racist, pro-LGBTQIA+, and accommodating to all abilities and circumstances. We stand against bias, intolerance, and discrimination of any kind.
Foster work environments that are welcoming to and inclusive of everyone. Employees will feel comfortable and represented at offices and events. Equitable opportunities for success will exist for everyone. We will actively recruit candidates of diverse backgrounds to broaden and strengthen our employee population.
Ensure our external work reflects our beliefs and our mission. We will position our marketing to represent our diverse industries and customer base. We will foster diversity, equity, and inclusion discussions at our events and within industry associations.
Create community partnerships. We will actively partner with community organizations who lead the way in social justice work to affect necessary changes where we work and live.

Through these efforts, we aim to influence and encourage an ecosystem for the open exchange of ideas and the ongoing pursuit of best practices.

Overview

At Diversified, we believe that we all have the responsibility to speak out against injustices, spark conscious conversations, and foster inclusion. When we take these actions, we not only impact our communities at home but also in the industries we serve globally. We encourage all employees, vendors, and customers to bring their whole, authentic selves to all aspects of our business. Our goal is that all who walk through our doors feel welcome and comfortable knowing that they will be treated equitably regardless of their background and identity.

Although this has always been our priority, we have committed ourselves to having these conversations and making necessary change happen where we live and work. Our dedicated committee and four active subcommittees work on a variety of important and meaningful Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives.

We recognize that this work will continue to evolve and will be ongoing as an important part of our culture. We are ever-evolving and continuously learning how to better serve all individuals who walk through our doors.

DEI Committee Overall

Committee Head: Janice Rogers

Purpose: The purpose of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee is to lead discussions and actively advance the principles of racial equality, social justice, and inclusion. We believe that our communities — the DC organization, Maine, and the global events industry — are richer, stronger, and more dynamic when they are diverse, equitable, and welcoming.

Current Areas of Focus:

Employee education and discussion
Fostering inclusive work environments
Ensuring our external work reflects our beliefs and our mission
Creating community partnerships

Progress: In addition to the work our Four Subcommittees (Attraction and Retention, Inclusion, Events and Industries, and Community Partnerships) are doing, we are focusing on employee training in the areas of Unconscious Bias and Conscious Conversations, creating meet-up groups for employee discussions, learning with and from each other, and applying what we’ve learned.

Attraction & Recruitment

Committee Heads: Jessica Laverriere & Lisa McCann

Purpose: A more diverse team creates an environment that enriches new ideas and promotes meaningful collaboration. Our purpose in this committee is to ensure our hiring processes are equitable and without bias. To do so, we intend to embrace continuous training, expand our recruiting network, and evaluate every step of our hiring process to make sure it supports our DEI mission and purpose.

Current Areas of Focus: We are currently focused on developing a comprehensive training program for hiring managers and updating our website to be more inclusive.

Progress: We are in the process of conducting an accessibility audit on our website and developing the core curriculum themes for our training.

Inclusion & Retention

Committee Heads: Dana Maletzke, Shanitra Fulgham, Maddie Kearns

Purpose: We are reimaging our workplace and are mutually invested in ensuring our environment is inclusive. When employees have a sense of belonging and connection in the workplace, it changes everything: It fuels deeper connections, it drives innovation, it spurs collective understanding and propels personal and business growth. We want you to come to work each day as your authentic self, knowing you are seen, safe and heard for the unique perspective you bring to the table. Our subcommittee is dedicated to do our part to continuously build and expand on inclusive spaces at work.

Current Areas of Focus: We are currently focused on surveying and collecting feedback from the Diversified community regarding inclusion to turn insights into future action items for our DEI mission.

Progress: Our survey template, which our colleagues will interact with anonymously, has been crafted and reviewed, and we are preparing to deploy it in the coming weeks.

Events & Industries

Committee Heads: Liz Plizga & Jackie Buck

Purpose: Diversified produces events, digital products, and publications for numerous industries. In this capacity, we have the platform to promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion not only in our own work, but in the wider industries we serve. Our purpose is to provide resources, metrics, and a central hub of ideas for our product teams to use as they work towards making our products more inclusive and influencing the industries we serve.

Current Areas of Focus: We are in the process of determining metrics and/or goals for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion that may be attributed to our products and are producing what will become a living DEI best practices and suggested initiatives document for product teams.

Progress: We are finalizing an internal review of current DEI initiatives in our product teams and an initial list of suggested best practices for product teams.

Community Partnerships

Committee Head: Melinda Sheehee

Purpose: Research opportunities for the company and its employees to support local community organizations doing compelling work aligned with our greater DEI mission.

Current Areas of Focus: Create an internal facing website where employees can access resources on how they can support some vetted organizations doing compelling work supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in our community

Progress: A website has been launched and plans have been made to update it periodically.

DEI Committee Overall

Committee Head: Janice Rogers

Purpose: The purpose of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee is to lead discussions and actively advance the principles of racial equality, social justice, and inclusion. We believe that our communities — the DC organization, Maine, and the global

Current Areas of Focus:

Employee education and discussion

Fostering inclusive work environments

Ensuring our external work reflects our beliefs and our mission

Creating community partnerships

Progress: In addition to the work our Four Subcommittees (Attraction and Retention, Inclusion, Events and Industries, and Community Partnerships) are doing, we are focusing on employee training in the areas of Unconscious Bias and Conscious Conversations, creating meet-up groups for employee discussions, learning with and from each other, and applying what we’ve learned.
Attraction & Recruitment

Committee Heads: Jessica Laverriere & Lisa McCann

Purpose: A more diverse team creates an environment that enriches new ideas and promotes meaningful collaboration. Our purpose in this committee is to ensure our hiring processes are equitable and without bias. To do so, we intend to embrace continuous training, expand our recruiting network, and evaluate every step of our hiring process to make sure it supports our DEI mission and purpose.

Current Areas of Focus: We are currently focused on developing a comprehensive training program for hiring managers and updating our website to be more inclusive.

Progress: We are in the process of conducting an accessibility audit on our website and developing the core curriculum themes for our training.
Inclusion & Retention

Committee Heads: Dana Maletzke, Shanitra Fulgham, Maddie Kearns

Purpose: We are reimaging our workplace and are mutually invested in ensuring our environment is inclusive. When employees have a sense of belonging and connection in the workplace, it changes everything: It fuels deeper connections, it drives innovation, it spurs collective understanding and propels personal and business growth. We want you to come to work each day as your authentic self, knowing you are seen, safe and heard for the unique perspective you bring to the table. Our subcommittee is dedicated to do our part to continuously build and expand on inclusive spaces at work.

Current Areas of Focus: We are currently focused on surveying and collecting feedback from the Diversified community regarding inclusion to turn insights into future action items for our DEI mission.

Progress: Our survey template, which our colleagues will interact with anonymously, has been crafted and reviewed, and we are preparing to deploy it in the coming weeks.
Events & Industries

Committee Heads: Liz Plizga & Jackie Buck

Purpose: Diversified produces events, digital products, and publications for numerous industries. In this capacity, we have the platform to promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion not only in our own work, but in the wider industries we serve. Our purpose is to provide resources, metrics, and a central hub of ideas for our product teams to use as they work towards making our products more inclusive and influencing the industries we serve.

Current Areas of Focus: We are in the process of determining metrics and/or goals for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion that may be attributed to our products and are producing what will become a living DEI best practices and suggested initiatives document for product teams.

Progress: We are finalizing an internal review of current DEI initiatives in our product teams and an initial list of suggested best practices for product teams.
Community Partnerships

Committee Head: Melinda Sheehee

Purpose: Research opportunities for the company and its employees to support local community organizations doing compelling work aligned with our greater DEI mission.

Current Areas of Focus: Create an internal facing website where employees can access resources on how they can support some vetted organizations doing compelling work supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in our community

Progress: A website has been launched and plans have been made to update it periodically.