On Your Behalf

On Your

Behalf

It has been a little over a year since the world witnessed the death of George Floyd; one of the major catalysts that shed light on systemic societal inequalities in our nation and abroad. It is also, in part, what prompted OESA to do more to increase the awareness and action for greater diversity, equity and inclusion in our workplace and the industry. While OESA’s DE&I journey began 12 months ago, our commitment remains strong and we are making strides. “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” is a popular quote by Mahatma Gandhi and a one that we took to heart as we began our DE&I journey.

Internally, OESA and the other 3 divisions of MEMA formed a small group of employees with wide-ranging backgrounds – the All-Together Team – to access our DE&I gaps and practices and make recommendations to improve MEMA's internal DE&I practices.

Externally, the team:

• Formed a DE&I Council in partnership with CADIA, to help supplier members learn best practices • Hosted an event that featured organizations that have a successful DE&I program • Created and publicized a DE&I statement highlighting our commitment • Added a DE&I statement to job postings to encourage a diverse range of applicants • Is instituting an annual DE&I Barometer to benchmark DE&I progress and initiatives in automotive • Secured a DE&I ambassador to better understand the needs of the supplier community

Some of our accomplishments include:

• Organized quarterly “Courageous Conversations” for employees discuss DE&I in the workplacewith

CADIA • Coordinated monthly “Continuing Conversations” for “deeper” conversations beyond the mandatory sessions • Developed a monthly email that provides relevant resources, articles and videos for improving DE&I in the workplace • Updated the employee handbook to outline DE&I expectations of every team member

The DE&I work of OESA and the industry is an ongoing endeavor as we continue our journey. Learn more how your organization can get involved. Contact April Buford at abuford@oesa.org or Keiyania Mann at kmann@ oesa.org for details.

As always, please feel free to contact me at 248.430.5963 or jfream@oesa.org.

Julie A. Fream President and CEO OESA