Business Leaders and Community Advocates Come Together to Share Best Practices in Building Diversity and Inclusion
SALT LAKE CITY (October 28, 2022) – The Salt Lake Chamber and the State of Utah today held Utah’s Business Diversity Summit, part of the One Utah Summit Series, to share best practices with business and community leaders on how to build more welcoming, diverse and inclusive workplaces. This marks the second year the Summit has been held to instill diversity and inclusion values into the community through a business lens.
“When diversity of ideas are brought to the table, our communities and business climate can only be strengthened,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. “While hosting this Summit for a second year is an exciting milestone, it has taken many steps to get here, and progress is still needed. Thankfully, we are moving in the right direction. By each of us making intentional changes, we can move towards a future where everyone has access to opportunity and where inclusion is the norm.”
International Speaker Lee Rubin, who for more than twenty years, has been building high-performance teams in both corporate America and the collegiate and professional sports world, setting the foundational cornerstone for a leadership and culture-building mindset shared the key components that create extraordinary teams. He also highlighted how setting a common goal and communicating effectively are key steps to achieving peak performance in any endeavor.
“We are social creatures wired for human interaction,” said Rubin. “One of the things we have lost with the pace of life’s hurry-up offense is the connection that occurs when we huddle. More happens in the huddle than just the communication of the play, it’s a time to make sure your teammates are ready – physically and mentally – to do their jobs. Slow it down and huddle up.”
Attendees also had the opportunity to participate in breakout sessions and hear from speakers on various topics, including starting a diversity initiative, recognizing and combating implicit bias, organizational resistance and readiness for diversity and inclusion, and more.
In addition, new to this year’s Summit, local organizations that lead in equality, diversity and fairness will be honored. These organizations were nominated by community members and are leading actions to remove barriers, improve the working experience and engagement level of employees, and foster a sense of belonging where individuals can be their authentic selves and have a voice in the organization. Honorees included:
- Large Business (250+ employees): Northrop Grumman
- Medium Business (51-249 employees): GSBS Architects
- Small Business (Less than 50 employees): Target River
- Non-profit organization: Tech-Moms
- Government organization: Salt Lake County
- Award in Excellence: Utah Muslim Civic League
Utah’s Business Diversity Summit occured on October 28, 2022, at the Salt Lake Marriott at City Creek. This year’s summit presenting sponsor is Larry H. Miller Group of Companies. Delta Air Lines, Deseret Management Corporation, Mountain America Credit Union, SelectHealth, Target River and Zions Bank are the Breakout Session Sponsors. The Summit Scholarship Sponsors are Fidelity Investments and Rio Tinto Kennecott.
