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Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity

Our commitment to diversity

The Metropolitan Council is committed to valuing and respecting the diversity of our employees, our customers and the citizens of the metropolitan region.

Why Focus on Diversity?

Because it is the right and practical thing to do for our business, people and community.

• Business — Achieving maximum performance from all of our divisions depends on using the full potential of all of our human resources.
• People — Our employees are more productive working in an environment where everyone has an opportunity to grow and excel.
• Community — Having the community recognize the Council as an employer of choice-one that reflects the community, attracting and retaining employees from an array of backgrounds-helps ensure the Council's place in the region.

 

Aspects of Diversity

We focus on three aspects of Diversity:

• Workforce Diversity
  
• Business and Program Diversity
  
• Supplier Diversity

 

Workforce Diversity

We pursue recruiting and retaining methods that are as thorough, extensive and creative as possible. With this approach, we hope to identify the most capable and diverse pool of potential employees. Once they're on board, we then provide our employees with an atmosphere that encourages them to succeed. Ongoing efforts to build and understand diversity issues include formal training, informal group sessions, and brown bag lunches.

Business and Program Diversity

We strive to ensure the voice of all people in the seven-county region is heard in all aspects of our business. We are committed to providing our customers, individuals and organizations with whom we do business, both internally and externally, with effective, comprehensive, unbiased programming and communications.

Supplier Diversity

Our Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) policy/plan directs the Council to utilize businesses owned and controlled by women, minorities and disadvantaged individuals in the procurement of goods and services and the award of contracts. We actively seek and assist in the certification of eligible firms. Our plan has produced an award-winning program that is used as a model for other regional public and private agencies.

Integrity, hard work and mutual respect guides our strategic diversity initiatives. Our challenge is to continually seek out and use diversity to bring new and richer perspectives to our jobs, our business and our region.