Byline: By Nicole Hudson
At first glance readers may wonder how exactly diversity and inclusion best help businesses. Diversity and inclusion create opportunities to foster a more creative, innovative workspace, resulting in less employee turnover, as well as more active, engaged employees. It also gives employees greater confidence in the company in which they work.
Creating dialogue in workplace cultures around diversity and inclusion is a tough gig some days. Insert into the equation Erica Bolden, the head of Diversity and Inclusion at Mercedes-Benz who is dearly up for the challenge. Bolden, who joined MBUSA’s Atlanta offices in January 2019, has hit the ground running and met those challenges head-on.
We asked Erica to share some stories about joining MBUSA and her successes thus far. She is embracing a new path. “New to this industry, I was intrigued by the amount of whitespace offered to Implement new D&l initiatives and elevate the dialogue surrounding the importance of an inclusive workplace.” Bolden shared with Career Mastered.
"I am excited to foster an environment where sustainable progress is measured while building a more robust diverse pipeline of workforce talent, customers, dealers, and community stakeholders."
With more and more companies looking beyond a diverse executive leadership, their new goal is to create a truly diverse organization, from the top all the way down, that reaches into the local communities as well.
MBUSA is focused on growing those efforts with Bolden at the helm, having made “strides to sustain diversity ownership in our dealer network and ensure greater transparency of opportunities to grow diversity representation in our dealer body We’ve also been concentrating more recent efforts on Atlanta youth and educational initiatives, including sponsorship of the 2019 Spelman College Homecoming; she said “We are also planning to institute an endowed scholarship to further invest in the future of Spelman College women.
Pointing to the struggles of our country and the current climate, Bolden believes, “We do not have the luxury of being complacent with the status quo’. She calls on younger leaders to rise up to the challenge of making a difference in their local communities around diversity, as well as expecting their employers to do so.
“I am committed to being an agent of change in this space. I especially challenge other young women executives to serve as a catalyst to shift corporations toward a culture that is focused on diversity inclusion and equity.” Bolden’s innate response to everyday challenges that may come her way Is, “Challenge accepted.”
