Diversity as a Guiding Light

At RevGen, we know that our diverse team is one of our greatest strengths. Our business is stronger when we welcome diversity of background, experience, and thought. By bringing diversity and inclusion to the forefront, our goal is to engage in honest conversations and foster an environment where people feel they are seen and valued for who they are. For 2021, we wanted to take our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) further and dive into what it meant for us.

This included strengthening some existing RevGen organizations, such as our Women’s Initiative. RevGen partnered with the Girl Scouts to sponsor their STEM Leadership Experience and hosted an Emotional Intelligence and Gender workshop, open to all RevGen employees. The workshop walked us through social awareness, self-awareness, self-management, and finding our strengths – our unique ‘superpowers’.

“I found the different workshop activities really shed light on things I never knew about myself and others. For instance, I learned not only the strength in my ‘superpower’ and, in turn, how it can also be a weakness. It was fascinating to hear everyone’s different ‘superpowers’ and how we collectively benefit from various strengths.” – Amy Bush, Manager 

Another way our D&I team shone a spotlight on the different cultures represented at RevGen was through our lunchtime conversations.

“I had only been recently hired when a message went out asking for volunteers to lead a discussion on the Jewish High Holy Days. I’ll be honest, I was not sure about ‘putting it out there’ that I was Jewish – particularly with religion being a touchy subject in the professional world. However, I’m so glad I volunteered. Not only did I meet several other Jewish coworkers, but I also learned how many people were genuinely interested in learning about our traditions. Diversity is more than just hiring practices. Real inclusion means taking it further.” – Jill Roblyer, Manager  

As the end of another turbulent year approached, it was evident that we needed to find joy in learning from and celebrating each other. Embracing diversity has allowed us to strengthen our relationships both internally at RevGen and within our larger community.

In November, we held a conversation on Diwali, the Indian festival of lights. Much like the conversation on the High Holy Days, it was a conversation that included team members discussing how they celebrate the holiday, and those learning about Diwali’s traditions for the first time.

“One comment really made me smile – ‘Diwali is like having Thanksgiving (lots of food), July 4th (fireworks) and Christmas (gifts) all in one’, which is true! And then the next day, another coworker reached out to thank us for running the conversation because he was able to confidently wish a vendor a ‘Happy Diwali’.” – Ivy George, Manager 

Inclusion doesn’t stop at conversation, though. It also means putting words into action. Through our RevGenerosity program, volunteers have been working with our community partner, The Gathering Place, to help make the holiday season a bit brighter for families in transition.

RevGen’s core values of Respect, Integrity, Stewardship, and Enjoyment are at the heart of everything we do – our commitment to celebrating diversity is a reflection of being a values-driven organization.