DULUTH — The St. Louis County Board unanimously approved the creation of employee resource groups Tuesday, March 7, at their regular meeting at the county courthouse in Duluth.
These groups are intended to serve as a "collective voice and peer support and to help advance diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives" in the county, according to information included in the board agenda. The groups would support employees who identify with various groups such as Black, Indigenous and people of color; LGBTQI+; veterans; individuals with physical or intellectual differences; and faith-based groups.
"History is being made here in St. Louis County," said Tonia Villegas, leader of the BIPOC Support Team. "2020 was the inception of our BIPOC support team. It's a space where employees who identify as BIPOC come to communicate, speak and share without being judged or fear of retaliation. But this team has developed into something greater: a family inside the workplace."
The effort stems from a report the county heard back in December from the Center of Economic Inclusion, a St. Paul-based consulting service which spent 16 months observing, meeting with and surveying county employees on diversity, equity and inclusion. The results showed the county workforce lacked racial diversity, particularly at the leadership level. The report offered 23 recommendations, long and short-term, that the county can put into practice to increase diversity, and make the county an equitable and inclusive place to work.
The creation of employee resource groups is the first action item brought to the board since the report. It codifies one group which has already existed, the BIPOC Support team, and allows for further creation of support groups.
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"This is just the start," said commissioner Ashley Grimm, who serves on the Diveristy, Equity and Inclusion team. "We have action items to make this happen. This needs to be different than other times in the county where we've done some of this work. We need to make it sustainable and hire someone onto the executive team and support our BIPOC leadership team to make sure we're not burning them out."
Teri Cadeau is a general assignment and neighborhood reporter for the Duluth News Tribune. Originally from the Iron Range, Cadeau has worked for several community newspapers in the Duluth area for eight years including: The Duluth Budgeteer News, Western Weekly, Weekly Observer, Lake County News-Chronicle and occasionally, the Cloquet Pine Journal. When not working, she's an avid reader and crafter.
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March 13, 2023 at 06:33AM
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St. Louis County adds employee resource groups - Duluth News Tribune
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