Diversity, Inclusion, Community: Values That Brought Me Here

Diversity, inclusion and community engagement have been the driving force of all my career and personal decisions I’ve made throughout my life.

I joined the family of companies in 2013. I ended up leaving the company to seek  more professional growth opportunities. I found plenty of professional development opportunities at my next employer, but fostering inclusive environments where team members felt safe and could bring their whole self to work, was totally out of the equation. After spending a few years there, I wanted to move to a company that truly cared for their team members, a company whose values aligned with mine, who wasn’t afraid to do the work and had diversity and inclusion embedded in their culture. So, I started following the Quicken Loans^® diversity and inclusion journey via LinkedIn.

I was blown away. To constantly see the efforts, engagements and strategies implemented at this company from the outside, made me realize that I had to be there. Quicken Loans was named one of the top places for diversity to work in Michigan, so I wanted back in.

My new journey began at Quicken Loans on March 9, 2020. On my first day, we were introduced to the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team at orientation; they spoke of Team Member Resource Networks (TMRNs) which create a place for the community, professional development and allyship that I was looking for. I was thankful that Quicken Loans started this initiative, and I joined a TMRN on my first day.

TMRNs give you a sense of hope where you feel like you don’t have boundaries or glass ceilings, because this company gets the importance of inclusion and having networks that create community, impact and change. Knowing that the company values diversity and inclusion and its team members enough to put real dollars behind various inclusionary and diverse efforts makes me feel like I can stay here for forever. Because Quicken Loans has these values, that makes me want to give my entire self to this company, because I am seen and we share the same values. Knowing that the company values their team members enough to make real change, and actually seeing the change from 8 years ago to now in 2021 is amazing.

Allyship is of the utmost importance because it’s easy for us to silo ourselves and lean on our communities we identify with for support, but the change isn’t going to come from us. TMRNs are a space for allies to learn more about communities they don’t identify with but wish to support, help, learn and engage with, too. Leaders can also leverage these networks to see how they can better support, connect and stay abreast with what’s happening in the communities their team members are in. 

So, if you’re curious, want to be an ally, or part of the community, join us! All are welcome.