MBC Diversity Summit 2018
June 6, 2018
The Chamber hosted the 4th annual MBC Diversity Summit at the Bryant Conference Center. This year's summit was called Courageous Conversations and there were several great speakers who spoke about different aspects of diversity and inclusion. The keynote speaker was Mrs. Chapelle Davis. She was just promoted to vice president, chief diversity officer, and director of the Bank's Office of Minority and Women Inclusion.
The speakers at this event explained that we need to understand the subtle ways that bias occurs in the workplace. In order to create a respectful workplace, we must understand how we can make a difference and how to play a positive role. The speakers defined courageous conversations as all employees being valued for their perspective and free from harrassment and discrimination while having constructive conversations and positive feedback. Other speakers spoke about financial aspects and how to benefit the most from your work. Dub Taylor explained that in order to reach peak performance and your ultimate potential in the workplace you have to make sure you capitalize on all resources and make meaningful relationships. Finally, Mrs. Chapelle Davis spoke about her experiences working at the Federal Reserve Bank. She emphasized the need for courageous conversations and bringing more people to the table. Mrs. Davis said that recently the Fed has been recognizing more women and minorities in the regulatory world and this is important because there was a time when she was the only African-American woman in her position. Mrs. Davis believes that conversations are the foundation of a relationship and they become the foundation of a successful business.
The MBC focuses on providing educational and networking opportunities that will assist the growth of minority and women-owned businesses in our area. In fulfilling this mission, MBC has utilized the Chamber’s resources and partnered with other entities to empower these businesses through monthly networking opportunities and workshops on funding, business education, procurement opportunities, and more. The Diversity Summit is great because it brings people together who want to learn how to make the workplace more diverse and unifed.