Like the people we serve, the members of our team come from every walk of life. This rich variety of personalities, traits and abilities helps us relate to our customers and communities while also helping us be a leader for equality at work and beyond.
Our differences make us stronger
We support our LGBTQ+ colleagues and families to help them thrive at work and at home. Being an inclusive workplace with employees of different backgrounds and identities strengthens our ability to understand our stakeholders and serve them well.
We’re committed to cultivating a workplace where our team’s unique colors can shine — from being the first financial services company to provide full domestic partner benefits to helping shift society’s perceptions toward inclusion.
Bridges to understanding and acceptance
We’re proud to stand alongside Love Has No Labels in a partnership focused on building a more inclusive world for everyone, regardless of age, race, gender, sexuality, disability or religion. Supporting the Love Has No Labels campaign is aligned with our commitment to embrace diversity and help build inclusive communities where diverse people and viewpoints can thrive.
Far-reaching support for Pride
We’ve been pioneering on LGBTQ+ inclusion for over 20 years, which has ingrained support for the LGBTQ+ community in our culture. Back in 1998, we were the first financial services company to offer comprehensive domestic partner benefits as well as to include sexual orientation in our non-discrimination policies.
In the decades since, we have continued to foster a culture of inclusion, served our LGBTQ+ clients with pride and been resolute in our commitment to the LGBTQ+ communities in which we live and work.
The bank’s Ally Program encourages our non-LGBTQ+ employees to unite in their support of the LGBTQ+ community, and it has more than 25,000 visible allies across 30 countries. Our team’s participation in annual PRIDE events is strong, too. We celebrate our LGBTQ+ coworkers, family members and neighbors within our company and communities from Boston to North Carolina to California and everywhere in between.
Other ways we promote diversity and inclusion:
- The LGBTQ+ Pride program, launched in 2009, is a company-supported Employee Network that combines the LGBTQ+ groups from Bank of America and Merrill
- Helping our colleagues work to erase bias and build greater understanding through global programs like our Unconscious Bias training (rolled out in 2013; 41,000+ employees have participated since) and LGBTQ+ learning, which helps employees better understand issues facing the LGBTQ+ community
We know that our diversity makes us stronger – so we promote a culture where all employees have the power to be themselves. This leads to greater connections with the clients and communities we serve, and creates a positive workplace culture.
Jenny Kim Park | Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
The Pride Ally network
Our LGBTQ+ Pride Ally Program is one important way we come together to drive positive change. Allies help promote LGBTQ+ causes and issues within our community and highlight the value of a workplace that fosters equality and mutual respect.
Alex Oliphant, a 25-year bank employee and current Global Transaction Services vice president, and his husband have relied on our domestic partner benefits for years. Alex is also an Arizona Ally Ambassador. He says, “By allowing everyone to bring their whole selves to work, and by supporting the LGBTQ+ community at large, it really does attract top-drawer talent.”
Awards & recognition
We are honored to be recognized for our commitment to LGBTQ+ colleagues and families and workplace diversity. Here is a sample of awards we’ve received:
100 Best Workplaces for Diversity (2019)
Named by Fortune magazine and Great Place to Work Institute
Corporation of the Year (2020)
By the Greater Women’s Business Center