DEI at Segal

Our mission is to deliver trusted advice that improves lives. A wide range of private and public sector clients across the country trust us to recommend solutions that consider their unique priorities, perspectives and needs, as well as the pressures and constraints they face. We believe that bringing diverse perspectives to projects enables us to deliver the best possible advice to each client.

We build long-term relationships with our clients, each other and the community by living our core values: respect, objectivity, learning, diversity, cooperation and quality. Those values are a solid foundation for our diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

DEI is part of our history

Significantly, our mission and values emerged directly from our organizational roots: from our clients and the work we do for them. Part of the origin story of Segal is our founder, Martin E. Segal, camping out at the docks in New York City to meet workers as they left their shifts to sign them up for health benefits. These workers and their families were perceived as too high risk to insure and, as a result, were asked to pay inappropriately high premiums or were denied insurance altogether. By partnering with both labor and management, our founder created ways to bring affordable, high-quality health benefits to these workers and their families. This work wasn’t called DEI in 1939 when the company was founded, but our commitment to DEI emanates from the same place and has many of the same goals.

DEI is part of our business strategy

Creating a diverse and inclusive workplace is part of our business strategy. In 2018, David Blumenstein, President and CEO, introduced a formal initiative to help us build on and enhance our existing programs and activities to nurture a workplace that is diverse, equitable and inclusive.

All Segal business units are required to set annual DEI goals, and implementing DEI initiatives is one of eight strategic priorities.

Shot Of A Diverse Group Of Businesspeople Having A Meeting

Our commitment to DEI at Segal

As part of our commitment to DEI, we:

Strive to ensure that all employees are treated fairly and equitably and have the opportunity to advance without barriers.
Offer a work culture and environment that embraces the uniqueness of every employee.
Promote understanding and welcoming of each other’s differences, including our diverse backgrounds and each employee’s capabilities, to help us best serve clients.

Diverse Group Of Colleague Having A Discussion In An Office

A DEI Steering Committee of members drawn from across the organization oversees our strategic DEI initiatives and activities. The committee coordinates DEI efforts companywide.

Additionally, the committee provides guidance, approves resource requests and monitors our DEI activities, actions and communications, including those that originate from business resource groups (BRGs) formed by employees, for employees.

BRGs support the advancement of DEI at Segal, promote our business and our goals, align with our vision, values, policies and practices, have broad appeal and are open to all employees.

We’re proud that in three consecutive years Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA) has recognized Segal and Segal Marco Advisors employees for their DEI advocacy:

Rosemary Elly Guillette, Vice President, Segal Marco Advisors, received a 2023 Rising Star award.
Diane McNally, Senior Vice President and Leader of Segal's Insurance Brokerage Practice, who was the DEI Steering Committee’s first chair, was named a 2022 DEI Leader
Vanessa Vargas Guijarro, Vice President, Segal Marco Advisors, received a 2022 Rising Star award.
Sue Crotty, Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Segal Marco Advisors, was named a 2021 DEI Leader.
Rosa Limas, Vice President and Director, Segal Marco Advisors, received a 2021 Rising Star award.

BRGs (Business Resource Groups)

Currently, we have four BRGs:

BOLD is dedicated to the support, inclusion and celebration of racial and ethnic cultural diversity with a focus on the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) community
Pride@Segal, which supports a diverse and inclusive environment at Segal and helps establish Segal as a leader and employer of choice in the LGBTQIA+ community
Segal CARES, which connects, supports and advocates for all caregivers
The Women’s Leadership Council, which aims to strengthen leadership and opportunity for women at Segal and help attract and retain a strong multicultural workforce

In addition to organizing events and educational opportunities, the BRGs have taken the lead on fundraising for charities and advocacy groups. Any two or more employees with shared characteristics, experiences, interests or goals can work together to propose a new BRG.

Learn more about each BRG by clicking on the tabs below

BOLD, Segal's newest BRG, launched in July 2023.

BOLD is a BIPOC Organizational Leadership & Development BRG, dedicated to the support, inclusion and celebration of racial and ethnic cultural diversity. BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous and People of Color and is an acronym used as an inclusive label for people of color.

BOLD's mission is to:

Empower BIPOC employees through BOLD's established goals and objectives while supporting Segal's business goals and our collective efforts to increase and sustain a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace
Contribute to a rich cultural fabric and support the goal of eliminating racial and ethnic bias, and racism that hinders Segal’s strategic priority to be a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace.

BOLD's first events were in November for Native American Heritage Month. BOLD sponsored talks by Jillian Kristan Waln from the Siċaŋġu, which aims to improve the financial and social well-being of the Siċaŋġu Lak̇ota nation, and Cyndee Fox-Starr of American Indian Health Service of Chicago, Inc., who discussed the organization's mission.

Pride@Segal began in 2020. This BRG supports a diverse and inclusive environment at Segal and helps establish Segal as a leader and employer of choice in the LGBTQIA+ community. Pride@Segal sponsors educational sessions, leads PRIDE Month communications and organizes events that have raised thousands of dollars for LGBTQIA+ nonprofits.

For Pride Month 2023, Pride@Segal sold custom "Love Every Letter" T-shirts to raise money for two LGBTQIA+ organizations (Campaign for Southern Equality and Food Outreach, Inc.) and organized events, including a a talk by Jamie Bruesehoff, who discussed "Raising Kids beyond the Binary." and a presentation by Amari McGee, "Be Proud and Knowledgeable: A Comprehensive Guide to Fostering an LGBTQ-Inclusive Workplace"

Other 2023 Pride@Segal activity included a talk by leadership coach Chris Rollins on "The Ripple Effect of Inclusivity in Leadership" and a presentation by Gerard Koskovich, San Francisco-based historian, curator, rare book dealer and a founding member of the GLBT Historical Society on ways of identifying, preserving and interpreting LGBTQ historic sites.

Segal CARES — an acronym for Caregiver Resources, Engagement and Support — was created in 2020, in part, to help caregivers who faced increased responsibilities during the pandemic. The BRG’s long-term goal is to connect, support and advocate for all caregivers at Segal.

In 2023, Segal CARES sponsored these events:

Building a Financial Future for Dependents with Special Needs
A Peek Into Segal's Paid Family Leave Playbook
2023 Walk to End Alzheimer's Disease
Sharing is Caring Holiday Gift Exchange

The Women’s Leadership Council (WLC), Segal’s first BRG, focuses on hosting activities that strengthen leadership and opportunity for women at Segal; providing a forum for all staff who want to help women achieve career success, develop skills and deliver business results and serving as one of the ways Segal can attract and retain a strong multicultural workforce.

For Women's History Month 2023, the WLC hosted weekly companywide conversations on mental health and tools and resources for a healthy mindset, a variety of health topics unique to women's physical health, financial literacy, Segal benefits that are focused on women’s health and a Segal women career path panel.

Later in the year, the WLC hosted a presentation by Staci Rossi, Senior Director, Clinical Consulting Consultant, on "Work-Life Balance," an interactive workshop on "The Four Secret Ingredients for Change," a conversation for Women's Equality Day on women who inspire us, a Pink Party for Breast Cancer Awareness Month to raise money for the Susan G. Komen charitable organization to help fight breast cancer.and "Laughter Is the Best Medicine," a talk by comedienne Liz Joynt Sandberg.

Workforce 2023

In 2021, we launched our Workforce 2023 initiative comprised of teams representing a cross-section of our employees. These teams collaborated over a two-year period on enhancing four aspects of DEI at Segal:

Education and awareness
Opportunity equity
Segal services and service providers
Talent pipeline

In 2023, the recommendations, tools, and programs developed by Workforce 2023 were implemented. We will support and continuously improve them going forward.

Our DEI journey: where we are now

Since we announced our formal DEI initiative in 2018, we’ve made steady progress, with our DEI activity increasing each year. See a snapshot of where Segal is on our DEI journey:

Read our 2023 DEI Report

We promote and support DEI at Segal in several ways

At Segal, DEI is embedded in our culture. To reinforce our commitment to providing a collegial and inclusive environment that treats each of us with respect and dignity, we require all employees to complete two important annual training programs: Bias Awareness Training and Preventing Discrimination and Harassment Training.

We’ve created a “safe space” called Candid Conversation where all employees can learn about current and important DEI issues and from each other’s experiences, perspectives and opinions. This one-hour, virtual conversation takes place every Friday, during the workday.

Middle Eastern Woman With Hijab And Glasses Working On Laptop

At any time, employees may share content and connect with one another via a Microsoft Teams channel called The Village. Each BRG has its own channel in The Village.

Additionally, we offer three programs that are key DEI initiatives:

Our mentorship program encourages all employees to consider participating in mentoring, either as a mentor or a mentee. Since the program began in 2019, more than 700 employees have participated, and 100 percent would recommend the program to colleagues.
NEXT, which stands for National Exposure and X[cross]-Training, is a professional development program that’s open to all non-officers that encourages education, networking and cross-training with peers.
Our paid internship program gives undergraduate and graduate students meaningful business experience — and provides us with a strong talent pipeline. When recruiting interns, we actively seek qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds.

Business People Shaking Hands In The Office

Aspects of our total rewards that support DEI include a hybrid work environment that also offers flexible work arrangements to help employees achieve work/life balance, a paid family leave program and a transition assistance transgender service benefit.

We prioritize DEI in our recruiting. Our candidate sourcing efforts include connecting with minority, female, veteran and disability-related professional organizations. We have a national college recruiting program that has enhanced consistency and collaboration in our efforts to identify and attract diverse talent.

Interested in advancing DEI at your organization?

Learn about our DEI consulting services

Read about the many facets of DEI in our insights.

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