Coastal Credit Union has been named one of the 2020 Leaders in Diversity by the Triangle Business Journal. The award was presented during a virtual ceremony on October 7, and Coastal is profiled in the October 16 edition of the business journal.
Coastal’s recognition is centered around the strides that the credit union has made over the past two years to further its commitment to its Welcome Diversity core value, and fostering a culture of inclusion and belonging in the workplace. This includes:
- Partnering with Diversity & HR Solutions (DHRS) since 2019 to help build out the credit union’s commitment to making Welcoming Diversity a stronger part of company culture
- Sessions with DHRS involving vice presidents and senior vice presidents, to set the direction for the coming years
- The 2019 board of directors planning session, which focused heavily on diversity and inclusion
- A 2019 all-employee survey and subsequent focus groups that helped shape the 2020 action plan
- The senior management team completed a two-day Strategies for Building and Leading Diverse Organizations training
- A commitment to diversity training, and making 100% employee participation one of Coastal’s annual performance goals for 2020
- In response to the killing of George Floyd and the protests that followed, the credit union hosted a series of listening sessions facilitated by DHRS, focused on the traumas of racism. Coastal also issued a public statement about taking a stand for racial justice and unity
- The creation of an employee-led, 15-person Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee, which will serve as internal advocates and advisors to help guide company leaders toward modeling the Welcome Diversity value and ensuring an inclusive workplace for all
- The promotion of Creighton Blackwell to a new C-level role, Chief Culture and Impact Officer, adding senior-level leadership focused on understanding the impacts of our company culture both internally and externally, and working to ensure that our culture changes and grows in positive ways that are consistent with our mission, vision and values
- A two-day DEI Certificate of Mastery Program for all vice presidents and members of the Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee.
“Credit unions were started as a tool for social change and justice, and that remains at the very core of why we continue to exist today,” said Chuck Purvis, Coastal’s President & CEO. “In addition to the above-mention internal actions, Coastal supports resources in our community that have the expertise and ability to affect social justice beyond our own walls.”
To help achieve this, during the racial and social unrest this summer, Coastal contributed $100,000 locally, split between the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and the Triangle Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee. The credit union also pledged $50,000 to the African-American Credit Union Coalition’s Commitment to Change: Credit Unions Unite Against Racism initiative.
“Earning a Leaders in Diversity Award is certainly an honor, and reflects some important accomplishments over the past two years” added Purvis, “But, part of being a leader is knowing that we have so much more to do. The focus now isn’t on what we’ve done, it’s on building toward the day that every employee and every member can look to Coastal and say without hesitation, ‘I know that I belong here’.”