32 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 quickly implement inclusive practices and environments. Although those steps are integral to the process, they do not ensure that equitable policies and systems are in place that will propel these employees’ long-term success and help them unlock their full business potential. Equity is a vital ingredient. Equity means giving each person the unique things that they need to be successful. In the case of women, it can mean efforts to alleviate the historical and social disadvantages they have faced, such as mentorship and sponsorship initiatives that create avenues of upward growth, leadership development programs, inclusion learning experiences that help navigate bias, microaggressions, and gender privilege. These are examples of actions that contribute to an equitable work environment. Gender is just one example, but equity touches all dimensions of diversity in the workplace. Compensation, cultural celebrations, time zone considerations, health benefits, accessibility, an environment of psychological safety – equity considerations are vast and dynamic. What’s new and next on the company’s DEI journey? Currently, an initiative that’s critical in taking us to the next level is to focus more on IGT’s People Managers to ensure that our employee population is operating with an inclusive point of view. No one has a bigger impact on corporate culture and the employee experience than People Managers, which in turn impacts how we work together, the solutions we offer, and ultimately the experience for customers and players. We know that teams managed through an inclusive lens outperform on every metric, and there’s a lot of benefit to the organization and our customers in maintaining a real focus on this. Part of our strategic DEI plan is also to elevate employees’ DEI IQ, meaning they become more culturally fluent, adept at managing inclusively, and recognizing the value in peoples’ differences. This year, IGT launched Ignite Inclusion, a company-wide program dedicated to thinking, behaving, and decision making through the lens of DEI. Employees dove in and examined topics such as valuing difference, unconscious bias, and navigating obstacles to inclusion. I’m looking forward to offering more of these learning opportunities and leaning into our DEI strategic approach. As far as we’ve come, our organization is continuing to strengthen our foundation. Among many initiatives, we will be leveraging our existing mentorship programs into a scalable, global program so that we have a consistent process for all to follow that can facilitate growth opportunities for all our employees. We will start this with smaller pilot programs across business and corporate units, applying successes and lessons learned, and work our way from there. And we are going to fortify our employee Diversity and Inclusion Groups (DIGs) to be even better stewards of our inclusive culture, by instituting a new governance model that will give them greater guidance and support, encourage greater intersectionality across the DIGs, and create stronger connections between the DIGs and the company’s Global/Regional DEI Councils. In July, IGT released its 16th Sustainability Report. How does DEI tie into the company’s sustainability efforts? IGT’s 2022 Sustainability Report details the actions, big and small, that IGT takes to protect its people and the planet. It’s organized by the four pillars that comprise the company’s Sustainable Play™ initiative: Valuing and Protecting our People, Advancing Responsibility, Supporting Our Communities, and Fostering Sustainable Operations. IGT’s efforts and commitments in the DEI realm are deeply tied to Valuing and Protecting our People. Within this chapter of the Report, readers will find some of IGT’s key DEI achievements for 2022, as well as insights into how IGT engages its employees and provides safe and inclusive work environments. For example, for the first time in company history, IGT was included in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index, which measures LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace. Similarly, in 2022, IGT was the first casino and gaming company to become a signatory for the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), a set of principles offering guidance to businesses on how to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace, and community. We will continue to leverage best practices and ensure we stay on a consistent and sustainable DEI path, where the way in which we conduct our business is through that lens. I am so excited to be on this journey with everyone across our organization. My team and I could not do this work without their energy and commitment. n IGT’s most recent Sustainability Report, as well as more information about the company’s DEI programs, can be found on IGT.com.
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