Donna Diederich
Chief Human Resources Officer, LMI
In 2021, LMI revamped its diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility efforts, tying them to corporate performance goals. Donna Diederich’s team led the way to fulfilling LMI’s six commitments through community forums to inform the company’s baseline and encourage dialogue.
Leveraging feedback from the company’s affinity groups, the team launched its new mentoring program. Under her leadership, not only did 100% of LMI’s workforce complete new DEIA training, but it began offering formal leadership coaching to emerging women leaders from underrepresented backgrounds.
Thanks to these successful efforts, employees rated LMI first among The Washington Post’s Top Workplaces in the largest companies category. Women now represent 50% of LMI leadership, and the company’s mentoring program won a company Luminary Award.
“Donna has the vision to see the link between DEIA and business transformation,” said Doug Wagoner, president and CEO of LMI. “Under her leadership she, her team and our leaders have institutionalized DEIA within our entire organization, leading to tremendous positive impact on our people, programs and business.”
Why Watch
Diederich’s team is implementing wide-scale DEIA initiatives and growing diversity in the company’s workforce and leadership team. It’s also introducing new anti-bullying training for the LMI workforce and DEIA training for leaders.
LMI has increased its support to affinity groups. This year, the number of groups grew from five to seven. In one year, participation rose by 20%. Over 50% of LMIers belong to affinity groups.
“At LMI, DEIA isn’t a checklist; it’s woven throughout everything we do, from powering innovation to building a culture of belonging, celebrating and respecting people for who they are,” Diederich said.