CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Charlotte Fire Department has created a team to address diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. It’s called the "Employee Engagement Team".

 

What You Need To Know

  • Workplaces around the country are implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion policies

  • Diversity expert Verna Myers, said “Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.”

  • Equity is "the guarantee of fair treatment"

Charlotte Battalion Fire Chief Kelvin Brim has been with the department for 22 years. He was selected to lead the new team.

“Like any organization, any family there can be issues, sometimes they are around diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Brim says. “We have created this team to address those.”

Brim says they are bringing in a consultant to gather feedback from employees within the fire department.

“The consultants are going to share their findings and they may say, 'we see that this is a problem here, or we see that you may have an issue here,'” Brim says.

The consultant will also help develop education sessions and employee engagement activities. Brim says they understand people have different backgrounds and experiences and they want to make sure that is respected.

“A program like this and a team like this is going to help us to gain a better understanding, so we are able to build a more cohesive organization,” Brim adds.