By Julie Sneider, Senior Associate Editor
Rail company representatives seeking insight into how to diversify their workforce heard plenty of ideas and advice during The League of Railway Women’s (LRW) “Embracing Equity Symposium” held March 2 at the Willis Tower in downtown Chicago.
With about 150 in attendance, the symposium featured panelists from a Class I, short lines and rail suppliers that have embraced diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals to develop a workforce that is representative of the customers and communities they serve.
The event was the LRW’s first in-person program since the pandemic. If the buzz in the room prior to the morning safety briefing was any indication, attendees were excited to return to face-to-face networking.
The symposium's first panel discussed successful DEI strategies. Panelists from left to right: Chris Putz of TTX; Rachael Peterson of Watco; Kimia Khatami of Anacostia Rail Holdings; David Thomas of CN; and Lynda Malmborg of A&K Railroad Materials. Julie Sneider LRW’s program featured sessions on their companies’ diversity goals, as well as their use of employee resource groups (ERGs) and how they make a difference on the recruitment and retention front. MxV Rail President and CEO Kari Gonzales gave the keynote presentation.
The program kicked off with a panel discussion titled “Resources That Drive Diversity” and was moderated by LRW Board Member and SPRING founder Michele Malski. The panelists: Rachael Peterson, chief people officer, Watco; David Thomas, senior manager of strategy, CN; Kimia Khatami, senior director of business development, Anacostia Rail Holdings Co.; Lynda Malmborg, vice president of human resources, A&K Railroad Materials Inc.; and Craig Putz, AVP of corporate finance and treasury, TTX Corp.
Meeting DEI goals takes time
The speakers opened by describing their companies’ DEI initiatives. Achieving an equitably diverse workforce takes time, they said.
“We are a 100-year Class I railway and like many railway operating companies, historically we have representation that looks like me: A Caucasian male,” said Thomas. “We can’t just flip a switch and change overnight. It has to be a journey. And it’s not just what that high-level [diversity] number looks like across the organization; you also have to dig deeper and see what it looks like at different levels and functions within the organization.”
Thomas described some of the success that CN’s DEI actions have achieved so far: CN’s board is now majority female at six of its 11 members; the board’s chair is Shauneen Bruder, a female; and last year the board hired the company’s first female CEO when it brought in Tracy Robinson. In addition, the company’s executive ranks are now about 26% female representation toward a current goal of 30%.
“So, we’re starting to see things change and improve at the top level,” Thomas said. “But then you go to our front-line operations and we see it’s still heavily dominated by males. And you have to ask why that is. Is it the job descriptions or work conditions that don’t attract women to those roles? Because you lose half the talent pool as a result, and that's not a good number to work with. It’s a challenge and we’re trying to figure out how we can improve.”
Companies have to drill deep — into each department and all the way down to each location — to see if their diversity goals are being met. To address its diversity gaps, CN has used pay equity, changed to gender-neutral job titles and started recruitment and retention campaigns specifically aimed at underrepresented workers.
The League of Railway Women’s Embrace Equity Symposium held March 2 in Chicago was the first in-person LRW event held since the pandemic began in March 2020. Shown: Attendees gathered for a group photo. Julie Sneider“We’re also looking at how we can make our leaders stronger at being inclusive, so we have a series of education and training programs, particularly in unconscious bias training, that help foster a more inclusive working environment,” he said.
Watco’s Peterson talked about things to consider when measuring a company’s DEI practices. At Watco, the company measures how it stands up in terms of gender, racial, nationality and generational diversity.
“But the most important thing that we measure is the equity and inclusion part of DEI,” she said. That involves measuring employee morale and workers’ sentiments about their jobs.
“It’s one thing to say we have the diversity, but are you getting everything you can from these diverse backgrounds and perspectives,” said Peterson said. “You want them to bring that [perspective] to your organization.”
Gauge morale, ask employees why they stay
Watco surveys employees to find out if they feel they belong at their workplace; if they feel cared for by management; and if they feel they’re treated fairly at work. While some companies conduct exit interviews to find out why employees leave, Watco conducts “stay” interviews to gauge morale.
“Why wait until someone is leaving? If you have a top performer, ask them why they stay and what could be done to improve the organization,” Peterson said. “Senior leadership might think, ‘We need to alter our bonus structure to keep people,’ but when you talk to [employees] you might find out they just want more time off.”
When surveying employees, ask them: Do they feel they belong at the company? Are they comfortable giving feedback? Do they feel heard when they share their opinions? Do they feel they have opportunities for advancement?
Also, managers and team leaders should “read the room” when holding meetings. Observe if employees are speaking up and seem “encouraged to participate,” Peterson suggested.
To identify diversity gaps and areas in need of improvement, A&K has started using data and analytics to measure demographics, including positions held by employees close to retirement age, Malmborg said. Once learning where and when those openings will occur, the company uses the data to help determine how to fill the vacancies. Data and analytics also are used to identify where the company can improve operations and who in the organization can help achieve those improvements.
When asked to share “success stories” from their DEI initiatives, the panelists spoke of their companies establishing mentorship programs; partnerships with local high-school science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) students; and employee resource groups (ERGs).
ERGs help foster ‘inclusion’
Later in the symposium, a second panel addressed the use of ERGs in the workplace. The speakers were: Andrea Niethold, director of U.S. government affairs at CN; Courtney Johnson, head of DEI at GATX Corp.; and Mary Carlson Bis, senior director of emergency management at Amtrak. All three participate in ERGs at their companies.
Holland LP Chief Financial Officer Deb Wensel, who moderated the conversation, kicked things off by asking how ERGs can advance DEI goals. Bis said Amtrak’s ERGs are a vehicle for connecting employees who are spread out over the railroad’s national network.
“Our ERGs really create a sense of connection, even if they’re meeting in person or virtually,” she said. “Having someone with that shared interest … is a benefit that goes beyond our day jobs and gives us an opportunity to network and learn from each other.”
Amtrak offers seven resource groups: for employees who are Black/African American, Asian or Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latinx, women, military veterans, part of the LGBTQIA community, or who have disabilities. Also, Amtrak recently set up another group, called “Train of Thought,” that emphasizes mental health and wellness for railroaders, Bis said.
All three panelists said successful ERGs have buy-in from the company’s top brass, but are led and directed by employees. GATX’s Johnson said each group should also have an executive-level “sponsor” who can help ensure the ERG has funding for its activities and has connections in the HR department.
“To be successful, it’s so important that ERGs create a strategy, have a vision of what [they] want to accomplish and then build on it,” Johnson added.
Although the groups can host social events, the more successful ones help employees network with colleagues in other departments, seek connections for advancement and recruit new employees to the company, the panelists concurred.
One outcome of being active in the Women Employees (WE) ERG at CN is being able to work on projects with colleagues from other departments, said Niethold.
“When we talk about why people stay at an organization, seeing yourself as a member of a group [helps] you feel like you belong and that you’re being heard,” Niethold said in describing how ERGs can make a difference in employee retention.
