GM finds an ardent voice on diversity in its own ranks

DETROIT — As General Motors sought to amplify its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts last year, the automaker didn't have to look far for guidance.

A passion for engineering led Telva McGruder to GM 27 years ago, but a distinct focus on people has propelled her career forward. The tenured engineer was named the automaker's first chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer in 2020, spearheading the company's initiatives during a fragile yet transformative time for the country.

"In my whole career, I have been really focused on people, which many think is unusual for an engineer," McGruder, 52, told Automotive News. "Working with people and teaching them and learning from them is the way I've gotten things done when it comes to problem-solving as an engineer."

Days after George Floyd was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis in May 2020, CEO Mary Barra sent employees a letter to advocate for awareness, dialogue and change around injustice. "I am both impatient and disgusted by the fact that as a nation, we seem to be placated by the passive discussion of 'why,' " she said. "Let's stop asking 'why' and start asking 'what.' What are we going to do?"

The following month, Barra created an inclusion advisory board and tapped McGruder as one of 11 members from inside and outside the company. Two months later, Barra appointed McGruder to the newly created position. Since then, Barra has repeated her goal for GM to be the most inclusive company in the world.

Diversity, equality and inclusion encompass differences in education, socioeconomic factors, income, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion, race, class, age, sexual orientation and gender, said Cheri Alexander, professor of faculty management and organizations at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.

"This is a huge field of differences that is hard to get your arms around, but if you are successful, it can mean tremendous positive growth for the company and our world," she said. "It is critical today, more than ever."

In the short time McGruder has led GM's charge, she has begun to closely track metrics and break down barriers that often prevent DE&I missions from spreading throughout large companies. This spring, she and her team began rewriting job descriptions to focus on skills and ideas, in addition to degrees and experience.

Alexander met McGruder when she participated in an executive leadership development program at Ross in 2017. She called McGruder an "extraordinary leader."

"Being a successful engineer, she has tremendous credibility in the company and thus in this space," Alexander said. "As a genuinely authentic person, what you see is what you get. She is definitely a problem solver, solving problems through people."

McGruder led engineering teams for most of her career. In 2018, she became president of GM's African Ancestry Network after years of working independently and alongside GM with groups such as the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan, Engineering Tomorrow, A World in Motion, FIRST and multiple universities. At the time, her full-time position was director of workplace engineering and operations solutions.

She had been president of the African Ancestry Network for two years at the time of Floyd's death. It was a wake-up call for the company.

"They were looking for a strong strategist … as well as someone with the insight and the ability to bring teams together and create change, which is work that I've done, just in different rooms," said McGruder. "I've been empowered tremendously by the leadership team to create the way forward."

GM already had a diversity and inclusion group, but the new inclusion advisory board and McGruder's role fortified the company's commitment.

The company's 2019 Sustainability Report, released in 2020, and 2020 Sustainability Report, released this year, both included dedicated sections that break down diversity within GM's work force and outline its DE&I opportunities, challenges and accomplishments.

"The more transparent we can be with ourselves and publicly, the more we're going to drive ourselves to leap toward those aspirational targets," said McGruder.

The company will measure the percentage of representation on its board, the percentage of representation by employee category and pay equality by employee category.
Since last year, GM has made a number of financial and time commitments to DE&I, including:

• More than $10 million in corporate giving and employee matching to support organizations that promote social and racial justice
• Participation in OneTen, a coalition of companies and leaders committed to training, hiring and advancing 1 million Black Americans over the next 10 years into family-sustaining jobs with opportunities for advancement
• Membership in the Gender and Diversity KPI Alliance, through which the automaker pledged to use three key performance indicators to measure and improve diversity.

Companies have long focused on diversity, but a truly diverse work force only comes together with inclusion and equity, McGruder said. "Inclusion leads, underpinned by equity. Until you have those, you won't have diversity stick."

GM will track diversity, equity and inclusion through surveys and employees' reports of inclusive behavior, said McGruder.

She and her team created an inclusivity index that was incorporated into GM's Workplace of Choice survey in 2020, which also measures engagement and diversity. Since 2019, the company had been working toward an inclusivity index, partnering with Deloitte on an inclusion model.

Measuring the impact of DE&I initiatives is crucial to developing paths for improvement, she said.

"As an engineer, I love results and action," McGruder said. "Now we have a really robust way to measure inclusion that correlates back to the key attributes to an inclusive culture."

Diversity, equity and inclusion leaders within large organizations have to break through silos, working across job functions and locations.

"The effect of the appointment of a DEI leader, on leaders/managers/employees, will only be felt if the processes, systems and values of DEI are inculcated into the fabric of the company," said Alexander. "This takes passion, effort, direct communication and boundless energy, things that Telva McGruder has in her toolbox."

McGruder likened GM's commitment to its emphasis on sustainability and safety.

"This isn't an initiative where we're just doing DEI on the side," she said.

GM's DE&I plans also extend beyond the walls of the Renaissance Center and manufacturing plants. They extend to the automaker's commitment to an electric future.

GM aims to have a fully electric light-vehicle lineup by 2035. Building EVs at a variety of price points and in various segments is part of GM's inclusion efforts, and the automaker has launched partnerships to make EV charging more accessible for customers.

"It's really important that as we transition to electric, we're thinking about the people that are living in high-rise apartment buildings and we're thinking about the people that live in the rural communities, as well as those that are living in suburbia and all the travels that they may make everywhere around the world," McGruder said. "That's a really, really important concept and something that will become ... easier for us as we move forward."

In five to 10 years, McGruder envisions a more agile work force that doesn't have to navigate some of today's obstacles.

Said McGruder: "It's really all about unlocking people, unlocking their potential and creating a more dynamic environment where people can grow and develop in ways that they might not even be able to imagine today."