BizTimes reporter Maredithe Meyer recently talked with Concepcion Guerrero, channel strategies specialist with Milwaukee-based MGIC, about her thoughts on the company’s workforce diversity efforts.
BizTimes: What’s your perspective on MGIC’s D&I practices?
Guerrero: “I’ll be honest with you, it’s literally within the last year or so that MGIC has really grasped that initiative of diversifying the workplace. Before that, (the company would tell employees), ‘We know that’s what you want, we hear your voice. We know we should be doing it,’ but within the last year, they’ve really buckled down and it’s really come from that support from the executive and management level as well. It’s really nice to see, especially for me, as an employee who has been here for quite a bit time to see that difference, not just hear about it, but to see what MGIC is doing.”
What does that look like in the company?
“The director of the marketing team is the first Latinx manager I have ever worked for in my life at any company, so I’m extremely happy to report up to him. We share that same background when it comes to our culture and we share the same language, so it’s so welcoming and so unique to actually have another person who is Hispanic be part of my department, my team. That makes a huge impact.
“The support that I’ve gotten is to actually create marketing materials and a new initiative where we focus on the Hispanic demographic. I’m leading that effort, so it’s wonderful to see a company that embraces and encourages you to actually focus on your own demographic, your own community. I’m 100% Hispanic and I’m Mexican 100%, so I know a thing or two about the community. That initiative and to have (the company’s) support means a lot — it makes me feel welcome.”
How does diversity within the company translate into how it conducts business?
“Our No. 1 mission and goal is to put more people into homes. We make homeownership possible. … Homeownership is the American dream for all; it’s all-inclusive.
“If we have knowledge from different backgrounds where we can make homeownership more accessible, for example, the Hispanic community, we can help our account managers help loan officers, who are working with the consumer one on one, understand the demographic better. That’s where MGIC sees a win-win. That’s where the diversity and different backgrounds come together and make homeownership accessible for everyone in the long run.”
