As a senior human resources manager with the IGM Financial Inc. group of companies, Fatoumata Camara is doing work that both calls upon and sustains her passion for advancing a more equitable society.

“Contributing to positive change keeps me motivated and inspired,” says Camara, who’s been promoted five times since she was hired in Montréal in 2014. “Everyone deserves to feel safe and valued in spaces that are inclusive and respectful.”

Her words reflect her personal philosophy and IGM’s guiding principle to embed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) throughout the organization, which includes Mackenzie Investments and IG Wealth Management.

Camara is directly involved in planning and executing DEI initiatives. Her responsibilities also include supporting and advising regional leaders on DEI-related workplace issues, from how to have difficult conversations to identifying and removing barriers to inclusion.

An award-winning community organizer, Camara is also on the leadership team for the Black business resource group (Black BRG) for all IGM companies. It’s one of seven such BRGs, employee -led volunteer groups that take an active role in advancing IGM’s commitment to DEI.

Engaging people at the grassroots level is just one of the ways IGM is applying a DEI lens to all its activities. Indeed, the organization has a comprehensive range of policies and practices relating to everything from setting and evaluating strategies to career and succession planning.

And everyone – from the executive suite, where a DEI Council sets the tone, to outside vendors and suppliers expected to meet certain standards – is covered.

Chief human resources officer Cynthia Currie says IGM focuses on those areas where, as a wealth and asset management company, it can have the greatest impact.

To that end, IGM has set specific targets for increasing representation from under-represented groups, including the number of women executives, Black executives, and Indigenous employees and interns.

It’s one of the reasons IGM works with a variety of non-profit organizations committed to serving and creating opportunities for diverse communities. “We have formed a number of key partnerships,” Currie says. “They’re helping us a lot and expanding our reach.”

In Winnipeg, for example, IG Wealth Management is refocusing community investments from pure sponsorship to supporting education and career path development to enhance financial well-being among Indigenous and newcomer students. This includes multiyear partnership agreements with Pathways to Education Winnipeg and Red River College Polytech that will provide a variety of educational supports, including tutoring, mentorships, scholarships and internships.

Feedback from surveys indicates these measures are working. Employees are more satisfied and engaged with IGM’s DEI initiatives each year, Currie says. Other data shows that membership in the BRGs has increased 300 per cent since 2022.

That growth took place when IGM expanded the charters of BRGs, similar to employee resource groups at many other organizations. Created to foster DEI, the BRGs are closely aligned with IGM’s business strategy and goals.

That includes programs and initiatives that are mainly focused on career development, mentoring and networking for DEI impact. Camara, for example, was part of a pilot project to create a Black mentorship program where she was responsible for recruiting mentors and mentees and has also played a role in helping increase retention rates. “There are real business requirements and needs the BRGs can help solve,” Currie says, adding that the BRGs are also intended to help their members develop leadership skills, grow in confidence and be successful.

That’s been the case for Camara, who says serving as a member of the Black BRG’s leadership team has helped her professionally. “I’ve developed management skills that have helped me become a well-rounded leader,” she says. “I see all kinds of possibilities to continue to learn and grow.”

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Advertising feature produced by Canada’s Top 100 Employers, a division of Mediacorp Canada Inc. The Globe and Mail’s editorial department was not involved.