In response to a shareholder proposal at our 2022 annual meeting, Maximus engaged Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (WilmerHale) to conduct a racial equity audit. This initiative, receiving strong support from our shareholders, was an opportunity to critically examine our company's impacts on non-White stakeholders and Communities of Color, and to broaden our perspective on racial equity.
Spanning more than one year, the audit involved numerous interviews and a thorough review of hundreds of documents. This deep dive allowed us to go beyond the initial shareholder proposal, exploring a wider range of topics that impact racial equity.
This audit helped spur meaningful conversations about what more we can do in addition to the intentional work that was already underway. The WilmerHale team has highlighted ways we can better engage our employees on topics of racial equity at every level of our organization.
We are proud to share key findings from this in-depth audit:
- We have implemented a variety of programs and initiatives to foster connection among our employees, provide professional development opportunities, and promote fair and equitable talent acquisition and talent management practices.
- We are committed to delivering high-quality services to our customers, many of whom live in underserved communities.
- We have created an infrastructure to leverage the support of leaders across the business and to obtain employee input regarding DE&I issues.
- We are committed to fostering an open and inclusive work environment and strive to understand and respond to employees’ concerns.
- We are increasing the impact of our philanthropic efforts on underserved communities through strategic changes to the Maximus Foundation.
Maximus has made tremendous strides in our DE&I journey that centers on racial and gender equity, but we also know this journey is ongoing. There are opportunities in areas where we need more maturity and intentionality. We are committed to staying the course and will continue to learn, collect and review data, and, most importantly, listen to our employees.
The recommendations will be implemented using the same processes and strong governance that have made our programs successful thus far. Given the cross-functional nature of the work to be done, support will be provided by various corporate and operations teams throughout the organization, with periodic reporting to leadership and the Board of Directors.