When framing the Michaels’ Inclusion and Diversity Statement, we found inspiration in one of our most beloved colleagues, Jackie Jones. Jackie started working for Michaels in 1981 as a property manager at one of our affordable communities. Jackie was a pioneer and an innovator, a glass-ceiling-shattering and boundary-breaking leader, mentor, and role model, who was foundational to our mission of Lifting Lives. She created our first social services programs, which became a model for many of the programs HUD eventually introduced. And, the Department she established and led for Michaels Management later became the catalyst for Better Tomorrows, our nonprofit partner for supportive services.
Like many Civil Rights icons, Jackie was an ordained minister, whose commitment to service, community building, and equality in education, economic opportunity, justice, and individual empowerment, came from a deeply spiritual and righteous place. Jackie believed in “Seeking the Highest Ground,” and she was always pushing others to do the same. Jackie was a leader at Michaels for some 28 years, before passing away from cancer in 2007; and she still remains an inspiration to all of us who knew her.
Everyday we strive to make our workplace an environment that celebrates our differences and embraces diversity, whether that’s at the site or corporate level. We’ve implemented a variety of initiatives designed with a focus on education, outreach and togetherness. Below is the list of actions Michaels is taking so we can Lift Lives to the very best of our ability without excluding anyone. To learn how Michaels is making the workplace more inclusive and equitable for every teammate, click here and see below.
- Provide diversity and inclusion training to managers and employees.
- Focus on diversity sourcing strategies to proactively attract, engage, assess and hire diverse talent to drive business success.
- Build internal and external relationships while providing mentoring.
- Participate in community events and boards.
- Ensure we have a robust vendor/supplier diversity program that drives the use of historically underutilized businesses as well as minority, women, veteran, LGBT and service disabled veteran owned.
- Celebrate diversity across employees, customers, and communities.
