The Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce recently announced the recipients of its 2023 Business Awards, which recognize businesses and individuals working to build a stronger LGBTQ and allied business community.
Kohler Company, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of kitchen and bath products, was named Corporate Partner of the Year during the chamber’s 11th annual awards event in Milwaukee last October.
“Our Corporate Partner of the Year is one of our most prestigious awards. It goes to a partner exemplifying diversity and inclusion not only within the workplace but in the broader business community as a whole,” says Jason Rae, president & CEO of the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce. “We work to find businesses that are actively engaged, supporting their employees, working to support diverse businesses in their supply chain and being active participants in the community at large.”
Rae says Kohler Co. has been an active chamber partner since 2017 and has consistently shown a commitment to diversity and inclusion by seeking out LGBTQ-owned businesses in its corporate supply chain and through its supplier diversity program.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index gave Kohler the Equality 100 Award for its work on initiatives such as anti-discrimination policies, development training, and expanded benefits for same-sex spouses, the transgender community and family formation.
“Kohler Company really stood out to the award selection committee as a testament to how companies can promote a more welcoming and inclusive business community, starting with their Kohler PROUD Business Resource Group (BRG),” Rae says. “We work with about 55 BRGs across the state, and Kohler PROUD is one of the most active that we work with — always showing up and engaging.”
In 2022, more than 1,500 Kohler associates took part in the company’s 11 BRGs. Kohler PROUD was established in 2017 with about 100 members and works to identify opportunities for LGBTQIA+ representation.
A.J. Hubbard is the vice president of diversity, equity & inclusion at Kohler Co. He was brought into the newly-created executive role in 2022 to strengthen Kohler’s focus around DEI. He says the company’s BRGs like Kohler PROUD play an instrumental role in advancing corporate policies and practices related to workplace equality.
“BRGs are huge to us in terms of helping us drive engagement, retention and a sense of connection,” he says. “They’ve been instrumental in helping us get things like policy benefits created — things that we weren’t necessarily paying attention to or, if we were paying attention, we weren’t moving fast enough [on]. Their voices helped move some things across the goal line much quicker.”
One of those things has been enhancing the company’s employee insurance benefits. As of Jan. 1, 2022, Kohler added gender-affirming medical care and domestic partner coverage to its benefits package.
Hubbard says Kohler’s commitment to diversity extends beyond its walls and reaches into the community as well. Last year Kohler PROUD partnered with the company’s KOHLER Original Recipe Chocolates division to develop a limited-edition collection of rainbow chocolates during June Pride Month. Proceeds from every purchase were donated to PFLAG, an organization dedicated to helping build a safer and more inclusive environment for allies and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
“I think the ‘give back’ is an expectation now from associates coming into any organization. Kohler’s really interested in providing that economic impact to these communities to lift them up and that happens through some of the work our BRGs are doing,” Hubbard says.
Equity and inclusion can be found in all aspects of Kohler culture, including in its products. Kohler’s I-Prize, which is part of the company’s Innovation for Good incubator program, invites associates to take part in a “Shark Tank” style event, pitching new product ideas that address global, social and environmental issues. In 2020, members of Kohler PROUD proposed a gender-neutral “menstruation station” that advanced to the finals and is now under development.
Hubbard says the “seed of innovation is diversity of thought.” For Kohler Co. to succeed as a business, he says, it’s critical to amplify diverse voices.
“This is not a fad for us. This is who we are,” he says. “One brick at a time, we’re putting in the strongest foundation we possibly can. And we’re going to keep doing the work.”
