Maura Weir
Corporate Responsibility #2
11/25/13
“At GM, we view diversity as a critical business imperative that in the long-term will benefit each of us, and all of us. We drive diversity throughout our organization by focusing on five areas:
Customers
We have customers around the world, our vehicles are sold in more than 120 countries. Our customers have diverse wants and needs when it comes to their vehicle. Our diverse workforce, supplier base and dealer network give us the insight we need to exceed our customers' needs. We listen to our customers, appreciate their differences, and leverage our collective diversity to continually evolve the world of transportation. Our relationship with customers is critical to our mission of designing, building and selling the world's best vehicles.
Employees
GM recognizes that diversity in the workplace is all about creating an inclusive Workplace of Choice that welcomes and enables all employees to perform at their highest potential toward achieving GM's business objectives and each individual’s professional goals. We invest in educating and training our employees on the importance of diversity as a business and cultural imperative. It’s important that all employees feel included and have a voice in shaping the quality of work life at GM. We sponsor 12 different employee resource groups that serve as a vital communications link between senior leadership and the ideas and thoughts of employees from various backgrounds and experiences, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, national origins and generations. Most importantly, we engage all of our team members in helping to design, build and sell the world's best vehicles. We recognize that people are truly our greatest asset and we will only be successful when our employees are able to freely be themselves and perform at their highest capabilities inside GM and within the community.
Communities
GM and the GM Foundationsupport diversity and community organizations in various ways including sponsorships and participation in events. In addition, since its inception in 1976, the GM Foundation has helped support American charities, educational organizations and to disaster relief efforts worldwide. The GM Foundation puts an emphasis on diversity in supporting Education, Health and Human Services, Environment and Energy, and Community Development initiatives mainly in the communities where GM operates.
Dealers
GM Dealer Development is the umbrella organization supporting GM's diverse dealer network. Its mission is to create a profitable dealer network across all GM brands that reflects consumer diversity in the United States. The GM Dealer Development organization supports three specific programs:

Minority Dealer Development (MDD) was launched in 1972 and was the first program of its kind in the automotive industry. Its focus is on developing, building and retaining a profitable minority dealer network in the United States. Consistent with the US government designation of underrepresented groups, African American, Asian, Hispanic and Native American dealers are eligible to participate in the program.” (General Motors Website).
The board of directors