SIUE Alumna Grbac Receives STL Bizjournal Pride Award
The St. Louis Business Journal selected Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Business alumna Kim Grbac as a recipient of its 2021 Business of Pride Awards Outstanding Ally honor, which celebrates people who work to make the region a more inclusive place for the LGBTQIA+ community.
A St. Louis native, Grbac earned a bachelor’s in business administration from SIUE in 1990 and achieved a master’s in human resources from Washington University in St. Louis leading to a career in human resources. She is now director of benefits and compensation at Edward Jones.
In a story published on June 17, 2021, Grbac told Business Journal reporter Greg Edwards that her team is responsible for ensuring Edward Jones’ policies, procedures and benefits are inclusive. “As a general partner and HR leader, I am in a unique position to focus on a group that may not have the same visibility as other groups,” she said. “Working as the executive sponsor of the firm's 700-plus LGBT and Allies Business Resource Group for the past five years has been an honor and a joy. I am a committed ally and passionate supporter of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the largest LGBTQIA+ civil rights organization in the country. I am proud that Edward Jones has earned a perfect Corporate Equality Index score and been recognized as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQIA+ Equality for five years running.”
Grbac’s passion for advancing LGBTQIA+ equality and diversity comes from a personal place. “I have a niece, who has the most beautiful family now, a wife and two kids, but when she came out to me at 17, I knew then and there that her path to the life she has now was not going to be as easy as if she fell in love with a man versus a woman, and that just wasn’t fair.”
Grbac continued the interview with Edwards in the following Q&A:
SBJ: Why do you consider yourself an ally to the LGBTQIA+community?
Grbac: Beyond my personal reasons, I am in a unique position professionally to make an impact for this group. And I have to say, in my role, I’ve learned so much from the LGBT Business Resource Group. They’ve never hesitated to share their stories and advocate for what they need and deserve in terms of policies and benefits. So, when the opportunity came up that they needed an executive sponsor, I said, “Can I please be that?” I can remember having early conversations that just blew my mind about how they had to decide when they came into work on Monday morning, were they going to talk about their weekend or not? This is not how I want my colleagues at the firm to feel. They are as important as any other of our diverse groups.
SBJ: How can this generation of allies improve things for future LGBTQIA+ generations?
Grbac: Awareness is key. Always include the LGBTQIA+ community when you’re thinking about your inclusive workplace. The movement is newer. The legislation isn’t as advanced as the original anti-discrimination laws that are out there. So, one of the biggest contributions we can make as allies is to keep this population top of mind. At the same time, allies need to advocate for the needs of today’s LGBTQIA+ community. We recently put self-identification in place, because we knew it would be easier to advocate if we could see and understand the population. If we put in place policies, such as self-identification and transgender benefits, today, we create an inclusive workplace that attracts more members of the LGBTQIA+ community, increases awareness of this community, and creates an environment that is exponentially more welcoming for the LGBTQIA+ community of the future. Not to mention how much the firm will benefit from their diverse perspectives and experiences.
SBJ: What resources or services have you helped create for LGBTQIA+ employees at your company, and what kind of impact have they had?
Grbac: Working with the LGBT and Allies Business Resource Group, my team has successfully advanced initiatives making a tangible impact on the lives of our associates, including: a universal workplace non-discrimination policy that protects all employees on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression; domestic partner benefits; transgender inclusive healthcare and welfare benefits; LGBTQIA+ self-identification; LGBTQIA+ inclusive employee assistance programs; and financial support for adoption and equal parental leave benefits for all primary caregivers. We also annually participate in, and sponsor, the St. Louis and Tempe Pride parades. Our business resource groups are an important pipeline for hiring at the firm, and our LGBT Business Resource Group, in particular, has had great success with candidate referrals. I think that speaks volumes. If our current LGBTQIA+ population are recruiting other LGBTQIA+ candidates, then I think that we are making an impact on making the firm a place of belonging.
SIUE’s School of Business and the accountancy programs are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, representing the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide. The Princeton Review lists SIUE as one of the top 244 business schools in the U.S. for the 15th consecutive year. Undergraduate degrees are offered in accountancy and business administration, with specializations in computer management and information systems (CMIS), economics, entrepreneurship, finance, human resources, international business, management, and marketing. Graduate degrees include accountancy, business administration, CMIS and marketing research, with specializations in tax, project management and business analytics. More than 30,500 alumni have earned degrees from the SIUE School of Business.
Photo: SIUE School of Business alumna Kim Grbac, director of benefits and compensation at Edward Jones (courtesy Dilip Vishwanat, St. Louis Business Journal).
