Blue Shield of California is thrilled to announce that Mary O’Hara, chief human resources officer & senior vice president of Internal Communications, has been recognized as one of Out & Equal's 2018 Champions.
The Champion Award recognizes any lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender person or ally who has made a significant contribution to advancing equality in their workplace. Awardees have shown a unique commitment to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workplace rights and have used their talents to further that cause, even at some risk. O'Hara was recognized at the Momentum Gala, hosted by Out & Equal, in San Francisco on March 29.
O’Hara was nominated by Pride for helping Blue Shield be a proud supporter of the LQBTQ community by creating an environment where everyone feels safe, welcome and free to be their authentic selves. Her work in celebrating diversity in the work environment exemplifies the behavior needed in California and around the world.
And as we look to the future, so do O’Hara’s goals for inclusion. She hopes employee groups, like Pride, help make strides to become more aware of how diversity enhances progress in the workplace. O’Hara elaborated, “We have an ambitious mission at Blue Shield and to achieve it, we need people of all backgrounds, with diverse experiences. This can only happen if each of us feels safe, welcome and free to be our authentic selves in the workplace. Our employee resource groups, like Pride, allow us to hear from all of our people about ways to continuously learn and make Blue Shield a great place to work for everyone.”
This honor is a great addition to Blue Shield's Out & Equal legacy where in 2016, Mick Murray, senior vice president and chief financial officer and inaugural Pride executive sponsor, received the organization’s Outstanding Allies Award. In addition to individual leaders at Blue Shield receiving recognition from Out & Equal, the Company was recognized as a 2017 Best Place to Work for LGBTQ employees by the Human Rights Campaign.