Established in 1817, BMO Financial Group is the eighth largest bank in North America by assets, which total $1.14 trillion. BMO is highly diversified, providing a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and global markets and investment banking products and services. Given its heritage—and current standing—BMO is proud to serve and fuel progress for more than twelve million personal, commercial, corporate, and institutional customers in North America and internationally. BMO champions a thriving economy, a sustainable future, and an inclusive society, as evidenced by its Purpose: to “Boldly Grow the Good in business and life.” Internally, the bank has been focused on enabling an inclusive culture. It launched its first “Task Force on the Advancement of Women” in 1991, which led to diversification initiatives that earned BMO its first Catalyst Award in 1994. Today, their Zero Barriers to Inclusion strategy focuses on creating a more just society for groups facing systemic barriers—both inside and outside the bank’s walls. BMO’s CEO Darryl White has said:

Our commitment to inclusion is unwavering. It extends beyond our doors to the customers and communities we serve. As we execute on our Zero Barriers to Inclusion 2025 strategy, we’re driving meaningful change for our employees, customers, and communities. We all have a role to play in building an inclusive society with zero barriers, and it begins where we work.

For customers, BMO is expanding financial inclusion for diverse clients through more inclusive banking products, services, and resources. They’re also focusing on meeting customers’ needs by addressing their unique expectations and experiences. One example is BMO becoming the first Canadian bank to launch Mastercard’s True Name™— empowering transgender and non-binary customers to use their preferred first name on their Mastercard. In the community, BMO builds strong relationships that foster social and racial justice, Truth and Reconciliation, and promote inclusive local economic opportunities. For its employees, the bank ensures an equitable employee experience, supporting inclusion and wellness as well as improving access to development and career advancement for colleagues facing systemic barriers. Across its workforce, BMO has also set specific representation goals. A few standout 2025 representation goals include women in 40-60% of global senior leadership roles (as of 2021, women comprise 41.2% of senior leaders), people of color in 31% of senior leadership roles in Canada and 30% in the US (currently at 24.2% and 24.5%, respectively). Additional workforce-wide benchmarks include greater representation of Canadian Indigenous employees (1.6%), as well as employees with disabilities (5-7%) and 2SLGBTQ+ employees in the US and Canada (3%). How does BMO plan to tackle these goals in just a few years? By leaning on what works. BMO has built a solid diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) operating model that’s led, prioritized, and championed from the top of the organization. BMO’s efforts are spearheaded by its Chief Inclusion Officer, Vanessa Lewerentz, and her team of dedicated professionals, and guided by its Leadership Committee for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, a consortium of 25+ senior executives who consult on enterprise strategic priorities and oversee progress toward DEI goals. These groups are augmented by Line of Business DEI Councils and supported by the 11 Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) that lead grassroots communities in building awareness and allyship, supporting recruitment and sponsorship efforts, and advising on strategic initiatives and best practices. BMO’s impressive advancement in DEI is largely owed to its intentional approach and committed leadership team, along with the bank’s support of building a robust employee resource program. At BMO, ERGs are regularly consulted as sounding boards and idea generators for the bank’s DEI initiatives. In return, BMO invests heavily in the growth and success of the ERG program and its members. Says CEO Darryl White:

BMO’s outstanding Employee Resource Groups support inclusivity by creating safe spaces for team members to expand their networks, discuss critical issues, and participate in meaningful programs that help eliminate barriers to inclusion. Mentorship, sponsorship, and championship are all driven from connections made in ERGs across our bank. Grounded in our Purpose–to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life–our ERGs are driving innovation and creating development opportunities for our people. They play a key role in fostering our award-winning, globally recognized culture.

It’s a synergistic relationship that leaders like Janie Cervera, Managing Director & Head of Client Field Services, US Wealth Management, and Global Co-Chair of the Latino Alliance ERG, hopes the next generation will use to their advantage from the start. She says, “One of the very first things I did (literally) upon returning to BMO after almost 20 years away was join an ERG, because I knew it would connect me to the organization on a personal level.” Cervera continues:

I credit part of the success in my career to the opportunities and exposure that resulted from my involvement in an ERG. Leading ERG initiatives gave me exposure to senior leaders outside my line of business, and allowed them to see my skills, passion, and leadership in action. That’s why it’s important to me that new employees understand the value they can receive, the value they can give, and the opportunities hard work can create through their participation in an ERG.

What began as an effort to maximize participation during the Covid-19 pandemic became a mission to digitize nearly every aspect of BMO’s ERG model, from learning and professional development presentations to mentorship programming to supporting employees with timely resources and information. To maintain engagement in a largely virtual setting, BMO experimented with new content formats, such as 15-minute micro-sessions and user-friendly apps like 10,000 Coffees, which uses an algorithm to pair mentors and mentees (the app is currently generating hundreds of matches each month). Critically, the bank revitalized both the awareness and understanding of its ERGs by integrating the program directly into the new-hire onboarding process. The Welcome to BMO ERG Pathway is an onboarding module that allows new hires to learn about—and choose to join—an ERG during their first week on the job at the organization. The results have been dramatic. Over the course of 18 months BMO nearly tripled its ERG membership numbers, from 6,000 in May of 2021 to almost 20,000 in November of 2022, which translates to a 43% participation rate among employees in North America. Through digital enablement and with a strong focus on providing equitable access, BMO’s ERG program provided virtual event delivery resulting in a 90% average increase in participation. BMO also gave its ERG members more of what they asked for: professional development training in hard and soft skills, and more opportunities for advancement. Active involvement provides the opportunity to learn new skills and move up the ranks faster than the typical career track might allow. For BMO, it’s also a way to build a diverse talent pipeline ready for advancement. What’s more, says Cervera, because of BMO’s federated model of governance—where ERG leaders like her have autonomy regarding how they act on strategic initiatives at the local level—ERGs can offer their members a variety of educational and professional development opportunities. She continues, “The Latino Alliance partnered with DePaul University in Chicago to sponsor a BMO MBA (Master of Business Administration Graduate Degree) cohort. We had more than 20 employees participate, and 100% graduated from the program with their MBAs.” Those who have benefited from programs like the MBA cohort also have plenty of opportunity to pay it forward. Says Cervera, “In Chicago, our ERG has sponsored private high school scholarships for more than five years to help students in underserved Latino communities.” Cervera shares her own experience of this cycle through her participation in EXCELerate—a sponsorship program where high-potential senior management-level employees receive high-touch sponsorship from executive leaders. She says:

I was selected to be a member of the inaugural EXCELerate cohort, received incredibly valuable hands-on sponsorship from a seasoned leader, and was successfully promoted to a more senior role. Now, I’m a sponsor in the program and have a protégé for whom I am helping open doors. I have no doubt my protégé will do the same.

Cervera feels strongly about the importance of working with her BMO colleagues to “Boldly Grow the Good in business and life,” despite the extra demands on her time. She says:

I want to be able to help the organization narrow the gap in minority representation at the most senior levels. BMO has made it possible for me to contribute to that in an environment where I feel safe sharing my ideas and concerns and empowered to take action to do what’s right for clients, colleagues, and the organization. Saying you support DEI is one thing, but having clear goals that are widely communicated, supported by the CEO, measured, and tracked for progress is true commitment. It’s amazing to see, as a minority employee, that your organization is making a difference.

Making a difference is part of BMO’s core values. The bank has been fine-tuning its efforts for decades and while it is understood that there is more work to do, it has only grown more motivated to help “Boldly Grow the Good in business and life” over time. To CEO Darryl White, there’s no room for equivocating: “There can be no middle ground on issues of inclusion. If we’re not a meaningful part of the change that must be made, then we’re part of the problem.” Humana, BMO and Baker McKenzie Are Aligning Actions to Values These are three of the most recent Spotlight Stories of the 70+ Catalyst CEO Champions For Cange organizations committed to advancing more women into leadership. Learn how all of these Champion CEOs accelerated change and measurably outpaced their industry peers by reading our latest report on their progress.

[su_button url="https://www.catalyst.org/reports/champions-for-change-2023/" style="text-align:left;" background="#f93e42" center="no" class="rebutton"]READ OUR CEO CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE REPORT HERE[/su_button]

BMO: Breaking Down Systemic Barriers to “Boldly Grow the Good in business and life"

This is Supporter-exclusive content.