Nearly half of the about 500 group leaders GM has hired over the past several months are part of underrepresented categories, which GM defines as women and Black, indigenous and people of color.
The strategy is part of GM’s mission to become the most inclusive company in the world. GM’s new diversity, equity and inclusion team is leading the effort.
GM has three pillars for its work force strategy, Golden said:
1. DE&I consulting integration, which helps the company develop inclusive leaders.
2. Work force innovation, which examines work streams that affect the employee experience and aims to eliminate biases that could impact that experience.
3. Work force design, which focuses on creating pathways into the company beyond four-year degrees.
Skills-based hiring falls under the work force design pillar, and Golden has prioritized the practice over the course of her three decades at GM. On GM’s DE&I team, which she started in May 2021, she’s able to formalize the method and integrate it across GM’s broader recruitment strategy.
GM hired Golden in its human resources department more than 30 years ago, but Golden spent most of her career in manufacturing, as a plant director for Flint Engine Operations and Warren Transmission, for example.