Lansing, Mich. – Today, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) held the first annual Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Summit called ‘Empowering Women at MDARD.’ This equity summit focuses on empowering, supporting, and strengthening the development of women within MDARD.
“The State of Michigan has been a model of justice for women, under the courageous leadership of Governor Whitmer,” said Director Boring. Breaking down barriers for MDARD women to lead the work of state food and agriculture government in Michigan is critical to greater empowerment across agriculture. These ongoing conversations about gender biases, equal opportunities, and mentoring are investments in our people and our industry.”
Sessions held at the summit included the ‘Women Supporting Women’ panel on how to deal with safety issues, proper documentation and how best to follow up on issues, using allyship to promote justice, learning, and using key verb phrases to combat aggression, resilience awareness. , and defensive tactics.
The ‘Empowering Women at MDARD’ Summit is part of DEI’s many efforts at MDARD; additional activities are regularly held to address various topics affecting the MDARD workforce.
###
