Maximus (NYSE: MMS), a leading provider of government services worldwide, today announced results from a third-party racial equity audit finding that the company has made a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) throughout the organization and has taken concrete steps in its continuing evolution to support a diverse and inclusive workforce. The audit, conducted by Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (WilmerHale), noted Maximus’ progress in many areas and outlined several recommendations for the company to continue building upon its DE&I efforts.
In September 2022, Maximus announced it engaged WilmerHale to perform a racial equity audit. As part of the audit, WilmerHale assessed the company’s operations, policies, ongoing DE&I efforts, and public engagement through a racial equity lens. The audit built upon Maximus’ DE&I initiatives and commitment to racial equity and justice for all employees.
“Maximus has established a solid foundation for its efforts to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and opportunity within its workforce and continues to make progress toward advancing many initiatives that affect racial equity,” as the audit notes in its conclusion. “Despite the limited discretion that Maximus has in administering its government contracts, we found that Maximus has a strong commitment to promoting equity in the communities it serves.”
“WilmerHale’s report validates we have taken significant action to strengthen our company in areas where racial equity may be impacted, and while it acknowledges the hard work of the team, everyone at Maximus understands we are still on a journey to ensure a diverse, equitable, and inclusive company,” said Bruce Caswell, Maximus President and CEO. “We will not let up on our commitment to the importance of DE&I at Maximus and to strengthening our efforts in the areas recommended by this independent audit.”
Launched in 2020, the DE&I team is led by Dr. Arvenita W. Cherry, the company’s Vice President for DE&I and President and Chairperson of the Maximus Foundation. Dr. Cherry and her team developed the DE&I strategy to include a wide range of initiatives, such as conducting employee listening sessions, developing company-wide unconscious bias training and assessment for people managers, and launching Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). The strategy continues to expand and mature as evidenced by the company enabling all employees to attend DE&I-related activities and embedding DE&I principles into its talent acquisition efforts.
“Maximus has made incredible progress in recent years with DE&I, and we intend to continue our journey,” said Dr. Cherry. “We are proud that WilmerHale’s racial equity audit recognizes our efforts to date and appreciate their thoughtful recommendations to continue promoting DE&I at Maximus. We are committed to continuing our learning, measuring our progress, and, most importantly, listening to our employees. We are grateful for the contributions of many to this audit, the important findings, and what we have learned.”
The audit can be found here: maximus.com/racial-equity-audit.
About Maximus
As a leading strategic partner to governments across the globe, Maximus helps improve the delivery of public services amid complex technology, health, economic, environmental, and social challenges. With a deep understanding of program service delivery, acute insights that achieve operational excellence, and an extensive awareness of the needs of the people being served, our employees advance the critical missions of our partners. Maximus delivers innovative business process management, impactful consulting services, and technology solutions that provide improved outcomes for the public and higher levels of productivity and efficiency of government-sponsored programs. For more information, visit maximus.com.
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