Blue Fox CEO Chantal Sheehan Joins Equality Florida’s Equality Means Business Advisory Council

READ: Her Statement on the Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace

Our team at Blue Fox is proud to announce that our CEO, Chantal Sheehan, is now one of the 150+ Florida business members of Equality Florida’s Equality Means Business Advisory Council.

Equality Florida is the largest civil rights organization in Florida dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s LGBT community. One of the organization’s focuses is to improve Florida’s national and international reputation as an inclusive place to live, work, and visit. To meet their goal, they established Equality Means Business. This program spotlights employers in Florida that have adopted comprehensive
non-discrimination policies and demonstrated their commitment to valuing and proactively including all employees.

For her council application, Chantal was asked to write a statement about the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Here is what she wrote: 

“Whether or not we realize (or accept) it, the concepts of equity and inclusion are relevant to everyone. DEI work is about recognizing that our unique individual circumstances factor into our ability to succeed. True equality cannot be attained without addressing any limiting factors within those circumstances.

Over 15 years ago, I learned about the DEI framework in my master’s program at SIT Graduate Institute. It was personally and professionally transformational to unpack my social identity and study the concepts of privilege. It was also crazy hard work. But advancing equity and inclusion in our community demands courage and an individual commitment to that work. Change starts within.

I was recently honored to serve the folx living and working on Florida’s Space Coast on the Melbourne Regional Chamber’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. (And if you think "folx" is a typo, think again.) Our committee seeks to educate and support the advancement of DEI in business so that Space Coast industries, residents, and visitors of all walks of life feel respected, honored, seen, welcomed, and understood.
 
DEI is about creating an on-ramp to success for every individual, regardless of circumstance. I strongly believe every leader has a moral and spiritual obligation to have an inclusive mindset. Beyond that imperative, though, study after study shows that companies and communities that embrace inclusion see dramatic increases in innovation, worker satisfaction and retention, growth, and profits. As a business and community leader, and as a human who cares about other humans, commitment to equity and inclusivity is quite simply the best investment in my community that I could ever make.” 

​In addition to their advisory council, Blue Fox became listed on Equality Florida’s Open Doors Florida Pro-Equality Business Directory as a business that supports equality in Florida.

Open Doors Florida is a mobile-friendly statewide business directory that spotlights merchants, faith organizations, and other companies that have implemented LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination in their policies and practices of running their businesses.

Our team encourages you to browse the directory and work with these businesses and business owners that embrace belonging, fairness, and equal opportunity for their employees and customers!
 
We look forward to a time when we don’t need a directory to help us provide equity to all humans. To get there, we must all do our part and continue to break down barriers to inclusion in whatever ways we can.