Navigating the corporate landscape of any company can be challenging and is only made more difficult when employees are perceived as or feel different from others. As the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, CME Group embraces our employees' different experiences, backgrounds and ideas, intentionally working to ensure that all employees are recognized and valued for the unique perspectives they bring to our workplace.

In 2012, CME Group created its employee network program to foster a culture of inclusion. The employee network group program serves to reinforce and promote the CME Group culture and employee experience, while simultaneously creating awareness around each groups' shared interests, providing networking opportunities, attracting and retaining talent, and identifying new ways to support our business.

The first employee network group, WIN, was focused on women's interests. Since then, seven more employee groups have been established for and by employees. These groups serve as advocates for environmental sustainability, wellness, women, new hires, veterans, LGBTQ, Latinos and Blacks. The program is proudly supported by the company, with each ENG receiving corporate financial support and an executive sponsor.

CME Group currently has eight employee network groups with approximately 900 members across its global offices. In 2018, theCME Group employee network group program sponsored a combined 54 educational and networking events and 13 volunteer projects. A recent ENG Open House drew 400 attendees, spurring more employees to sign up as members of our current ENG groups and encouraging others to form new ones aligned with their individual experiences and needs.

Advocacy from the employee network groups has had a tangible impact on the business, including enhanced employee parental leave benefits, career coaching offerings and support of legislation promoting LGBTQ rights.

The program gained additional visibility and participation after CME Group's Chairman and CEO, Terry Duffy, hosted a fireside chat with ENG leaders at a 2018 all-employee meeting. It was one of our best reviewed sessions to date, with employees indicating how meaningful it was to have the company dedicate an entire all-hands meeting to highlight our ENGs and our commitment to diversity and inclusion initiatives overall.

Hilda Harris Piell, Chief Human Resources Officer