Pride Lives Here: BMO Celebrates LGBTQ2+ Community Across North America

TORONTO and CHICAGO, June 9, 2021 /CNW/ - To mark Pride Month, BMO Financial Group is reaffirming its commitment to listening to, learning from and celebrating the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and two-spirited (LGBTQ2+) community through initiatives designed to eliminate barriers to inclusion. As a proud supporter of Pride for more than two decades, BMO is celebrating and sponsoring events in communities across North America – including the 25th annual pride & remembrance run in Canada – in addition to launching BMO Pride's new Road to Allyship Training Program for employees and establishing a five-year workforce representation goal of 3 per cent for LGBTQ2+ employees.

"At BMO, our Purpose to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life is the driving force behind creating a more inclusive and barrier free society that celebrates the everyday moments of the people who stand up and say 'Pride lives in me,'" said Mona Malone, Head of People & Culture and Chief Human Resources Officer, BMO Financial Group. "We are dedicated to fostering an environment of belonging, where all employees and customers are valued, respected and heard. Allies play an invaluable role in driving inclusion though support and advocacy, and by creating open and safe surroundings for all."

BMO Pride in Action

BMO, as part of its Purpose, remains focused on accelerating positive change and eliminating barriers to inclusion. The bank's ongoing support for the LGBTQ2+ community includes community and customer-focused initiatives, such as:

• Supporting and sponsoring Pride events across North America including Blackhawks Pride Night, Chicago Bulls Pride Night, CANFAR, Maison du Parc, and The519.
• Sponsoring the Pride and Remembrance Association's annual pride and remembrance run in Canada, which BMO has been a proud sponsor of since its inception in 1996. For this year's first-ever virtual run, BMO will partner with three Canadian drag queen content creators to produce Spotify playlists for participants.
• Throughout the month of June, BMO is running a comprehensive social media and marketing campaign, Pride Lives Here, featured in branches across North America to showcase the everyday moments where Pride lives for customers and employees.
• In December 2019, BMO Harris Bank was the first bank to issue the True Name™debit card, which allows customers to use their chosen name on the front of their cards, without the requirement of a legal name change. In June 2020, BMO expanded the availability of Mastercard's True Name feature to additional payment card types.

BMO Pride in the Workplace

• As part of the bank's Zero Barriers to Inclusion 2025 strategy BMO has set a five-year workforce representation goal of 3 per cent for LGBTQ2+ employees. This commitment will ensure equitable opportunity, improving access to development and career advancement.
• The launch of BMO Pride's new Road to Allyship Training Program, which provides employees with steps and resources to help them strengthen their ability to be committed and supportive allies of their LGBTQ2+ colleagues and customers.
• For the fourth consecutive year, BMO Harris Bank was recognized by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) for being an industry leader in championing diversity and inclusion, earning a perfect score on its 2021 Corporate Equality Index (CEI). BMO was also named a 2021 Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality.
• As part of its expanded focus on employee education, mentorship, executive sponsorship, and talent acquisition, BMO continues to expand its Gender Pronoun Initiative to branches across Canada and encourages employees to state their pronouns in their email signatures across communication channels internally and externally.
• Comprised of more than 1,600 employees in Canada and the U.S, BMO's Pride Enterprise Resource group continues to drive awareness, encourage conversation, foster personal and professional growth opportunities, and promotes an equitable and inclusive environment for all.

For more information on BMO's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion commitments, visit: https://our-impact.bmo.com.

About BMO Financial Group
Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider - the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of $950 billion as of April 30, 2021, and a team of diverse and highly engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group

For News Media Inquiries: Natasha Boeck, BMO Financial Group, Toronto, [email protected], [phone]