NMI’s response to social justice

[Editor's Note: The text below was adapted from an internal communication that was sent to all NMI employees]

Along with all of you, I have been following the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd - and the resulting social unrest across the United States.

We are all deeply hurt by these events. It seems that we are going from one crisis to another, yet these events are no doubt linked. The coronavirus has led to massive health and economic losses, which has exposed social inequities that have simmered under the surface for decades but have been masked by flush economic growth. That, coupled with centuries of systemic and institutionalized racism in the US, and frankly globally, has caused tensions to boil over.

In the past, we tried to separate “work life” from “home life” and tended not to discuss moral or political issues in the corporate world, but what we are seeing before us, and have been seeing for years, is a blatant disrespect for life in some of our most marginalized communities. And that is unconscionable. As such we must take a stand - as a Leadership Team and company, we state here that we abhor racism in any and all forms. We have not and do not tolerate racism or acts of hate at NMI or in the communities where we live.

Many of our employees have been feeling emotional distress as a result of these events. We have communicated with our employees that they have our unwavering support to prioritize their mental and physical well-being above all else. We have plans to further address these current events company-wide later this week.

Our Leadership and People Teams have made themselves available to anyone who wants to talk in a trusted environment about what they are feeling and how it might affect their lives at home and/or at work. We have also cultivated a community internally that allows employees to openly communicate these issues, seek support, grieve and express themselves. In addition to that, we are looking into how we can support this cause outside of our company.

I wanted to leave you all with some powerful words from Barack Obama’s post on Medium from earlier this week. “I recognize that these past few months have been hard and dispiriting — that the fear, sorrow, uncertainty, and hardship of a pandemic have been compounded by tragic reminders that prejudice and inequality still shape so much of American life. But watching the heightened activism of young people in recent weeks, of every race and every station, makes me hopeful. If, going forward, we can channel our justifiable anger into peaceful, sustained, and effective action, then this moment can be a real turning point in our nation’s long journey to live up to our highest ideals.”

Together we stand. Together we show our support and allyship.

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