The Department of Human Resources (DHR) and Gender Inclusion in the Workplace Team has been honored with the Innovation Award for People. This award, part of King County Executive’s Performance Excellence Awards, is one of the of five Innovation Awards highlighting department teams whose projects, improvements, and ingenuity deliver exceptional, measurable results. “We solve problems” and “We drive for results” are core values at King County, and these award recipients met challenges in creative and impactful ways.

King County employee engagement surveys found that gender diverse employees felt less engaged, less safe, less well-being, and less belonging compared to all employees. Watch the video to learn how DHR led a multi-pronged approach to bring about changes in policy, training, processes, and facilities to create a more respectful, supportive, and welcoming environment for gender expansive people. View the award announcement and watch the video here.