Enhancements to the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s gender affirmation coverage is the latest way the bank is supporting LGBTQ2S+ employees during Pride Month and beyond.

The expanded coverage was added to the organization’s benefits program last month and includes reimbursement for specific gender transition surgeries and procedures up to $10,000 per year, up to a lifetime maximum of $25,000.

Read: CIBC offering gender affirmation coverage, enhancing fertility benefits, paid parental leave

“We really want to make sure we’re looking at our benefits through an inclusive lens so all of our employees can bring their whole self to work and achieve their full potential as part of our team,” says Jackie Goldman, senior vice-president of rewards, recognition and performance at CIBC. “So introducing gender affirmation benefits was absolutely an important part of this.”

The bank is also a founding partner of Pride at Work Canada, an organization dedicated to creating inclusive workplaces for all employees. “The focus of our well-being strategy is, first and foremost, taking care of our team members,” she says. “Currently, three per cent of the CIBC workforce and three per cent of board-approved executives identify as members of the LGBTQ2S+ community. So it’s very important in terms of the time of year and what it is that we’re celebrating.”

Read: Pride Month: TD taking intersectional approach to supporting LGBTQ2S+ employees

Goldman also notes diversity, equity and inclusion are at the core of CIBC’s workplace culture. Its team is equipped to practice intentional inclusion, disrupt microaggressions and promote reconciliation. The bank’s Canadian DEI targets include an eight per cent minimum of external hires of people with disabilities and a five per cent minimum of student recruitment from the Black community.

Its global DEI targets include 35 to 40 per cent women, 22 per cent visible minorities in global board-approved executive roles by 2022, as well as a four per cent minimum of leaders from the Black community in board-approved executive roles by 2023.

“We are in the people business and well-being has to be a priority for our employees in order for them to perform at their best,” says Goldman. “If we enable our people to be their best self then that helps them, it helps our bank and it helps our clients succeed.”

Read: Connecting DEI initiatives to employees’ mental well-being