Second year in a row CIBC has been awarded the honour

TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2012 /CNW/ - CIBC (TSX: CM) (NYSE: CM) - CIBC has been recognized as one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers for 2012. This is the second consecutive year CIBC has received the honour, which recognizes employers who have exceptional workplace diversity and inclusiveness programs.

"At CIBC, we strongly believe that a workplace that values and includes individual differences enhances our effectiveness as a bank," said Jackie Moss, Executive Vice-President, Human Resources. "The unique skills and experiences that our employees bring to the team at CIBC translate into how we help our clients achieve what matters to them each and every day."

Canada's Best Diversity Employers recognizes employers who have exceptional workplace diversity and inclusiveness programs for women, members of visible minorities, persons with disabilities, Aboriginal peoples, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender/transsexual (LGBT) peoples.

CIBC is committed to providing a fair and inclusive work environment and was recognized for the following initiatives and programs.

• Hosts an annual Diversity Congress to present CIBC's employment equity and diversity plan to key stakeholders.
• Organizes a month-long celebration of diversity and inclusion across all of the bank's operations.
• Provides employees with internal support through eight Employee Affinity Networks, which provide a forum for groups, such as the Asian employee network, Black employee network, and a Pride network for LGBT employees to build professional connections, share common interests and receive mentoring. The Employee Affinity Networks recently introduced a collaborative mentoring program across all affinity groups to match employees with members of different networks.
• Participates in career events and conferences hosted by community organizations such as Skills for Change and JVS Toronto.

CIBC is also proud of many of its other diversity initiatives including:

• CIBC's online People Manager Diversity Toolkit, which is designed to help managers incorporate diversity into their daily activities and provide them with an array of useful diversity-related materials and information to foster an inclusive workplace.
• CIBC's careers website, which provides job streams for candidates from various walks of life to help them learn about resources and placement opportunities so they can find their ideal role.
• CIBC's Workplace Accommodation program which provides people managers with accommodation guidelines and the support of a full-time program manager who consults on accommodation requests.

CIBC has also been recognized as one of Canada's Most Admired Corporate Cultures, one of Canada's Best Employers for New Canadians for four consecutive years, and one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers.

Canada's Best Diversity Employers are selected by editors at Mediacorp Canada Inc., with assistance from specialists at TWI Inc., a diversity consulting firm.

About CIBC

CIBC is a leading North American financial institution with nearly 11 million personal banking and business clients. CIBC offers a full range of products and services through its comprehensive electronic banking network, branches and offices across Canada, and has offices in the United States and around the world. You can find other news releases and information about CIBC in our Press Centre on our corporate website at www.cibc.com.