Best Practices for Sourcing Diverse Talent for Your Workplace
by Kaidia Pickels
D&I Committee Member
Editor’s Note: This blog is part of an ongoing series that highlights content featured in PRSA Pittsburgh’s Diversity & Inclusion Toolkit.
Across the PR industry, companies large and small have committed to making their workplaces more diverse and inclusive and are actively taking steps to attract a diverse set of talent. Research has shown that diverse and inclusive workplaces lead to higher revenue growth, more readiness to innovate and even higher employee retention. Great Place to Work, an authority on inclusive workplace culture, has extolled the value of diversity and inclusion at work not just as a competitive business advantage but as a core tenet of maintaining a functional work environment.
How can I bring more diverse talent into my workplace?
A key fact of inclusivity in the workplace is that having a diverse and inclusive workplace leads to an increased ability to recruit a diverse talent pool. Essentially, the more diverse and inclusive your workplace becomes, the more attractive it is to other candidates from diverse backgrounds.
However, if your workplace currently lacks diversity, getting started can seem difficult. Investing in inclusivity and bringing diverse talent to your company offers significant long-term benefits, but what about the short term?
One way to get started is by using PRSA Pittsburgh’s Diversity & Inclusion toolkit, which is an invaluable resource for companies looking to recruit diverse talent. Inside you’ll find a comprehensive list of diverse employee groups and professional networks from across the region, many of which offer job listing services, corporate sponsorships and even direct networking with talent from diverse backgrounds.
What are some associations for diverse talent sourcing and recruiting?
Women in the Workplace:
Organizations like iRelaunch, a return-to-work association, Lean In and Corporate Women Directors International support women in the workplace by advising corporations on ways to support and uplift women – especially in positions of leadership. The American Business Women’s Association offers paid job postings and a network of working women and women business owners.
Industry-specific member groups like the Association for Women in Science, the Society of Women Engineers and the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology offer additional support and advocacy for women in fields that are particularly lacking in gender diversity, such as science, technology and engineering. These organizations are great resources for creating corporate sponsorships and partnerships that lay the groundwork for gender diversity in STEM-related workplaces.
Talent from Minority Populations:
The Alliance for Board Diversity (ABD) and the National Diversity Council (NDC) are coalitions of diversity-focused groups that offer opportunities for corporate partnerships with diversity councils and referrals for aspiring women and minority board members. The Association of ERGs and Councils also offers its members top-tier resources and training for developing and maintaining a diverse workplace.
INROADS, Inc. and The PhD Project are organizations that support students from diverse backgrounds in pursuing professional opportunities and advanced degrees, which helps to create a more diverse future workforce. Both organizations provide opportunities for career placements and job postings.
African-American/Black Talent:
The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) and the Corporate Board Initiative (CBI) are two organizations that support Black executives and future leaders in the corporate world. Industry-specific organizations like the National Black MBA Association, the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and the Information Technology Senior Management Forum also work to increase the representation of Black professionals in their chosen fields.
The Black EOE Journal and the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) also support emerging Black professionals as jobseekers and students, investing in their career development and offering opportunities for networking at diversity-focused conferences across the country.
Hispanic/Latinx Talent:
The New America Alliance (NAA), the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement (HACE) and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute provide employers with opportunities to engage with and invest in developing future Latinx leaders in business, and the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR) represents nearly 50 million Hispanic professionals through its coalition of 14 member organizations that combine to create an unmatched national pool of Latinx talent.
Industry-specific groups like the Society of Hispanic Engineers (SHPE), Prospanica, and the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA) support Latinx talent in their chosen fields, and student organizations like the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities and the National Hispanic Institute (NHI) offer corporations the opportunity to invest in and network with the next generation of Latinx professionals.
Asian American and Pacific Islander Talent:
The Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc. (LEAP) and the National Association of Asian American Professionals are member organizations that both offer sponsorship opportunities for corporations and professional networking opportunities to connect with AAPI talent.
Asian Women in Business is a member organization that supports and offers visibility for Asian professional women and business leaders.
Native American Talent:
American Indian Business Leaders (AIBL) supports and promotes the education and development of future Native American leaders in business, and the American Indian College Fund distributes scholarships to indigenous students pursuing higher education. Both organizations provide opportunities to invest in future Native American professionals for a more diverse and inclusive workforce.
LGBTQ+ Talent:
Organizations like the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and Pride at Work are member organizations that support LGBTQ+ professionals in the workplace and advocate for inclusive work environments and opportunities for LGBTQ+ talent. Out and Equal offers executive leadership development for LGBTQ+ talent and maintains LGBT Career Link, a database of LGBT jobseekers.
Certain groups like Reaching Out MBA, which empowers LGBT MBA students, and the National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (NOGLSTP), which supports GLBT people employed in scientific or high technology fields, provide additional mentorship and sponsorship to talent in particularly underrepresented fields and can be a great way to network with LGBTQ+ candidates in those fields.
Individuals with Disabilities:
Career websites like Ability Jobs and Job Access and Disabled Person host job boards that companies can use to post job opportunities that welcome candidates with disabilities or to recruit disabled talent. Career and Job Resources for Disabilities American Job-Seekers also offers job listings for free.
The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) provides consulting services for employers that are looking for ways to accommodate and employ individuals with disabilities in the workplace as well as ADA compliance assistance.
Veterans:
Private-sector employers looking to hire career-ready veterans seeking jobs can work with Hero2Hire and RallyPoint to connect with candidates with military experience, and JOFDAV.com hosts a database of disabled veterans also looking for work.
Learn More & Take the PRSA Pittsburgh D&I Pledge
PRSA Pittsburgh encourages its members to access its Diversity & Inclusion Toolkit for more information on ways to cultivate diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Additionally, PRSA Pittsburgh’s D&I Committee is proud to present our D&I pledge to PRSA members. The intent of the pledge is to advance diversity and inclusion in the communications and PR profession. After taking the pledge, we hope employers spark hard conversations in their workplaces and begin to build a more diverse and inclusive environment, ultimately earning deeper trust and more commitment from their employees.
PRSA Pittsburgh encourages PRSA members to virtually sign and commit to our D&I pledge. We also encourage members to print out and share the pledge (PDF) with their colleagues and peers who may not have access to technology.
Communications and PR professionals of all identities and seniority levels are encouraged to inquire about joining our Diversity & Inclusion Committee at info@prsa-pgh.org.
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