Employers in six communities in Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas announced a series of new commitments to address and promote inclusion and belonging in the workplace for young employees of color. These commitments are the culmination of a unique collaboration supported by America’s Promise Alliance, known as Action Roundtables, between employers, nonprofit partners, and young workers in each community.
As part of the Action Roundtables, 18 employers and more than two dozen young professionals ages 17-26 in the six regions worked together within their communities to co-create and co-design both short- and long-term steps employers will take to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
The objective of the Action Roundtables was to center the perspectives of young workers of color, who are often excluded from employers’ decision-making, and improve inclusion in the workplace. Over the course of several months, each community partner facilitated a series of virtual convenings between young workers and area employers on race, identity, and belonging in the workplace. Young professionals of color shared their experiences navigating the workplace and helped employers identify areas for growth.
Following are some of the projects being pursued:
- Formation of EMBRACE Milledgeville, a training awareness path designed to explore issues of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with employees and the community.
- Development of a 13- week paid internship program for youth of color, expanding an immersive workplace experience with young professionals.
- Implementation of an outreach plan to area high schools and Boys and Girls Clubs in the counties of KAG sites, nationally, to engage and expose top young diverse talent to KAG.
- Elevation of onboarding practices to improve belonging at the onset of employment.
- Creation of a series of informal Coffee Hour conversations with Premont teachers and Grow Your Own students to ask questions, break down barriers, and build community.
- Improvement of diverse recruitment efforts via an event co-hosted with The Pittsburgh Promise at the University of Pittsburgh to share TFS career opportunities with current college students.
- Changes to hiring policies and practices to increase diversity including conducting a diversity hiring audit and increasing diversity in candidate sourcing, screening, and shortlisting.
- Definition of a clear, detailed road map for advancement for a variety of entry-level positions.
For more, see: https://www.americaspromise.org/press-release/employers-six-communities-announce-youth-designed-actions-promote-diversity-and
