How Businesses Can Recruit and Develop More Young People of Color
Dr. Angela Jackson—New Profit Partner and Lead of the Future of Work—outlines three steps employers can take to build an equitable, diverse workforce.
As we engage in conversations about recovery and reopening during the pandemic, many higher education institutions and employers are being forced to rethink long-standing practices that have resulted in Covid-19 having a disproportionate impact on youth of color... Now is the time for us to build equitable systems that meet the needs of all young people.
In her recent Harvard Business Review article, Dr. Angela Jackson outlines and examines in detail three steps companies can take to build a diverse workforce: start professional development early, increase access to technology, and improve hiring practices.
She defends the notion that diversity and innovation are linked. Research shows that teams that bring together individuals with varied background and experience innovate at higher levels than homogenous ones—and thus are more likely to financially perform better. Challenging biases and supporting diverse talent is beneficial to companies; doing so builds the equitable society that our world thrives upon.
If young people of color continue to be overburdened with debt and are not provided with a fair chance to gain the skills they need to pursue their interests, companies and communities will lose out on their talent, passions, and contributions. Supporting young people and their aspirations can build the inclusive economy that our nation needs.
Dr. Jackson mentions several New Profit grantee partners who play central roles in the ensuring college graduation and career advancement for communities of color:
- CodePath.org: In partnership with major tech employers like Facebook and Google, Codepath.org creates open-source computer science courses targeted specifically to underrepresented students. Courses are cutting-edge and applicable to the ever-changing technology industry, which include curriculum in cybersecurity and mobile app development.
- Braven: In partnership with universities and employers, Braven uses a scalable coaching and fellowship model backed by technology to bridge the education to employment gap for first generation college students. Read more about Founder and CEO Aimée Eubanks Davis here.
- Beyond 12: Through a digital coaching platform that combines college coaches who work with students virtually, a campus-customized mobile app called MyCoach, and an AI-powered analytics engine, Beyond 12 works to significantly increase the number of historically under-represented students who graduate from college and who translate their degrees into meaningful employment and choice-filled lives. Read about our recent $1 million investment in Beyond 12 here.
- The Equity Lab: By engaging organizations in issues of race, equity, diversity, and inclusion, The Equity Lab seeks to disrupt racial and ethnic inequities. They offers two core programs, The Nexus Fellowship and Seeding Disruption, as well as long-term engagements to empower partners to become agents of progress in their personal and professional spheres. Their goal is to create anti-racist citizenry that seek to eradicate oppressive systems and create a more humane society. To read more about Founder and CEO Michelle Molitor, click here.
For further reading on diversity, equity, and inclusion, check out our Inclusive Impact Campaign — a learning journey for our network and beyond on how we define Inclusive Impact, how we believe philanthropy and our country need to change to meet the challenges of the moment, and what work needs to be done by all of us to get there together.
Additionally, read Tulaine Montgomery’s recent essay “This Data Should Change Philanthropy Forever” to understand New Profit’s foundational belief—that proximity is expertise—and our goals in creating an equitable future in philanthropy.