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Why Employers Should Keep Diversity & Inclusion Top of Mind Year-Round

April 30, 2019
 
iCIMS Staff
3 min read
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Though “Celebrate Diversity Month” is coming to a close, it’s important for employers to keep both diversity and inclusion top of mind year-round. Established in 2004, April was designated as “Celebrate Diversity Month” to recognize and honor diversity to help individuals from all walks of life gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of each other. Rather than just flagging this on your calendar, you must ensure that your company culture attracts diverse candidates while also retaining them as employees. According to L & D Daily Advisor, 67% of job applicants value diversity, and 57% of employees believe employers should be doing more to promote diversity.

Leading insurance provider, Allstate, an iCIMS customer, not only recognizes “Celebrate Diversity Month,” but also incorporates inclusive diversity as one of its core values. Through this commitment to inclusive diversity, Allstate is able to better connect with customers and employees, and as a result has been recognized as a Top 50 Company for Diversity by DiversityInc for 13 consecutive years.

Employers that do this well, like Allstate, can increase ROI while fostering a more innovative and productive workplace. But it takes more than just a month-long celebration to cultivate company growth and advancement. To create a diversified and inclusive company culture, organizations must integrate diversity and inclusion into their day-to-day operations, corporate values and company-wide programs. But employers must first start by increasing diversity in recruiting in order to achieve a diverse work environment. While 78% of U.S. talent leaders agree that diversity is a top trend, the majority of employers are failing to implement an effective diversity recruiting strategy and, considering that only 4% of Fortune 500 companies have female CEOs, there is a lot of ground to cover.

Recent news headlines also highlight some of the diversity challenges in the workforce, especially in the technology industry:

  • “Women in Technology: No Progress on Inequality for 10 Years.” – The Guardian
  • “Can’t Hack It: Tech’s Diversity Efforts are ‘a Failure.’” – CNN
  • “Female Participation in Tech Fails to Increase, Despite Industry Push.” – Australian Financial Review
  • “Silicon Valley Struggles to Hack its Diversity Problem.” – Washington Post

Additionally, Quantum Impact – a diversity and inclusion non-profit focused on helping mission-driven organizations achieve a greater impact with inclusive and innovative teams – found in their 2018 report that there are fewer women and people of color in leadership roles and as board members than is representative of the general U.S. population, and that organizations — regardless of type, size, age — generally under-represent both women and people of color at the leadership and board of director levels.

As globalization continues to revolutionize how business is done around the world, diversity can help organizations succeed in international markets. Most organizations, and their competitors, work with clients, vendors or partners from other countries across the globe. To stay competitive on a global scale, companies must hire diverse employees to create sustainable, long-term success. According to HubSpot, diversity and inclusion training not only builds empathy among teammates, but also helps sales associates connect with current and potential customers from different backgrounds and cultures.

To learn how to make diversity and inclusion work for your organization, join iCIMS on May 21st, 2019 for “How to Hire with Less Bias.” This webinar will include key takeaways like:

  • What diversity and inclusion look like today in numbers
  • How to source and grow talent pools with more diverse candidates
  • Tips to create inclusive job postings
  • How technology partners like HireVue use AI to address diversity and inclusion
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