3 Ways to Support Black Employees Beyond Black History Month
For the past 95 years, the United States has celebrated Black Excellence in a period highlighted for either a week or month. The summer of 2020 brought about a hyper-focus on Black people’s lives and the experiences they were facing in corporate and academic spaces. Black employees, students, and customers pushed back on the surface level statements and demanded more substantive change.
For Black History Month 2021, organizations are being called to move beyond surface-level inclusion statements to endorsing measurable change. Here are 3 strategies that recognize and equitably engage Black talent.
Invest in the Black community
Are you having an issue finding Black talent? Create scholarships for Black students (they aren’t all at HBCUs — but that’s another discussion for another day). Also, provide Black students with paid internships and mentors throughout their education. Not only will you be investing in the community, but you are also preparing the next generation of potential leaders for your organization.
Examine the experiences of Black staff
Commit to understanding your Black employees’ career life cycle through an intersectional lens. Within the recruitment and retention phases are inequities that you need to know. Once the issues are identified, create programs and redesign teams to provide everyone with an equitable (not equal) opportunity to succeed. The more you invest in current employees, the less you spend recruiting new ones.
Solicit Black businesses
There are thousands of Black-owned businesses that can support your organization’s operations. Temporary staffing, IT migration, and promotional products are all opportunities to engage Black talent substantively. Hiring Black-owned businesses will strengthen the economy and close the wealth gap.
This is not an exhaustive list by any means. It should, however, provide you with opportunities to build upon the momentum of the month and spread it throughout the year and in years to come.
