Supplemental materials for LEAP 2025 session A New Day For DEI
Last summer, the Supreme Court decided in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard that affirmative action in college admissions violated anti-discrimination laws, so college and universities could no longer use it to decide who to admit. Although the case had nothing to do with employment law, the ruling triggered several lawsuits challenging corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
These were essentially reverse-discrimination lawsuits in which plaintiffs accused employers of excluding them from hiring and promotions, fellowships and mentoring programs because of their gender, sex or other protected characteristics.
Some employers responded by opening fellowships and the like to all employees. Others eliminated DEI programs entirely. Still others are defending their policies in court, waiting to see what happens.
But a year after Students for Fair Admissions, other employers are taking different approaches, finding novel ways to diversify their workforces without resorting to specific hiring and promotion goals.
Here are some promising approaches:
Widen the applicant pool. Instead of looking for individual candidates with specific diversity characteristics, some employers are broadening the pool from which they seek qualified candidates.
For example, they’re ramping up efforts to recruit on college campuses where more diverse potential candidates study. Recruiting at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) will increase the pool of Black applicants. Employers can do the same by recruiting at Seven Sisters colleges like Barnard, Vassar, Mount Holyoke and other institutions that are historically—and largely remain—women’s colleges.
Encourage word-of-mouth referrals. For decades, the old boys’ network was a recruiting mainstay. White, male hiring managers put the word out to their friends and colleagues to refer likely candidates. The predictable result: an applicant pool that trended decidedly white and male.
But the same word-of-mouth approach can work to increase applicant diversity. Consider providing referral bonuses for current employees who suggest applicants. Just make sure you offer the referral bonus to all current employees, not just those who fit a “diverse” demographic.
Consider foreign-born candidates. Asylum seekers and new immigrants who have work permits can be another source of diverse candidates. Your outreach efforts can include reaching out to organizations that help new residents find employment.
Just make sure your recruiting materials don’t specify that you prefer non-citizen candidates. That clearly would violate immigration laws that forbid discrimination based on citizenship status.
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