WHAT’S NEXT
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Partnering within Communities Teach For America works to expand educational opportunities for children in high-need communities in 48 regions across the United States by recruiting and training promising and diverse leaders who are willing to commit to a lifetime of focus on education and begin by teaching for at least two years. Nearly 40 percent of the Teach For America teaching force identify as people of color, almost matching the percentage of students of color in our country. The 2013 class of about 6,000 new teachers is the most racially diverse ever. Twentyfive percent of them identify as Black or Latino—considerably higher than the 14 percent of active classroom teachers in these two categories, though not quite as high as the 40 percent of Black and Latino public school students nationwide.
Opportunities and Challenges Ahead Starting in 2014, Teach For America will enact a new model meant to expand regional decision-making. This change will support the organization’s efforts to better understand the unique needs of specific regions and their local partners, and work collaboratively with communities to best meet those needs. Teach For America is expanding efforts to partner with communities. For example, its Diversity Series provides staff members structured opportunities to reflect on their individual identities so they can operate more effectively in a diverse context. The organization has also formed partnerships with groups that serve underrepresented communities, including the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, National Council of La Raza, Out and
Equal, and the United Negro College Fund; and engaged in dialogue with communities using tools like social media and a nationwide listening tour hosted by the organization’s co-CEOs. Fostering Community Finally, Teach For American will further promote diversity, equity, and inclusiveness in recruitment and admissions, and continue to actively recruit from underrepresented populations. The organization is working to foster community and build leadership in populations of shared identities, including Native, Latino, African American, Asian American, and Pacific Islander corps members, staff members and alumni; and piloting systems that track and encourage support of minority-owned businesses. PDJ
Putting Inclusion Front and Center Being Accountable for Diversity and Inclusion The Hartford is working to integrate accountability for diversity and inclusion throughout the organization. While diversity and inclusion is already an important corporate value and part of the culture, the company has an opportunity to embed diversity and inclusion into every role and job function across the enterprise. There is a great deal of collaboration and positive support for this initiative. Although diversity and inclusion are both central to The Hartford’s strategies as a business partner and an employer, the focus for the coming year will be on inclusion. As new leadership behaviors are introduced across the organization, it is imperative that employees develop and demonstrate the kind of inclusive behaviors that will help drive a high-performance culture and help The Hartford to be the exceptional company it strives to be.
Employee Resource Groups Employee resource groups are a critical component of The Hartford’s diversity and inclusion strategy, and a key to the plan’s success. So ensuring the groups are as strong and capable as they can be is a top priority. As the company looks to the future, it will be relying on them even more heavily to help drive an engaging employment value proposition and make The Hartford stand out as an employer of choice for top talent. PDJ
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PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL
November/December 2013