Belonging at Work
What it means to be a military spouse from a diverse background and how companies can best support their employment needs
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Hiring Our Heroes
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About Hiring Our Heroes (HOH) A program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Hiring Our Heroes launched in March 2011 as a nationwide initiative to help veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses find meaningful employment opportunities. Working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s vast network of state and local chambers and strategic partners from the public and private sectors, Hiring Our Heroes’ goal is to connect America’s veteran and military spouse talent with businesses of all sizes across the country.
USAA Founded in 1922 by a group of military officers, USAA is among the leading providers of insurance, banking, and investment and retirement solutions to more than 13 million members of the U.S. military, veterans who have honorably served and their families. Headquartered in San Antonio, USAA has offices in eight U.S. cities and three overseas locations and employs more than 38,000 people worldwide. Each year, the company contributes to national and local nonprofits in support of military families and communities where employees live and work.
Acknowledgments HOH appreciates USAA’s collaboration and its commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. HOH also extends its gratitude to the military spouses who shared their employment experiences in the creation of this document.
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Foreword Military spouses are an incredible resource for companies. Highly educated, dedicated, entrepreneurial, and flexible, they are problem-solvers and multi-taskers. Perhaps most of all, they are resilient. Yet military spouse unemployment — and underemployment — are real and persistent concerns for today’s all-volunteer force. Frequent deployments of military members and cross-country (and even international) relocations disrupt professional and personal lives, taking a toll on the financial security and wellbeing of military families. Financial impacts compound over time, leading to the lifetime earnings of military spouses to be measurably less than peers. Military families also reflect the rich diversity of communities across the United States, with nearly half of military spouses identifying as members of minority groups. Attracting, hiring, and retaining military spouses has the potential to strengthen diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, leading to increased creativity, innovation, and business performance. USAA proudly serves those who serve. That’s why we encourage employers to support programs that help military spouses connect to and get to know your organizations, deepen efforts to hire qualified military spouses, and prioritize flexible and remote work opportunities that help retain military spouse talent. It’s also why we continue to support Hiring Our Heroes and the many innovative initiatives that empower military spouses to find meaningful careers. Removing barriers and improving career opportunities for military spouses is both possible and a civic responsibility. Together, we can make a real difference for military families. I look forward to all we will accomplish.
Tara A. Leweling Chief Diversity and Sustainability Officer, USAA
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Diversity is America’s strength, spurring the innovation and creativity that have made the U.S. economy the most vibrant and dynamic in history. When businesses recognize and embrace different perspectives, they are better able to create value, serve customers, support employees, and solve problems. Studies show diverse teams are better at problem-solving, decision-making, and innovating. Companies with an inclusive culture are not only considered a great place to work by employees, but also highly regarded by consumers. Some of the most diverse companies aren’t only successful in their industry; they also score highly on employee engagement and customer brand loyalty. When employers are looking to expand their candidate pool as it relates to diversity, equity, and inclusion, many times, they turn to veterans and military spouses. Roughly one-third of active-duty service members identify themselves being a racial minority and half of Hiring Our Heroes job candidates identify themselves as being a racial minority. Predominantly female, the active-duty military spouse community has a larger proportion of ethnic and racial minorities as compared to the broader civilian population. Additionally, military spouses have high levels of cultural sensitivity and awareness due to living and working in a variety of environments. A sense of belonging is at the core of military culture. America’s service members come from different backgrounds and cultures, but when they go to battle, they deploy together. Community cohesiveness is critical to mission success. Community is equally important among military spouses on the home front. They may be living in new locations and trying to find “their place” in their new location, the military installation, and in the workplace. In recent years, there’s been a surge of support for advancing diversity, equality, and inclusion in the workplace; where employers may be falling short is in the belonging component of DE&I initiatives. Today’s employees want to feel valued and heard, regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender, age, and ethnicity. In this resource document, Hiring Our Heroes shares the stories and experiences of military spouses from diverse identities. The stories are divided into themes. I hope you find the perspectives insightful and identify ways we can work together to provide a sense of belonging for military spouses at work.
Eric Eversole President, Hiring Our Heroes Vice President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
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Table of Contents Introduction 06 Diverse Military Spouse Employment Experiences
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Key Takeaways for Employers
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Conclusion and Looking Forward
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Appendix A: Best Practices for Allies
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Appendix B: Glossary of Terms 24
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Introduction As part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, HOH recognizes diversity as America’s strength, spurring the innovation and creativity that have made the U.S. economy the most vibrant and dynamic in history. When businesses recognize and embrace different perspectives, they are better able to create value, serve customers, support employees, and solve problems. By providing opportunities for everyone, businesses help lift communities and strengthen the health, prosperity, and competitiveness of our nation and society.1 Often, military spouses are members of these diverse communities. When companies have a greater understanding of military spouses’ perspectives and their unique identities, they can better source, hire, and retain this talent.
Project Overview In the spring of 2022, Hiring Our Heroes’ Military Spouse Programs and Research & Innovations teams collaborated to learn about the employment experiences of military spouses who identify as having one or more diversity factors. The aim was to increase employer awareness around the experiences of military spouses from diverse backgrounds and to create inclusive employee experiences. Over the summer, Hiring Our Heroes invited military spouses of various genders, ages, races and ethnicities, family status, educational levels, citizenship status, sexual orientations, and service member status to speak confidentially about how their diverse backgrounds, combined with their role as a military spouse, have impacted their employment experiences. During these conversations, spouses shared their stories and experiences. Hiring Our Heroes compiled these stories to construct beneficial insights and constructive takeaways for companies.
1 U.S. Chamber of Commerce. (n.d.). Diversity, equity, and inclusion. U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved from https://www.uschamber.com/diversity
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Diverse Military Spouse Employment Experiences Individuality: Understanding a military spouse’s identity is critical Understanding an individual’s identity is the first critical step to building a sense of belonging at work for military spouses with diverse backgrounds. While one’s identity will evolve over one’s lifetime, “it always dictates how we see ourselves and how others see us.”2 Identities are also multidimensional, meaning everyone identifies in more than one way. There are no visible cues for identities like sexual orientation or caregiver status. Because of non-visible diversity factors, asking a person to tell you about themselves when first meeting them is essential to avoid forming assumptions and generalizations. Grouped by their marital status, spouses shared how they have experienced negative stereotypes and generalizations by employers. Spouses want to be seen as individuals and valued for their diverse life experiences. As one spouse stated, “there are a million different ways to be a [military] spouse.” Military spouses’ experiences differ based on their characteristics and attributes along with their service members’ careers. The military spouses interviewed for this document expressed how generalizations in the workplace have led to feelings of being undervalued or disrespected. Military spouses also shared that being seen and respected for their identity in the workplace is an important validation. This confirmation contributes to feeling emotionally and socially supported during the hiring process and as an employee. Workplaces need to be ready to encourage military spouses to feel safe to disclose their identities. When a workplace isn’t primed for safe disclosure, spouses are less likely to self-identify a diversity factor, especially non-visible ones such as being a military spouse, a caregiver, or a person with a disability related to their mental health. Spouses share this feeling is more prominent earlier in their careers due to fears of perceived repercussions, of not being hired, or receiving poor performance reviews because of disclosing their identities. Those further along in their careers share they are more aware of their worth, which results in being less fearful of the perceived “consequences” of disclosing this aspect of themselves.
2 AAUW. (2020, December 11). Dimensions of diversity & identity. AAUW. Retrieved from https://www.aauw.org/resources/member/governance-tools/dei-toolkit/dimensions-of-diversity
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Military Spouses’ Experiences “Hillary” is an Asian American female spouse of an active-duty male service member. She is a licensed acupuncturist in Chinese medicine who had a tenured career and established identity before meeting her service member. She struggles when people tell her to “just do something else.” This advice is given to many military spouses who have careers that are harder to take with them. For Hillary, her career is “my life passion … when you’re told to do something else in the meantime, it just feels soul stripping.” As she struggles to maintain her identity throughout her career, she’s constantly thinking, “who am I going to show up as today?” Growing up in an Asian household in America, she constantly teeters between the cultural sensitivities of her upbringing (e.g., respectful, quiet) and has learned she needs to be loud if she wants to be seen. She shares she is often perceived through the lens of the “Asian females are meek” stereotype.
“Natalie” is a Hispanic female military spouse of an active-duty male service member. She earned two master’s degrees and has experience as an educator. As a military spouse, she’s struggled with finding roles at schools where she feels respected for her previous experience. In many instances, the schools at which she has worked will only accept a certain amount of her education. This leads to her being compensated inappropriately for her educational level. She has often felt that employers dismiss her thoughts and experiences because she will likely move in the short term. She feels she serves as a placeholder for the year because the school needs someone. Natalie feels devalued by her employer. She shares how early into her marriage; she was afraid to self-identify as a military spouse because she didn’t want to be placed into short-term roles at a school. Fifteen years into her marriage, she’s comfortable disclosing this because she believes it’s the school’s problem and her marital status is “no longer her problem.” She is at a point in her life where she recognizes she is a good teacher, and if the school cannot accept her as a military spouse, then she will work at a different school.
“Jeff” is a Hispanic male military spouse of an activeduty female service member. He earned a master’s degree and is currently employed but struggles to find employment and a supportive community as a military spouse. Because the military spouse community is predominately female, he feels gender stereotyping bars him from being invited to military spouse social events or are limiting because the “events are geared toward women’s interests.” He shares despite being the primary caregiver of their children, his wife is contacted first whenever something happens at school, limiting his access to the information he needs to be a successful caregiver. As a male military spouse, he compares himself to his peers from school and elsewhere and how they can provide for their families as a husband. Focusing on race and ethnicity, he shares how he presents predominately as white even though he is Hispanic. As a result he shares he often feels categorized as having “white privilege” despite having grown up with financial struggles and limited resources.
“Sarah” is a white female military spouse of a male veteran. She is a mother to a child with special needs and shares she has high-functioning attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety. On the outside, she presents as “normal,” and she shares she is very reserved about her caregiver and disability status. Unless the diversity factor has to do with her advocacy-related work, she’s afraid of potential judgment placed on her ability to fulfill her responsibilities. For her, remote and flexible employment (which she currently has) is very important because it allows her to maintain some semblance of a career, an essential part of her identity. However, career advancement continues to be challenging because she is limited to roles she can perform while caring for her child.
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Belonging at Work
Security: Promoting a culture of security, flexibility, and social support during the hiring process and beyond is important for military spouses impacted by their geographic location Building a corporate culture of belonging for military spouses of diverse backgrounds doesn’t end after acknowledging one’s identity (see above for more on identity). Inclusion requires building work environments that reduce “identity threats.” Identity threats are an underlying reason for employees feeling they don’t belong at work3 but can also impact how secure they feel within their communities. The military spouses that met with Hiring Our Heroes shared the importance of feeling physically, socially, and psychologically secure as military spouses from diverse backgrounds. Because they must relocate to geographic locations often out of their control, spouses of color indicate physical safety is a concern when moving to locations that are traditionally not accepting of people of color. Similarly, spouses from the LGBTQ+ community share their feelings about how security and acceptance in their new location drive whether they share their sexual identity and orientation at work or in their community. Questions such as, “is it safe for me to live here?” and “is it safe for me to disclose my sexual orientation?” are top of mind for these spouses. This thinking applies when seeking employment. Beyond physical security, geographic location impacts how military spouses of diverse backgrounds feel socially and emotionally supported. Spouses who have invested in higher education share how “regionalism” has made it particularly challenging to seek employment because companies don’t recognize their degrees equally based on the region in which they live and where they obtained their degrees. They also share their inability to utilize their professional and social networks built during their schooling when they move away from the area, limiting their social and emotional support when unemployed.
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A silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic is the expansion of remote, flexible, and portable work opportunities. Military spouses, as a collective group, have benefited from this shift, allowing spouses of active-duty service members to: 1. Maintain emotional and social security at work regardless of where they relocate 2. Uphold the value of their education and experiences regardless of where they completed their education 3. Continue to maintain employment as a caregiver or differently abled worker. Caregivers, spouses, and those with mental health disabilities share how important remote, flexible, and portable work has been to have a career.
3 Slepian, M. (2020, August 19). Are your D&I efforts helping employees feel like they belong? Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2020/08/are-your-di-efforts-helping-employees-feel-like-they-belong
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Military Spouses’ Experiences “Tracy” is a female spouse of an active-duty male service member. She shares as a Black woman, there have been places they have been stationed where she is unsure about their physical safety. She holds a professional degree. She also struggles with the impact of regionalism and whether companies in specific regions will recognize her degree and professional experience. She shares when they are stationed in the area where she obtained her degree, she can leverage her experience among a greater network of support. When they move away from that region, building a network can be a challenge.
“Mary” is a white female spouse of an activeduty male service member and is also a caregiver of a child with special needs. Also, Mary has anxiety. She is employed with an entirely remote company. She shares having a remote and flexible position is essential for her to balance her child’s needs (e.g., appointments, etc.), her needs (e.g., extra time to process things), and maintain a career. She struggles with who she can trust to share her caregiver status and mental health needs at work because of perceived negative judgment about her ability to fulfill her responsibilities. She shares how her employer told her she was being “selfish” for putting her child’s needs first, which contributes to her hesitation to share information. When her supervisor or her employer openly shares support for extended leave or acceptance of a flexible schedule, she is more inclined to share her circumstances.
“Laura” is a white female former spouse of an active-duty female service member. She shares how where she lives can impact how much about her sexual orientation she is willing to disclose to her colleagues or community. She says this can sometimes feel isolating and explains remote roles are ideal because they allow her to live someplace accepting of her lifestyle. She also shares that, where she is in her career, she’s more comfortable being open. She explains a precaution she and others in her community need to take is never assuming how someone will react to how you identify and how that judgment can impact relationships. Being in a location that is more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community, she feels comfortable sharing her sexual orientation with her colleagues. However, she also shares that, where she is in her career, she’s more comfortable being open. She explains a precaution she and others in her community need to take is never assuming how someone will react to how you identify and how that judgment can impact relationships in the workplace and their community.
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Diversity Hiring and Hiring Preferences: Hiring diverse talent signals acceptance for underrepresented military spouses, but only if done right. The Military Spouse Hiring Preference and initiatives are beneficial, but don’t necessarily lead to a sense of belonging at the company Diversity hiring is key to growing a company culture that introduces different identities and perspectives. It’s also appreciated by the military spouses interviewed for this project because it demonstrates that the company is looking for and values a variety of experiences and thoughts. However, military spouses also share their experiences when diversity hiring feels disingenuous. In a few instances, spouses feel they have been hired out of tokenism. In their situations, they thought they were hired to meet a minority hiring quota or to help win a contract that required hiring military spouses. In other instances, spouses of color share experiencing microaggressions during the hiring process or in their workplaces. When companies display unconscious bias, tokenism, and/or microaggressions, spouses share these experiences contradict any diversity hiring marketing efforts that may have initially led them to want to work at a particular company. It also derails any sense of belonging at work. The federal government’s Military Spouse Hiring Preference and private company hiring initiatives help many military spouses get their “foot in the door” and stand out from other applicants. It’s also a way for companies to demonstrate their commitment to reducing the military spouse unemployment rate and the value they place on hiring military spouse talent. Spouses that have taken advantage of a military spouse hiring program or initiative share it is particularly beneficial when stationed overseas because limited job opportunities are highly competitive. However, for the spouses that met with Hiring Our Heroes, being hired using a military spouse hiring preference or initiative didn’t necessarily mean a greater sense of belonging to that organization or company. Spouses share they felt they didn’t receive a similar salary or status as those who joined the company without using a preference. Spouses also share they were perceived by their peers as “favored” or hired for reasons beside their qualifications. Only in situations where the hiring manager or team consisted of other military spouses or military-connected employees did using a military spouse hiring preference result in the sense of belonging. Despite several private sector military spouse hiring initiatives, spouses with professional degrees share a perceived absence of private sector hiring preference programs for higher level positions (e.g., senior to executive levels). For spouses looking for higher-level executive and management roles, available resources and programs are limited. If programs were made available, they would take advantage of such hiring initiatives.
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Military Spouses’ Experiences
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“Matthew” is a white male spouse of an active-duty male service member. He identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and is the caregiver to children with special needs. He prioritizes seeking employment with organizations that promote diverse hiring practices, especially when they promote multiple forms of diverse experiences. To him, such efforts signal the company will welcome his vast experiences.
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“Amy” is a Black female spouse of an active-duty male service member. She struggles with people’s perception of her as a tall, educated, dark-skinned Black woman. She mentions how there’s nowhere she can be herself completely; “She’s too Black. She’s too white. She’s too tall. She’s too pretty. She’s not pretty enough. She’s too too too. You know. The labels.” As much as she appreciates diversity hiring, she shares that having to show up differently in different spaces is unfair, exhausting, and the diversity and inclusion work feels like a check box. She feels she’s been passed over for promotions because she’s different than the makeup of the executive leadership at her company. She shares facing tokenism as a military spouse as well, sharing a situation where a company reached out to her about an open position and wanted to hire her based on her fantastic resume. However, she shares, “they [the company] wanted to hire me… but they were trying to use my resume and do the whole token thing to bid on a contract with my information, and I’m like, so my military spouse status is getting used to trying to get this large government contract. No, thank you.”
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Military Spouses’ Experiences “Jeff” found his current role through a program that connected him with employers interested in hiring military spouses. However, he has also used the Military Spouse Hiring Preference by the federal government to secure roles while stationed overseas. He shares that the hiring preferences have been helpful in the public and private sector roles he landed because they helped him get his foot in the door where he felt otherwise invisible. He shares that neither of the spouse hiring preferences promoted his sense of belonging to those organizations. In his private sector role, for example, he mentions that he feels he is not paid at the same level as his counterparts who hold the same responsibilities. A disparity in compensation contributes to Jeff feeling undervalued in the workplace.
“Laura” found the Military Spouse Hiring Preference to be very beneficial while stationed overseas with her former spouse. It allowed her to get a role she felt she otherwise would not have been able to obtain. However, where she is currently in her employment level (senior to executive), she doesn’t feel hiring preferences are beneficial. She feels there’s an absence of hiring programs for military spouses seeking executive and higher management level roles. With minimal organized programs within the private sector, she mentions that others in her situation must band together to locate resources and expand their networks. That said, she shares it would be nice to have hiring programs that recognize spouses with professional degrees and extensive experience.
“Donna” is a Hispanic female spouse of an active-duty male service member. She previously used the Military Spouse Hiring Preference but had a negative experience. Despite being a great candidate, the recruiter informed her she wouldn’t proceed because she wouldn’t be able to offer continuity to the agency.
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Representation and Inclusivity: Representation impacts how military spouses search for potential employers, while inclusivity promotes a positive and attractive company culture for military spouses In addition to diverse hiring and equitable employment opportunities, fostering an inclusive work environment is vital to building a sense of belonging at work. Nearly half of working adults feel disconnected from their jobs and negatively perceive the company where they work. Authentic inclusion involves welcoming, embracing, and respecting those with different identities. When employees feel a sense of belonging to their company, this results in high-performing teams. Military spouses with diverse backgrounds want to feel welcomed, not solely for being a military spouse, but also for their other identities (and vice versa). To do this, the spouses who met with Hiring Our Heroes shared ways they would like to see companies promote inclusivity: • • • •
Publish a company diversity and inclusion statement and adopt clear company policies. Establish a diversity council or diversity champion within the company. Include diverse photos and stories in marketing materials. Look to resources like the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) to identify and evaluate whether a company has any inequalities in its hiring practices. • Include diverse representation throughout the hiring process to show candidates that the company values different types of employees. This will help candidates feel more comfortable during the interview process. • Provide opportunities for employees to share their stories with colleagues to help promote a greater understanding of diverse experiences and perspectives Representation of diverse talent is essential for inclusion in the workplace. For the military spouses that participated in this project, representation in the form of race and ethnicity, disability status, gender (specifically female), and military spouse status in executive and management level roles are an important consideration when searching for potential employers. Seeing themselves represented throughout the company and especially in leadership roles signals to military spouses the company values the perspectives and voices of individuals who identify similarly. When companies have executives and managers who identify similarly to these military spouses, it provides them with individuals to look to for shared experiences. Both benefits contribute to feeling a sense of belonging and security to be their authentic selves. However, despite wanting to see representation, spouses also share how challenging it can be to find this representation, especially for non-visible identities like military spouse status.
4 SHRM. (n.d.). Belonging is the Missing Piece in the Fight for Inclusion. SHRM. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/ resourcesandtools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/global-and-cultural-effectiveness/pages/viewpoint-belonging-is-the-missingpiece-in-the-fight-for-inclusion.aspx 5 Dixon-Fyle, S., Dolan, K., Hunt, D. V., & Prince, S. (2022, April 6). Diversity wins: How inclusion matters. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-wins-how-inclusion-matters
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Military Spouses’ Experiences “Linda” is a Black female spouse of a male veteran. She is also a foreign-born spouse who obtained her professional degree in Africa. She shares how challenging it has been to come to the United States and to have her college degree and years of experience not recognized by employers. She is passionate about supporting foreign-born military spouses who have also encountered similar employment challenges and seeks employment in a field that will allow her to be an advocate for this population. However, she finds military support nonprofit organizations often lack Black representation (or diversity overall) in their leadership. For her, diverse representation, especially seeing Black leadership, is an important indicator that the organization is made up of the community members it serves, and it signals to her it’s a company she wants to work for.
“Amy” shares it is extremely validating when “employers see you for who you are and your potential instead of checking a box.” One of her past employers took steps to educate staff members on everyone’s backgrounds and identities to promote inclusivity. This exercise enabled a dialogue among colleagues, resulting in a deeper understanding of among employees.
“Crystal” is a multiracial female spouse of a recently deceased male veteran. She is more than 50 years old and has a new-found limitation due to a physical and neurological disability. Her disability makes her “feel frightened and useless.” However, she is trying to discover herself and a career as a widower and someone with a disability. She feels it’s important to see people like herself represented in companies because it demonstrates the company’s commitment to diversity and forward-thinking ability. She wants to be respected and allowed to maintain her independence and dignity through employment.
“Kathryn” is a white female spouse of an activeduty male service member. She is less than 30 years old and is a mother. She shares remote employment is crucial for her career; “if I wasn’t able to begin working remotely, my family would probably not be in the same financial situation that we are now.” Seeing a military spouse in a leadership role at the company where she works is important to her. It signals that the company will work with her to continue her employment during military-related relocations.
“Mary” shares how important it is for her to see a company has clear diversity and inclusion policies and practices them. When they do both, this indicates to Mary that the company is inclusive and influences her decision to remain a loyal employee.
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Key Takeaways for Employers There are key considerations employers can take away from the experiences shared by military spouses: • Understand the journey military spouses have been through by creating an inviting work environment for them to share their whole selves with colleagues and leadership. • Educate recruiters, hiring managers, and staff on identifying their unconscious biases and the impact that microaggressions and stereotyping can have on military spouses from diverse backgrounds. • Be welcoming during the interview process and socially and emotionally supportive once military spouses join the organization. A diverse interview team creates representation and clearly illustrates the company’s commitment to a diverse team. Military spouses feel welcomed when they have an ally, when the company embraces diverse talent and perspectives, and when the company adopts clear workplace policies that demonstrate a flexible work culture. • Continue to promote and refine military spouse hiring initiatives within companies and consider adding hiring initiatives and programs for senior to executive level roles (which demonstrates the value the private sector places on spouses’ extensive experience and education). • Combat negative stereotypes associated with the company’s military spouse hiring initiatives through top-down messaging about the value of hiring military spouse talent.
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Conclusion & Looking Forward The last few years have given organizations the opportunity to re-evaluate the way they do business, and the way they hire and retain employees. Today’s workforce, but especially military spouses, want to work for companies that not only embrace, but optimize opportunities for diverse hiring and inclusive environments. The workplace environment must be nurtured to truly embrace diversity and have inclusive space where ideas, innovation, and creativity thrive. Understanding and compassion for the military lifestyle builds on that level of inclusivity for military spouses. Belonging at work starts with an understanding that there is not a one-size-fits-all approach, but a clear effort that is supported throughout the organization, from the C-Suite outward. Companies may want to start within their organizations to identify employees and their diverse experiences to create an employment brand that will gain the attention of future job candidates. A diverse and inclusive workforce is not built in a day or a year. Yet, a long-term dedication will yield lasting results for companies. Empowering employees and inspiring actionable inclusive creates a greater talent ecosystem.
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Appendix A: Best Practices for Allies A critical step in creating a sense of belonging for military spouses and other employees with diverse backgrounds is to understand their needs. The Hiring Our Heroes team sought out organizations supporting individuals with specific diverse factors and gleaned information from them on creating inclusive work environments.
Military Spouses
1. Welcome and celebrate military spouses in the workplace. Military spouses often fear disclosing their military spouse status. Showing positive reinforcement through welcoming practices and celebrating military spouses at the organization can encourage them to self-identify and feel safe bringing their whole selves to work. This self-identification can also allow employers to track their military spouse hiring efforts and support programs effectively. 2. Offer flexibility and remote work to maintain employment, especially after relocation. Military spouses need flexibility around when and how they work to support their family while their service member is away or working unpredictable hours. Offering the ability to work remotely after a relocation can help military spouses feel valued by their employers. 3. Create military spouse affinity groups. Military spouse employee resource groups help companies increase their understanding of military spouse experiences, promote employment advancement opportunities, and advocate for military spouse-friendly policies and programs. The group can also help spouses connect with peers and mentors who can offer professional growth opportunities. Source: Hiring Our Heroes
Black Employees
1. Act to implement change. Employees who identify as Black seek actions that demonstrate company policies. Companies can establish inclusion programs with Black representation to address racial issues. Conduct an inclusion survey to determine employees’ perspectives and request ideas for how the company may become more inclusive for them. Most importantly, act based on their feedback and review the inclusion survey annually.
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2. Create and fund an inclusion taskforce. Create and fund programs to educate and train internal teams on the benefits of a diverse and inclusive workplace. Openly discuss unconscious bias and train employees on how to identify and eliminate racism. Create mentorship programs where mentors and mentees can learn from one another on leadership and the systemic challenges they face within the workplace. 3. Ensure philanthropic support mirrors the company’s diversity and inclusion goals. Support organizations who meet critical needs for small, Black-owned businesses. By partnering with organizations that exclusively focus on supporting Black businesses, companies reiterate their support for the Black community. Source: National Black Chamber of Commerce
Hispanic Employees
1. Create a culture that promotes authenticity. Creating a company culture that celebrates employees’ authentic selves is important to their wellbeing. In addition, when leadership listens to and engages with employees, communities, and other stakeholders authentically, they can identify and prioritize informed DE&I strategic decisions. 2. Create Hispanic employment resource groups. Employee resource groups have been instrumental in helping Hispanic employees with career progression and opportunity, helping Hispanic entrepreneurs develop the capacity to grow their businesses, eliminating barriers to participating in STEM careers, and deconstructing persistent challenges and stereotypes Hispanic women face in the workplace. The groups can also provide a support network of mentors and offer leadership development pipeline program for Hispanic employees to create representation at all management levels. 3. Provide adequate safety net protection. Career advancements are significantly more difficult for non-exempt employees who are also not provided health insurance or job security, especially during economic distress. They are also not able to work remotely in many of these roles. Offering adequate safety net protections, including strengthening paid leave policies and job security, can help support their overall wellbeing. Source: Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility
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Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Employees
1. Demonstrate awareness of cultural and identity differences. Recognizing the experiences of Asian immigrants and Asian Americans plays an important role in understanding cultural and identity differences. For example, many Asian Americans have never lived in Asia and identify primarily as American, so asking them where in Asia they are from can create feelings of discomfort. Companies can demonstrate awareness by celebrating and educating others on these differences during AAPI Heritage Month held in May. 2. Identify representation at the C-level and professional support. Employees who identify as AAPI tend to fair better than other marginalized populations in finding employment. However, they face a larger disparity in their lack of representation at the C-level (i.e., the “Bamboo Ceiling”). Because of this, AAPI employees feel they lack professional growth mentors and role models to connect with who share their culture. Establishing employee resource groups can help create a place for employees to find peer and mentor support, especially when C-level representation is lacking. 3. Understand in-direct communication styles. AAPI employees are less likely to contribute during group meetings due to their culture, which managers can misinterpret as not being “proactive participants.” Leaders who work with AAPI employees should increase opportunities to share ideas on an individual level versus a group setting, offer more one-on-one check-ins, and provide support in navigating conflict resolutions. Sources: Asian American Group Leaders (AAGL), NAAAP Chicago; Asian Society
Female Employees
1. Destigmatize taking time off. Female employees often fear repercussions to their career advancement when they take time off, especially after the birth of a child. Companies can work to destigmatize taking time off by creating an inclusive paternity leave policy versus a maternity leave policy. A paternity leave policy encourages both fathers and mothers to take the full paternity leave after childbirth instead of signaling out women for taking time off. 2. Offer opportunities for professional support. Employee resource groups and other support mechanisms can help women connect with their peers and champions to advance gender issues. Women may have a hard time asking for help in the workplace, so having such groups can provide a safe space where they feel supported.
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3. Encourage flexibility. Women are often the primary caretakers of their households, especially if they have children. This means they require flexibility in their workday to support day-to-day needs without fear of repercussions to their employment or advancement opportunities. Examples of flexibility in the workplace include staggering start and stop working hours, offering remote work opportunities, and allowing time off for sabbaticals. Sources: Joanna Duffet, Catalyst
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) Employees
1. Evaluate your workplace. Gender and references to gender are considered pervasive and ongoing parts of the workplace experience. Human Resource teams can assess their company’s current policies and practices surrounding gender identity inclusion by accessing evaluation tools such as HRC’s “Gender Identity & Gender Expression Workplace Review.” In addition, evaluate the level of engagement the company has with local resources such as a LGBTQ Resource Center, which can help with policy creation and practice accountability. 2. Offer workplace protections. Businesses can implement policies that include sexual orientation for all operations and gender identity or expression. Examples include access to gendersegregated facilities such as locker rooms and bathrooms corresponding to the gender they identify with and keeping employees’ health status private and confidential to the extent possible. Companies can also offer LGBTQ employees an outside advocate when settling workplace disputes to help translate some of the nuances and sensitive subject matter being addressed. 3. Designate a champion in the workplace. A dedicated person from a demographic most impacted by these issues can help strategically shift the company’s cultural focus. They can also bring empathy and competence that can shape the education and training needs starting with onboarding (i.e., clear communication of the nondiscrimination policy and providing definitions and scenarios illustrating the policies for gender identity and sexual orientation). Supervisors should undergo training that includes gender identity and sexual orientation as discrete topics, and staff should be held accountable for their behavior. Sources: Human Rights Campaign; National LGBTQ Workers Center
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Employees with Disabilities
1. Commitment from the highest levels. Fostering a disability-inclusive business culture starts with expressions of commitment from the highest levels. This commitment should be carried across the organization through practices such as disability-focused employee resource groups and engagement activities. 2. Promote disability-inclusive talent acquisition and retention processes. Establish personnel systems and job descriptions that facilitate the hiring and advancement of qualified individuals with disabilities. 3. Create a barrier-free workplace. Adopt formal written policies, practices, and procedures to promote consistent and proper handling of accommodation requests to support employees with disabilities. Promote accountability by measuring the policies’ effectiveness to identify areas for improvement. Source: Employer Assistance and Resource Network
Employees with Caregiving Responsibilities
1. Verbalize the value of caregiving. HR professionals can validate the employee’s caregiving challenges and provide a listening ear. Create a culture that is supportive and welcoming to caregivers and talk about the value of caregiving. Even if caregiving benefits exist, many caregivers don’t feel comfortable sharing identity as a caregiver. They worry sharing this information about themselves will harm their career or employment. 2. Be flexible with work hours and locations. Flexibility is among the most important benefits to employees with caregiving responsibilities. If an employee can’t work from home, consider parttime arrangements, job sharing, or project-based work. 3. Explore relevant Employee Assistance Program (EAP) benefits. Employees may know the company’s EAP can provide resources in the event of a caregiving crisis but are often unaware of how the program might help with general caregiving needs. Discover what benefits are already available and market them in a way that highlights how the benefits can be used to support employees with caregiving responsibilities.
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4. Research and share lists of free local and national caregiving resources. Providing initial research about community resources for an employee experiencing a caregiving crisis can be extremely helpful. For instance, Wounded Warrior Project has a resource center and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation has a peer support community. 5. Initiate employee caregiver support groups. A support group for employees with caregiving responsibilities, especially if it offers the option to meet via video conference as well as in person, provides a safe environment for employees to share their challenges of balancing work and caregiving. For instance, Fannie Mae facilitates forums for employees to discuss the rewards and challenges of caring for others via an online internal resource group and quarterly safe-space discussions. Source: Kathryn Tyler, Society for Human Resource Management (Published March 10, 2022)
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Appendix B: Glossary of Terms Ally: A person who is not a member of a marginalized or disadvantaged group, but who expresses or gives support to that group6 Belonging: Everyone is treated and feels like a full member of the larger community and can thrive7 Diversity: The condition of being different or having differences. Differences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, health, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, religion, physical size, education level, job and function, personality traits, and other human differences8 Equity: Fair treatment for all while striving to identify and eliminate inequities and barriers9 Identity: A combination of characteristics, attributes, experiences, or behaviors that make us each who we are10 Identity Threat: Any situation ranging from trivial to severe that makes salient that one is different from others11 Inclusion: The achievement of a work environment in which all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully, have equal access to opportunities and resources, and can contribute fully to the organization’s success12
6 Harvard Human Resources. (n.d.). Glossary of diversity, inclusion and belonging (DIB) terms. Harvard Human Resources. Retrieved from https://edib.harvard.edu/files/dib/files/dib_glossary.pdf 7 Ibid. 8 Ibid. 9 Ibid. 10 AAUW. (2020, December 11). Dimensions of diversity & identity. AAUW. Retrieved from https://www.aauw.org/resources/ member/governance-tools/dei-toolkit/dimensions-of-diversity/ 11 Slepian, M. (2020, August 19). Are your D&I efforts helping employees feel like they belong? Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2020/08/are-your-di-efforts-helping-employees-feel-like-they-belong 12 Harvard Human Resources. (n.d.). Glossary of diversity, inclusion and belonging (DIB) terms. Harvard Human Resources. Retrieved from https://edib.harvard.edu/files/dib/files/dib_glossary.pdf
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