Promoting Jobs and Equity Through Sector Partnerships

When it comes to enhanc­ing work­force diver­si­ty, busi­ness­es don’t need to go it alone, accord­ing to a new study fund­ed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The study and sub­se­quent report, Part­ner­ing for Equi­ty, high­light how sec­tor part­ner­ships can help busi­ness­es close per­sis­tent racial dis­par­i­ties and achieve greater equi­ty in the workplace.

The report, by the Ray Mar­shall Cen­ter at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas at Austin, stems from a sur­vey of 89 part­ner­ships as well as inter­views with local busi­ness and com­mu­ni­ty lead­ers. It out­lines sev­en ways that busi­ness­es can use sec­tor partnerships—also called indus­try-spe­cif­ic partnerships—to advance equity.

These rec­om­men­da­tions are:

1. Expand the use of data dis­ag­gre­ga­tion. Iso­late data about racial gaps in employ­ment to bet­ter under­stand spe­cif­ic disparities.
2. Devel­op evi­dence about what works. Use data to help deter­mine what works and what doesn’t when craft­ing strate­gies to nar­row disparities.
3. Sup­port board and pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment. Fos­ter a shared under­stand­ing of issues and cre­ate a safe space for dis­cussing race-based disparities.
4. Cul­ti­vate diverse lead­ers. Get help devel­op­ing, recruit­ing and retain­ing lead­ers from affect­ed communities
5. Define a pol­i­cy and sys­tems change agen­da. Lever­age pub­lic inter­est to cre­ate path­ways to good jobs for peo­ple of color.
6. Phil­an­thropic lead­er­ship. Increase finan­cial resources and access to infor­ma­tion and experts.
7. Devel­op a com­mu­ni­ty of prac­tice. Bring togeth­er lead­ing part­ner­ships to share infor­ma­tion about promis­ing practices.

“This report shows what indus­try part­ner­ships can accom­plish by work­ing close­ly with employ­ers and job seek­ers to draw upon diverse sources of tal­ent to meet the skills busi­ness­es need,” says Alli­son Ger­ber, a senior asso­ciate who man­ages work­force devel­op­ment invest­ments for the Casey Foun­da­tion. ​“By using these strate­gies to advance equi­ty, indus­try part­ner­ships can reduce racial dis­par­i­ties while build­ing and sus­tain­ing a more effec­tive workforce.”

Read more on Casey’s invest­ments in sec­tor partnerships

Learn more about work­force devel­op­ment for young peo­ple of color

Find out how the Jobs Ini­tia­tive addressed racial disparities