MLK Center Launches New Diversity Web Site | Companies need to expand job applicant pool to achieve diversity
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A new web site to help employers find minority job candidates launched this month. Visit it at www.diversityworcester.org.
Photo/Courtesy
A new web site to help employers find minority job candidates launched this month. Visit it at www.diversityworcester.org.
Photo/Courtesy
Robert L. Thomas, president and CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. Empowerment Center.
Photo/Courtesy
Robert L. Thomas, president and CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. Empowerment Center.
A new web site put together by a group of business leaders and the Martin Luther King Jr. Empowerment Center in Worcester seeks to make it easier for employers in the region to connect with diverse candidate pools.The site, www.diversityworcester.org, was officially launched last month, and is the culmination of several years of work.
Robert L. Thomas, president and CEO of the empowerment center, said the web site's mission is simply "to help Worcester become a more welcoming place."
But at the same time, it can help businesses achieve diversity goals by helping connect employers with a new group of applicants.
Team Effort
The site got its start with a grant from the Greater Worcester Community Foundation. In addition, several major companies and organizations in the city signed on for annual subscriptions. Volunteer coordinators on the project include Michael D. Brokelman, a partner with the law firm of Bowdtich & Dewey, as well as Deborah Finch from the Hanover Insurance Group.
The companies listed on the site as sponsors include: UMass Medical School, Hanover Insurance, Bowditch, UMass Medical Center, St. Vincent Hospital, Saint-Gobain, Fallon Community Health Plan, Anna Maria College, Worcester Public Schools, Worcester Credit Union, Bank of America, YMCA of Central Massachusetts, Clark University, Unum, Worcester State College and Holy Cross University.
In addition to serving as a traditional job board, Brokelman said the hope is to also connect with the local colleges and have them post information about educational resources in the region.
"Over the next several months we hope it turns into a viable web site," he said.
The web site's main purpose - to increase the pool of applicants for a job - is right in line with what James E. Wallace Jr., an employment attorney with Bowditch & Dewey, says is the purpose of affirmative action.
"Affirmative action is not intended to necessarily result in the hiring of a minority, but rather to increase the pool of minority applicants," Wallace said. At a minimum, he said, that means advertising for job openings in publications - or in this case web sites - that target minority publications and participating in job fairs that target minority populations.
Thomas agreed. "You will not get a diverse pool by only advertising in the city's only daily paper," he said.
Bob Carnegie of Upton-based Human Resource Consultants has spent more than 30 years in the HR industy, and has worked for more than a decade with one of the most diverse organizations around - the United Nations.
He acknowledged that Central Massachusetts doesn't have it easy when it comes to minority hiring.
"Worcester County doesn't have the most diverse population," he said, adding that "a lot of companies don't look beyond Worcester City never mind Worcester County,"
Carnegie said. The population of Worcester County is more than 784,000. More than 90 percent of the county is white, while less than 4 percent are black and less than 8 percent are Hispanic or Latino.
So, is finding a diverse workforce - which includes not just minorities, but the disabled as well - really worth all the extra effort? Carnegie and Thomas both seem to think so.
"From an operational standpoint, I think you're losing out or missing the opportunity to gain a different perspective" if you don't have a diverse workforce, he said.
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