Making a Career Move in 2021?

11 Questions to Ask Prospective Employers About Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Antiracism

2021 is a particularly complicated time to job hunt given social, political, and economic uncertainties. While those things are largely out of our individual control, selecting prospective employers is not. In fact, now more than ever, interviewees can and should ask direct questions about corporate and organizational commitments to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), as well as antiracism, as a part of the interview process. Surprisingly, some employers may find it strange if you don’t.

Racial unrest sparked last summer after the killing of George Floyd served as a wake-up call and opportunity for organizations to take public stances on their commitments to EDI with some going as far as to commit to antiracism. While those commitments were often released as public statements with lofty goals listed, the jury is still out on whether organizations have stayed the course and whether they are having real impacts on equity in the workplace.

While employee engagement survey data on EDI are often lacking — there are several questions an interviewee can ask a prospective employer to ascertain how EDI and antiracism manifest in workplace culture, core business functions, and decision-making.

1. Are equity, diversity, inclusion, and antiracism institutionalized in the vision, mission, and values statements?

2. Is there a specific plan and/or metrics related to EDI and antiracism that can be shared?

3. Is someone “paid to worry about” EDI and antiracism or does that fall to staff who volunteer to do the internal work?

4. How are staff and leadership held accountable for equity, diversity, inclusion, and antiracism throughout the organization?

5. Are resources available for ongoing staff development regarding EDI and antiracism?

6. What training have staff received on EDI and antiracism? When?

7. How are EDI and antiracism operationalized in the interview, hiring, and orientation processes?

8. What progress has the organization made on EDI and antiracism in the workplace over the past three years and what are their greatest successes?

9. Was a public statement released after George Floyd was killed? If so, what actions were taken after the release of that statement?

10. Where do they see room for growth related to EDI and antiracism over the next three to five years?

11. How has the organization engaged externally to support EDI and antiracism more broadly?

While it may not be possible to ask all these questions during the interview process, asking some of them is an effective way to demonstrate your interests. In addition to certification from a course such as Foundations of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion offered by CommonHealth ACTION; sparking dialogue from these questions may be exactly what makes a prospective employee stand out from the rest of the applicant pool. Not only do employers want to know you’re qualified; they also want to know you will put in the work necessary to support EDI and antiracism in the workplace from day one.

Interested in learning more about how to support and engage people within the context of their identities check out: https://medium.com/@natalie4health/colorblind-or-color-brave-fed2fe41167e

Ready to learn more about what “privilege” is and what it’s not? Read: https://medium.com/@natalie4health/why-i-wont-give-you-ten-tips-to-manage-your-privilege-9ba16cf31671

Want help finding the right words to talk about equity? Take a few minutes to read: https://medium.com/@natalie4health/how-to-fix-a-broken-tongue-cade93816add