Are there resources for increasing diversity that we are missing out on when advertising positions? | eePRO @ NAAEE
eePRO

The home of environmental education professional development

Are there resources for increasing diversity that we are missing out on when advertising positions?

Fri, 2016-05-27 10:16

Hey everyone!!

I am reaching out to the Diversity and Inclusion group for some guidance. I have an open position for an environmental educator (permanent, full time with great benefits. Click here for the listing on AZA:https://www.aza.org/Jobs/detail.aspx?id=42672).

The reason I am writing is that we would love to increase the diversity of our staff at our organization, but we get very, very few non-white applicants and very few applications from males in general. For my open position, I have advertised on NAAEE, AZA, Texas A&M job board, University of Wisconsin and through social media and still have not seen an even moderate level of diversity in the applicant pool. We have some amazing, very well-qualified applicants which is great, however, I was just curious if there are any best practices or tips for reaching out to a more diverse pool. We see this same trend when our zoo keeper positions become available as well.

Thanks in advance for any tips!
Lauren Watkins
White Oak Conservation

In reply to Lauren Watkins
Wed, 2016-06-08 13:48

Hi Lauren!

My organization just went through a big hiring push for our 2-year instructor position. Similarly to White Oak Conservation, we've been striving to increase the diversity of our staff, and generally have a staff that better reflects the communities we serve. We've realized that to find the many awesome, qualified candidates of color that we know are out there, we've needed to both shift and expand our recruitment. In our San Francisco context, we recruit heavily through local schools, community partners, and job boards to bring in local candidates who are already familiar with the SF Bay area. In addition to these local sources, check out:
- Environmental Professionals of Color: http://cdeinspires.org/our-services/movement-building/environmental-prof...
- Children and Nature Network: http://www.childrenandnature.org/
- Young Education Professionals: http://www.youngedprofessionals.org/
- Idealist: http://www.idealist.org/

In our hiring process, I was reminded, as I'm sure everyone on this listserv is already aware, that increasing the diversity of our organization goes beyond recruitment. We've been excited about looking deeply at our other practices, including professional development, organizational culture, and retention, to work towards an inclusive organizational culture.

I'd also love to hear of any tips from other organizations out there!