IN Minority Career Development Webinar Series

Challenge

In 2019, we set out to better understand the Rockland Trust minority population. We wanted to know what jobs they hold, where they physically sit, who their managers are and what their career paths looked like. In looking at the data, we uncovered that the majority of minority colleagues sit in entry level jobs. The data revealed that of our 14.5% minority population the majority (68.4%) currently hold entry level positions (compared to 50.1% of white population). Additionally, the promotion rate was significantly less for Professionals of Color than the White population.

Actions

In order to assist minorities in their career development, we launched a four-part webinar series aimed at addressing the unique experiences and needs of diverse professionals and giving colleagues more awareness of the unconscious bias that could be occurring. While these webinars were initially meant as a development tool to assist minorities and their managers, they were adapted to discuss the many work and life challenges caused as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Webinar topics included the following:

  • Broadening Your Diversity and Inclusion Practice Amidst the Pandemic –This webinar gave colleagues the opportunity to understand how colleagues are affected by the pandemic differently and consciously engage with others to build community and individual effectiveness.
  • Diverse Challenges in Managing Work / Life / Health for You and Your Colleagues - This session provided an opportunity for colleagues to share perspectives on how COVID-19 effected their lives, personally and professionally.
  • Show Your Credibility and Value-Add in the “New Normal” Workplace - This session offered individuals encouragement and strategies to communicate their capability and contributions, while also offering managers different ways to recognize diverse contributors from their team members.
  • Speak Up and Make the Ask So You Can Perform Your Best – This webinar gave women and professionals of color the tools and resources to speak up and advocate for their ideas or their needs in the workplace.
Outcomes

While the long-term impact of the webinar series is to be determined, we hope that it helps professionals across different social identities to fully engage, contribute and feel valued during this time of disruption and turbulence. Long term measures of success include the upward mobility of Professionals of Color at Rockland Trust in 2020.

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