NEW PARTNERS ACCESS AND EQ
Nearly 60% of U.S. college seniors who received a job offer by graduation had participated in an internship, and they were more likely than their non-interning peers to receive multiple offers, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. This supports scores of data that reinforce the value of internships and their connection to better outcomes, including higher salaries and employment rates. But those benefits aren’t distributed equally. Students of color are significantly less likely to apply for internships. Research by the B.A. Rudolph Foundation shows 68.2% of White students participate in internships, while only 59.5% of Black students and 53.3% of Hispanic students do. The outcomes for Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) don’t improve, either. People of color are less frequently referred for jobs, less frequently called back for interviews, and have less access to their organization’s senior leadership compared to White colleagues. All that combines for a promotion rate from manager to executive of just 2.6% for Black managers, compared to 4.9% for White managers. CWU’s Milton Kuolt Professor of Business Andy Parks is hoping to move that needle. Parks is partnering with Deanna Kennedy, associate dean of academics for the School of Business at the University of Washington Bothell. The pair was awarded a $25,000 grant from the KPMG U.S. Foundation’s Reaching New Heights Program. The program is designed to promote access and equity in higher education and increase awareness of pipeline diversity. In addition to being grant partners, Parks and Kennedy are co-chairs for the Washington Employers for Racial Equity’s (WERE) Pipeline for Black and Indigenous Employees committee. The committee is pursuing three large initiatives to prepare and open the pipeline to more BIPOC employees: 1. Create a racial equity repository of information and resources for the academic and business communities. 2. Create a leadership training program for BIPOC early career professionals and their mentors. 3. Create an internship training program for BIPOC students.
The KPMG grant will help fulfill the third objective. The first was completed in 2022 and is available on CWU’s WERE website . Parks and Kennedy completed the first round of the leadership training program in March (see accompanying story on page 9). “When Deanna and I decided we needed something for college students as well as business professionals, we decided to use a model of mindfulness and emotional intelligence training that would go outside what a student would traditionally receive through their university’s career services department,” Parks said. “The other part was we wanted to give their managers training on how to best support an intern of color, which they may not typically receive at their company.” Andy Parks, CWU’s Kuolt Distinguished Professor of Business, received one of the most prestigious honors in U.S. higher education this spring when he was presented with the Reginald Wilson Diversity Leadership Award from the American Council on Education. The annual award is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions and demonstrated sustained commitment to diversity in higher education.
6
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator