Opening Keynote, Engaged Employer Symposium 2021

All Means All: Human Centered Leadership Lessons from the Disability Justice Movement by Adana Protonentis

Adana Protonentis (she/her) is a community educator, organizational development consultant, advocate, and scholar. Her research interests include the intersection of racism and ableism in organizations and the development of trauma-informed and equity-centered approaches to public administration.

Thanks to all who attended the 4th annual Engaged Employer Symposium!

The Engaged Employer Symposium is a day of learning for recruiters, hiring managers, co-workers, and community members committed to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and social justice in their organizations.

 Sampling of content from past Symposia:

The Career Engagement Office embraces both the open exchange of ideas and learning from varying perspectives, inclusive of the beliefs and identities reflected within the community. We strive to embed these principles into our programming and events. United, we are committed to ensuring students, staff, faculty, alumni, employers, and community members each feel they belong here, unequivocally. We recognize that this work, rooted in our distinctive social justice mission, is challenging, ongoing, and essential to who we are and what we aspire to be.

Employer Best Practices

Given their own identities and backgrounds, the complex and quickly evolving world in which they've grown up, and Seattle U’s commitment to inclusion and belonging, our students have high expectations of employers around diversity recruiting.

Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

  • Make sure you can answer questions about your organization’s demonstrated commitment not just to diversity, but more importantly to equity, inclusion, and belonging. 
  • Reduce barriers. Employers with unpaid internships, GPA requirements, a narrow list of allowed majors, and a traditional workday structure are missing out on qualified candidates. 
  • Ensure that your recruitment team is trained in unconscious bias and has scrutinized what your organization means by “professionalism” and “culture fit.”
  • Update your Handshake profile with examples of how your organization supports an inclusive and equitable work environment (e.g., affinity groups, mentoring programs, community engagement efforts, social justice benefits).
  • Build trust. Organizations can no longer afford to check a box and move on. Be prepared to engage in a customized, multi-year strategy for each population you are seeking to recruit; it takes time to establish trust with historically marginalized communities, and a “one size fits all” approach does not work.

Antiracism Reading List

Organizations to Follow on Social Media

ABOUT THIS PAGE

Whether you’re new to allyship or a longtime advocate and accomplice, the path ahead will be filled with imperfection. Listening, learning, and improving will serve you well. It’s a long haul. Persevere.

We have curated these resources to empower each of us to learn more, speak out, and take action. It is for community members to review and use for their continued education around race and anti-racism. This page will be updated periodically as we acquire additional resources that will be of use to the community.

NOTE: This list is not all-encompassing and not a complete picture of the resource available for perusal. Also, while some of the resources are free, some may require additional purchases, so please bear this in mind as you review this page.

If there is a resource not listed that you would recommend that we add, we invite you to email us at careerengagement@seattleu.edu with recommendations.