Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
We pride ourselves on being a small, woman-owned and operated search firm that is passionate about cultivating a culturally aware, diverse, and inclusive workforce for our client companies. Since 2007, Acumen has been proud of our ability to attract and hire a diverse range of talented candidates with 55% of candidates placed in leadership positions being women and/or from underrepresented communities. We are particularly proud of presenting and placing multiple women of color in executive roles over the last 2 years.
In equity hiring, it’s critical to understand our own inherent biases and point them out in others diplomatically when they surface – it’s important to be mindful of the fact that some candidates from diverse backgrounds may not be the most qualified on paper, but the gap can often be bridged with extra training or coaching, networking, resources that can help level the playing field.
Every organization has a different perspective on what Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion look like for them, so we are adept at listening and ensuring we understand your mission/vision/values/equity focus so we can attract candidates who will align with your organization on all fronts. We require each team member to pursue continuing education and community involvement. Our Senior Talent Director, Molly Norton, co-founded her own grassroots group dedicated to promoting equity, multiculturalism, LGBTQ, and intersectionality in the local schools and has worked closely with respected anti-racism community groups LO for Love and Respond to Racism. Their mission is to foster a community in Lake Oswego that stands up against bigotry and intolerance and welcomes and embraces the diversity of all people. Molly is also a part of PDX Women in Tech which focuses much of its efforts on DE&I training and implementing those frameworks in their education and outreach. She also is well-connected to international DEI thought leaders such as Madison Butler, Lily Zheng (Stanford), and Dana Brownlee (Forbes) who provide continuing education. She has been instrumental in keeping the Acumen Team well informed of DEI sector-specific recruiting trends.
Acumen is delighted to announce our partnership with Equity expert and thought leader Zhou Fang from Intersectional Group. Read our blog post to learn more about Zhou, EDI, and our partnership.
Some resources to reduce bias in your interview process:
This 2019 King County Washington training video offers a good explanation of bias and how to reduce its impact on hiring.
Basic overview article by Lou Adler, CEO, Performance-based Hiring Learning Systems.
Read our blog post 5 Questions to Support Building Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace