Entries by The Team at Working IDEAL

A Call to Action to Employers for Equal Pay Day

This Equal Pay Day marks another reminder of the persistent wage gap for women. On average, women working full-time, year-round make only 84 cents for every dollar paid to men. Women continue to be underpaid and undervalued and overrepresented in the lowest paid jobs. Employers must take action to ensure equal pay by: Establishing clear […]

Year in Review: Highlights of Strategic Advising, Racial Equity Assessment, DEI Strategy, Pay Equity, and More in 2023

Reflecting on the past year, we are proud of our team’s accomplishments and the organizations where we have helped advance pay equity, diversity, and a more just, inclusive workplace. Explore select initiatives below. Racial Equity Assessment of BlackRock.  In 2022, BlackRock asked Working IDEAL to join a team led by Covington & Burling, LLP, to […]

Rethinking “Merit” Increases: How Pay for Performance Can Perpetuate Bias and Fail to Reward Merit

Many employers attempt to provide some form of “merit”-based pay using performance factors for base pay increases, bonuses, and other forms of compensation. This approach to compensation is typically well-intended. Employers want to motivate employees to improve their performance, to reward high performers, and to attract and retain top talent. Unfortunately, merit increases are a […]

Working IDEAL Supports Proposal to Update Federal Standards for Collection of Race and Ethnicity Information

On April 27, 2023, Working IDEAL submitted comments regarding a proposal to update federal standards for the collection of race and ethnicity information. These standards have not been updated since 1997. Working IDEAL supports efforts to modernize reporting of race and ethnicity information, particularly as they relate to the collection of workforce demographic data. For […]

Rethinking Unpaid Internships: Equity Upon Entry to the Workforce

Authors: Joelle Min and Sarah Crawford Young people across the country often pursue internships with hopes of return offers and greater career opportunities once graduation comes along. In 2022, internships are of greater importance as the height of the pandemic last year canceled almost half of internship opportunities. Often, students are expected to be grateful […]

5 Reasons Why First-Generation College Students Should be a Target Population in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts in the Workplace

Authors: Xavier Walker, Cherrie Bucknor, and Pam Coukos First-generation college students/professionals are a unique population of people who are an increasing focus for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at colleges and universities, and that should become a formal part of workplace DEI programs. To be a first-generation student typically means one’s parent(s)/caretaker(s) did not obtain […]

7 Ways to Promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Hiring

Authors: Ahmmad Brown and Sarah Crawford In today’s competitive job market, employers can deploy a range of strategies to attract and recruit diverse talent. The following recommendations – broken into the recruitment, candidate evaluation, and process maintenance phases – offer best practices and considerations to develop a recruitment and hiring protocol to ensure diversity, equity, […]

Building a Culture Code to Promote Respect in the Workplace

Authors: Sarah Crawford and Christian Andres Alfaro A strong culture code—which alternatively may be called a code of conduct or civility code—sets expectations about how employees should interact in order to create a healthy workplace culture. A culture code can help to foster a safe and constructive working environment in which all employees feel accepted […]