Employer Resource Hub
One third of the average American’s day is spent working, accumulating to 25-30 years of American lives being spent in some sort of workplace or a formal working capacity. Such numbers make the workplace without a doubt one of the most central aspects and defining environments of one’s life. With so much time spent in the workplace, whether remotely or in-person, it is essential that it is a place where all employees feel they can bring their whole selves to work.
There is never a wrong time to reflect upon what is necessary in order to make the workplace and consequently, Portland, a place where everyone feels like they belong. As Portland continues to grow as a destination for families and individuals, fostering a culture that is open to learning and welcoming is arguably the most important factor in retaining and recruiting employees. The necessary steps to making this a reality are rooted in addressing inequities within the workplace and the community. Employers and organizations are crucial in moving the needle across all communities, and it has become more evident over the years that this is not only the expectation of employers, but their duty and responsibility.
The Office of Economic Opportunity has created this Employer Hub Continuum to provide a one-stop shop of all different types of resources to help those at all levels be more inclusive in everything they do at the workplace. Resources vary from podcasts, webinars, articles, to reports and examples of best practices across the country, in a three tier system of “beginner”, “intermediate”, and “advanced.”
We are never done learning, and this Portland-based hub seeks to embody this crucial concept. This Employer Resource Hub had many inspirations, the most prominent being the Awake to Woke to Work publication by Equity in the Center. As shown in the visual, this model embodies the idea that learning about equity and race is a cycle. Just as we learn something new and feel we have reached an understanding of a new topic, we will undoubtedly find ourselves having to revert to the “beginning” of this never ending journey towards equity. The resources and tools in the “early” end of the spectrum are never irrelevant and serve as a foundation to equity work. Other inspirations have included the reports from the format of “plan, act, and evaluate” from Racial Equity Tools and the “normalize→ organize → operationalize'' model that is commonly found in many DEI initiatives and best practices.