Internet Association Launches New Job Referral Site With Hundreds Of Listings
“Improving diversity within internet companies is a top priority for IA and our members, and collective action from the industry is important to pave the way forward for meaningful and lasting change.”
– Sean Perryman, IA Director, Social Impact Policy and Counsel
Washington, DC – Today, Internet Association (IA) launched a new job referral site that features open positions across IA’s member companies in an effort to improve overall diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts within the industry. The referral site, powered by Aliro, currently features hundreds of internet jobs – with more to be added in the coming weeks and months – and serves as a centralized location and new resource for diverse job candidates who are underrepresented in the internet industry.
IA and its member companies recognize that more needs to be done to address workforce diversity and inclusion. This is especially true in today’s uncertain environment where many campuses and businesses have closed their doors and are unable to rely on traditional campus interviews and job fairs to attract talent. The internet industry knows how critical it is that job seekers are able to easily access and use online tools to connect with prospective employers. The new job site helps interested candidates find and apply to open positions at participating IA member companies and allows employers and employees of these companies to refer colleagues and contacts.
“We’re excited to launch this job referral site to provide our members another way to connect with talented diverse applicants,” said IA Director of Social Impact Policy and Council Sean Perryman. “Improving diversity within internet companies is a top priority for IA and our members, and collective action from the industry is important to pave the way forward for meaningful and lasting change.”
IA is partnering with nonprofits and other stakeholders including AnitaB.org, the Bipartisan Congressional HBCU Caucus, the National Urban League, and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to help develop a strong database of talented and qualified candidates, including women technologists, alumni from historically black and hispanic institutions, and other diverse candidates.
“We are excited to have IA as an ally in our mission to expand opportunities for women in tech,” said Stephanie Rodriguez, Vice President of Policy and Engagement at AnitaB.org. “We hope that IA’s new referral site will serve as a tool for women technologists to pursue roles for their talent, especially at a time when so many individuals are in need of quality career opportunities.”
“As founder and co-chair of the Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus, I applaud Internet Association on the rollout of their job referral tool targeted to HBCU job seekers,” said Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC). “In order to achieve true diversity and inclusion in our workforce, we must be intentional in creating opportunity for students and alumni from our biggest producers of diverse talent: HBCUs. I look forward to continuing engagement with our private partners as we seek to make HBCUs a part of every entity’s D&I strategy.”
“We are proud to partner with IA in our shared pursuit of helping people find jobs and pursue rewarding careers in the internet industry,” said Clint Odom, Senior Vice President for Policy and Advocacy, and Executive Director, Washington Bureau at National Urban League. “Connecting diverse talent with opportunities at internet companies is an important step in our mission to economically empower under-resourced and underrepresented communities.”
“The need to hire diverse and outstanding talent has once again taken center stage in the national spotlight,” said Dr. Harry L. Williams, President and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. “We are proud to partner with Internet Association to assist in recruiting diverse HBCU alumni through the launch of this important job referral service initiative.”
IA and its members recognize that much work can be done to improve diversity of the internet industry’s workforce, and this job referral site is one piece of a larger effort to increase transparency and implement viable practices to promote D&I within the industry. IA is also conducting its second annual D&I Benchmark Report, which provides workforce data across internet companies and examines existing D&I efforts and infrastructure of IA member companies that vary in age, size, and business model to better understand and improve the current landscape of historically underrepresented populations in the workforce.
As another part of IA’s long-term efforts, IA also recently released racial justice and reform considerations for policymakers at the federal and state level to review as they work to address systemic racism and inequality.
Visit IA’s job referral site here.
Find a two-page overview of IA’s job referral site here.
###