Table of Contents

1. Browse Their Website and Social Media
2. Research the Executive Team
3. Match the Company’s CoreValues to Yours
4. Checklists of the Industry’s Bests
5. Ask Questions During Your Interview
   1. Initial Phone Interview
   2. Speaking with the Hiring Manager

How can you tell if a company truly supports diversity, inclusion, and equity in its company values and efforts?

Here are some places to start: 

Browse Their Website and Social Media

A great beginning point is their company website. Do the images show diversity? Some companies also have a specific diversity and inclusion section on their website. If they do, check to see if they have statistics or goals included on their page. 

Does the company partake in volunteering? Often times you can find blog posts or social media pictures of their staff volunteering at a local organization. Do some research on the type of volunteering they do and who they are helping in their community by doing so. 

Oftentimes, a company’s social media channels will show more of the company’s employees, so take a look at that to see if there is diversity amongst the employees already. 

Research the Executive Team

You can oftentimes find a website page showing who the company’s leadership team is and their bios. Take some time to read through the backgrounds. If a company has all or mostly white, male executives, make sure to note asking if they are taking steps to diversify their leadership.

If the information isn’t available directly on their company website or social media channels, you can search on LinkedIn. If you google “Position title, company, LinkedIn” it should lead you to some of the leadership team. 

Some companies have also created a position that specifically relates to diversity and inclusion, such as a Chief Diversity Officer, or added new duties to human resources roles. 

Match the Company’s Core Values to Yours

Make a list of all the values and benefits that are important to you and compare them to the ones listed on the company’s website or social media, and then read through the company’s mission statement if you can find it. Do enough of them match up to what is important to you? Does the company have a mission you are comfortable standing behind? 

With recent events, many companies have also released statements across social media and website homepages that clearly show their stance on diversity and inclusion, and the steps they are taking to follow through with that support. 

Checklists of the Industry’s Bests

There are many resources you can use to see industry rankings of potential companies you are interested in working for. Diversity Inc., and Fortune, both have rankings available of what companies are promoting diversity and inclusion amongst their employees. The Human Rights Campaign also releases an annual Corporate Equality Index report that rates companies on LGBTQ equality and inclusion.  

Ask Questions During Your Interview

During your research of any company, feel free to take note of any specific topic you want clarification or more information on. Sometimes, their diversity and inclusion efforts are less obvious on company websites or social media channels. 

During every interview, there should be time for you to ask the interviewer any questions you may have. That is your time to dig deeper and find out more about their policies and efforts. Here are some examples of questions you could ask at different stages of the interview process: 

Initial Phone Interview:

Keep these questions broader since it is the first interaction you have with this company. Especially if you are interviewing with a contracted recruiter or someone who doesn’t interact with the specific team you are interviewing for daily.

1. What are the most important values for the company?
2. What initiatives does the company take to promote diversity and inclusion?
3. What are the benefits the company offers? 
4. Are the company’s recruiting efforts supporting a diverse culture? 

Speaking with the Hiring Manager: 

When you are interviewing with the person who will be your specific manager, they will have more insight into the team you will be joining. You can take this time to learn more about how your direct team approaches diversity and inclusion. 

1. How do you promote diversity and inclusion on your team? 
2. How do you empower the members of your team? 
3. How diverse is the leadership team?
4. Are there any diversity and inclusion programs in place? 
5. What diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence training does the company offer or support? 

It is important that you feel supported in any position with any company that you choose to join. With current world events showing how important it is that companies support diversity and inclusion amongst their employees, there are countless opportunities for companies to step up and create new policies and programs or strengthen existing policies and programs to create a strong and diverse workforce throughout the hospitality industry.