How to Promote Diversity Through Mindful Spending
This last year has, for many, highlighted the importance of a diverse workforce. When companies provide equal opportunities to all people without allowing prejudice to get in the way, they thrive. Moreover, society thrives alongside them.
That said, the average consumer may wonder how they can make an impact on hiring diversity. After all, if you’re not in charge of looking over potential candidates, what can you really do? It might surprise you to learn that you actually have a lot of sway with businesses, thanks to your spending patterns. Companies want your business, and they’ll listen to you to get it. Cultured Focus has designed this article to give you a look at how you can begin spending with diversity promotion in mind:
Get Choosier
The first step toward using your dollars to make a difference is to get pickier about where you spend them. Start a budget that keeps track of not just how much you spend, but where you’re spending as well. Then, do some research on those companies to see if their values align with yours. If they don’t, start searching for alternatives that do.
This can also go a long way toward helping you save money and purchase higher-quality items. When you cut back on impulsive spending, you can start planning what you spend and why. This also gives you time to look for discounts and sales. For example, if you’re looking for a great price at an inclusive department store like Macy’s, you can search for a Macy’s promo code online before you start to shop.
Do Your Research
Once you’ve started to pay attention to how you’re spending, you’ll need to learn how to research companies to understand their diversity practices. Remember, hiring figures themselves are only part of the picture. If they have a large minority workforce but nearly all of those workers are in low-skill, low-paid jobs, you should be suspicious.
Take a look at how these companies handle diversity. Lush Cosmetics is a great choice for quality products sourced from a diverse workforce. If you’re traveling, the Marriott does an excellent job of committing to diverse hiring practices all the way up the corporate ladder.
If you can’t find figures online to represent middle and upper management demographics, reach out to their hiring department and ask. If they have the figures, you can use them to determine whether or not you’d like to support that business. If they don’t, urge them to perform an audit so that you can gauge their commitment to diversity. You might just help them spot an issue and spark a change!
Make Your Voice Heard
A single consumer can make a difference, but the more people you can get to join you in supporting diverse businesses, the better. You can do this by directly bringing up the subject with people or posting about it online, but this might be uncomfortably direct for some people. If that’s not your style, don’t worry — there are a ton of other ways to encourage others to buy from diverse businesses.
For example, if you get a compliment on something you bought from such a company, mention the company and its values when you say thanks. Something like, “I got this from XYZ! I love their stuff, plus it’s nice to support such a diverse company.” can spark interest and curiosity in your audience. Suddenly, the friend who liked your earrings is also thinking about how they can develop more ethical spending practices as well. Not only will this feel more natural, but it’s also more likely to change people’s habits since you’ll be demonstrating how possible ethical spending actually is.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the idea of promoting diversity in industry, but remember: your spending decisions come with a lot of power. Take your financial decisions seriously — not only will you have more money to spend, but you’ll feel better about how you’re spending it, and make a difference along the way.
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