Championing Inclusion in America’s Workforce
Upwardly Global has been working with employers across the country to identify ways to champion inclusion in our workforce.
In 2020, with support from Accenture, WES Mariam Assefa Fund, and O.C. Tanner, Upwardly Global brought together corporate leaders and internationally trained professionals to envision corporate-facing products from internships/returnships, to an inclusion playbook, to an index that will change the DEI commitment calculus from a “nice to do” mandate to a “must do” action plan (see the Executive Summary from this initial work).
We conducted a set of Design Thinking Sessions with several employers, including a number of Fortune 500 companies, to begin ideation around identifying roadblocks in hiring foreign-born talent. We have developed cutting-edge, data-driven products to support talent acquisition teams in identifying the unique attributes of our talent pool and how to successfully understand the specific support immigrant professionals require to seamlessly transition into loyal employees. Check out the insights guide here.
Upwardly Global’s DEI Employer Working Group
To build on this work, we launched a DEI Employer Working Group made up of over 60 corporations — including NBC Universal, Walmart, Wells Fargo, Deloitte, Microsoft, Amazon, and more — to take this initial work forward and think about priority areas and prospective solutions in a deeper way. This is an invite-only working group to engage with peers, convene bimonthly, share best practices and challenges, and co-create solutions to better incorporate immigrant and refugee talent in our workforce. Join our cohort of corporate members engaged in peer learning and ideation around best practices in the field. Contact us to learn more.
Employer-Led Solutions to DEI: Returnships
Upwardly Global co-designs and implements mid-career returnship, internship, mentorship, and skilling programs to on-ramp internationally trained immigrants into corporate America. We built this type of model to address the multiple barriers for job seekers (such as access to U.S.-style work-based learning opportunities, cross-cultural communication, networking, mentorship, reskilling and upskilling, etc.) as well as for the employer (a low-risk approach to diversifying pipelines, customizing training for hiring needs, and providing employees with mentorship opportunities, etc.).
The model is optimized for assessing an employer’s talent needs, while bringing together DEI objectives as well as employee engagement, and offers alternative career pathways for immigrants with international credentials and experience. Learn more about our mid-career internship program with NewYork-Presbyterian.
Partner with Upwardly Global
Get Involved
If you are interested in joining our cohort of employers moving towards inclusive workplaces, or to co-create a customized model for your company, or provide feedback on models in the ideation phase, connect with our team.
- Readiness for Recruiters and Hiring Managers Get expert advice on hiring to focus on skill fit rather than “culture fit.” This training addresses common misperceptions in hiring immigrant and refugee talent and offers options for partnering with Upwardly Global and accessing our talent pool.
- Diverse & Inclusive Leadership Engage company leadership in collaborative discussion with foreign-born professionals about practices that support or hinder the retention, success, and upward mobility of diverse talent. Elements are tailored to participants’ needs.
- Hiring Inclusion Take a deep dive into best practices in screening, interviewing, hiring and onboarding talent with diverse perspectives and international experience.
Thought Leadership
We know that today, as our country contends with the triple threat of a global health crisis, a long-term economic downturn, and an awakening to systemic racial injustice, we need to move this work more urgently than ever before. All business enterprises – regardless of their size or sector – have a responsibility to devise responsible strategies for diversity, equity, and inclusion, that include vulnerable communities such as immigrants and refugees.
Over the past 21 years, Upwardly Global has engaged Corporate America – from the strategic C-Suite to operational levels – to learn, and take action around equity and inclusion and diversify their workforces. We are the first and longest serving national nonprofit dedicated to lifting immigrant and refugee professionals out of underemployment and into thriving wage jobs that align with their skills and education. We have served over 18,000 job seekers through our coaching, networking and skill-building programs and have placed more than 7,500 back into career-track positions.
Talent Acquisition
Hundreds of companies, of all sizes and in all sectors, have benefitted from hiring through Upwardly Global’s rich network of immigrant and refugee professionals. Our candidates bring diverse experiences and perspectives to workforces, proven to boost business’ innovation and bottom lines. Upwardly Global hires have a 90% retention rate after one year. Streamline access to our skilled talent pool and drive diverse hires
The Opportunity
We have learned that foreign-born job seekers face barriers and challenges throughout the entire job search process in the U.S., including:
UpGlo will work with you to address these barriers through engagement with your company’s Human Resources and Talent Acquisition teams, and interested general staff through the following options.
Talent Acquisition
Hundreds of companies, of all sizes and in all sectors, have benefitted from hiring through Upwardly Global’s rich network of immigrant and refugee professionals. Our candidates bring diverse experiences and perspectives to workforces, proven to boost business’ innovation and bottom lines. Upwardly Global hires have a 90% retention rate after one year.
Our talent team combs through candidates to find individuals with the skills and background to meet your company’s needs. Our candidates have:
- U.S. work authorization, so there’s no need for you to sponsor a visa.
- An average of nine years of professional experience.
- Over 50% have management experience.
- Skills in in-demand fields, including healthcare, engineering, technology and accounting.
- 100% have undergraduate degrees from their home countries, and 50% have masters degrees.
- Fluency in English — and frequently several other languages.
- International work experience and global professional networks.
- Strong loyalty to their employer: Upwardly Global hires have a 90% retention rate at 1-year mark.
Upwardly Global is also working with business leaders and hiring managers to co-create employment opportunities, apprenticeships, internships, and job shadowing opportunities. Together, we can dismantle barriers and link these talented individuals into the American workforce.
We are excited to support a pipeline of immigrant and refugee talent at your company. Connect with our Employer Partnership Team by filling out our contact form — we look forward to working with you.
Our Job Seekers
Building Talent Pipelines
Upwardly Global provides employers with a highly educated, skilled talent pool made up of fully work-authorized new Americans. This skilled pipeline of diverse talent is prepared to make real contributions to your company.
Our candidates are:
- WORK AUTHORIZED. Fully authorized for work in the U.S.- No sponsorship required. 1 in 3 is a refugee, asylee, or SIV.
- DIVERSE. 75% identify with communities of color; 50% men 50% women; multilingual
- LOYAL & DRIVEN. Highly motivated, loyal to employers; 90% retention rate at 1 year mark
- GLOBAL. International work experience; represent 150+ different countries.
- SPECIALIZED. Average of 9 year’s experience, more than 50% have management experience
- EDUCATED. 100% completed a BA/BS or equivalent; 50% have Master’s degree
Why UpGlo
Patty Dingle
"As a multinational company, Visa is committed to sourcing top global talent and to empowering our people to share diverse voices and perspectives at the table. Our partnership with Upwardly Global has helped us live these value—and to access incredible talent that we would not have been aware of otherwise."
Some of our Valued Partners
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Our Ambassadors
Champion immigrant and refugee inclusion.
Upwardly Global Ambassadors are changemakers from a range of fields, who share a deep commitment to advancing workforce equity and access for economically vulnerable immigrants and refugees, and to supporting their entry into professional jobs in the U.S.
As an Upwardly Global Ambassador, you will engage in private meetings with top experts in workforce integration and immigration, and with Upwardly Global’s senior leadership and alumni.
Ambassadors play an active role in helping Upwardly Global drive our mission forward through meaningful personal philanthropy, skilled volunteering and mentorship, and thought leadership. Members make an annual gift of $2,500 or more (or give at a special alumni membership rate) to help move the bar on workforce integration.
Each year, Ambassadors are invited to:
- Four virtual briefings from the field with special guests, the CEO, and Board
- One regional event for Ambassadors (when in person events resume)
- Join Upwardly Global’s Annual Gala event through early registration
We see a tough economy ahead, but also a real opportunity for immigrants to support vaccine rollouts, STEM jobs, and to bring us closer to realizing a bold, hopeful vision of a genuinely inclusive America.
We are excited to announce our 2022 Ambassador Co-Chairs!
2022 Ambassador Program
2022 Ambassador Program Section
March 30th at 9 am PST / 12pm EST – Conflict, Refugees and Inclusive: An Exclusive Briefing
May 19th at 11am PST / 2pm EST – Immigrant and Refugee Women Changing our Country
September 14th at 11am PST / 2pm EST – Voices from the Field: Industry Leaders Comment on Our Economy, Our Workforce, and Our Talent
December 2nd at 11am PST / 2pm EST – “Transforming Opportunity: Companies Supporting Immigrant Inclusion and Solving Workforce Needs
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For more information and to learn about joining Upwardly Global Ambassadors, contact: Nacllies Richards, Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships or (212) 219-1648