Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Greentarget is committed to DE&I in the workplace and beyond.

Our Commitment

Greentarget is focused on creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce as an environment that benefits our culture, our clients’ business objectives and the larger communities we live in and work in. We pursue our DE&I goals via six elements:

Talent Pipeline

Public relations, like many parts of the professional services landscape, has long been quite homogeneous. Changing that starts by creating new pipelines for talent, which is why we’re committed to the following actions:

Interviewing at least 25% BIPOC candidates for any open position
Seeking out diverse contractors across crisis, digital, content, research and media relations
Working with Chicago Public Schools to introduce PR to the next generation of talent
Expanding our internship program network with new and expanded partnerships with HBCU Bowie State University and the Emma Bowen Foundation
Participating in a pilot apprenticeship program for soon-to-be graduates from a variety of backgrounds
Reviewing job descriptions through an equity and inclusion lens

Financial Commitment

As an organization that values diversity and the variety of perspectives that an inclusive environment brings, we’re always looking for ways to further our commitment. Promoting our values outside of the office is just as important as within, so we put our money where our mouth is (literally). In 2018 we formalized an ongoing commitment to maintaining and investing in minority and women-owned businesses across our vendor relationships. Our first pledge was to support to 1871’s ChiBuys, a program that helps businesses spend their food budgets with local, minority or women-owned restaurants and catering services in Chicago. We’ve since expanded that list and added regular review checkpoints into our vendor process. Our hope is that by voting with our wallet, and making intentional investments in organizations whose philosophies align with our core values, we’ll be able to foster diversity and inclusion not only in our offices, but in our communities broadly.

Client Collaboration

We counsel our clients on how to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing DE&I conversation by:

Instilling a dedication across Greentarget to always ask clients whether they have a diverse source to include in PR projects
Examining programs for an increased number of voices, which will be apparent in our regular measurement work
Identifying opportunities to partner with and learn from clients on DE&I initiatives, particularly those with strong track records of work in the space

Professional Development

Learning from experienced DE&I Leads and organizations
Creating an internal GT toolkit
Investing in allyship education

Community Investment

We’re also doing what we can to support business leaders of tomorrow: our pro bono and community service work is focused on organizations that serve BIPOC and other minority communities. Greentarget’s community investment team works to organize pro bono work and volunteer projects to support local nonprofits, such as Girls on the Run, a program that aims to teach life skills and inspire girls through dynamic, interactive lessons and running games, as well as OpenBooks, an organization dedicated to promoting youth literacy in Chicago.