The Department of Labor recently held an event during which they discussed the challenges faced by AA and NHPI workers during the pandemic. The AA and NHPI workforce is diverse, and this diversity is often overlooked despite the recent reports indicating AA and NHPI workers’ labor market differences. The Department of Labor is working to empower all workers, including AA and NHPI workers, through policies that create and support good-quality jobs and improve working conditions. The panel discussion included various union and worker leaders who highlighted the challenges and issues faced by AA and NHPI workers in the workforce.
One of the crucial topics discussed during the event was the need to hear from AA and NHPI women workers in order to build an inclusive workplace for all. Women of color, especially immigrant women workers, are more likely to be employed in the domestic work or care sector, and these workers are less likely to know about basic labor rights and have access to resources in their languages. To advance equity, justice, and opportunity for AA and NHPI communities, it is critical to center the voices of AA and NHPI workers in policy discussions to improve job safety, promote equitable access to resources and services through proper language assistance, and disaggregate data to better understand the impact of programs.
In the recruitment and staffing industry, equity can be used to improve diversity and bring overall efficiency to the hiring process. Technology can play a key role in this process by using AI-powered tools to identify and eliminate unconscious biases in recruitment. AI can help in analyzing job descriptions, resumes, and other job-related materials to screen out language that can lead to gender, race, age, or other biases. AI can also be used to identify and engage qualified candidates who belong to underrepresented or marginalized communities by identifying transferable skills and experiences.
Overall, empowering AA and NHPI workers and promoting good jobs for all workers requires a continued effort to center the voices of all workers in policy discussions, including those who may be traditionally underrepresented or marginalized. The details about how to achieve this goal are present in the Women’s Bureau’s agency plan and The White House Initiative on AA and NHPIs strategy to promote safety and equity for AA and NHPI communities, which were published in January 2023.