New Hires Must Include People with Criminal Convictions, says Reform Advocate
It’s time to be more “diversity-driven” and give everyone equitable access to opportunities, writes Barat Dickman, board member of College & Community Fellowship, in an op ed for Truth Out.
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For many people impacted by the criminal legal system in America, opportunities for economic success that are necessary for building a thriving life, family and community are often out of reach. Because of this, if hiring practices across the country want to be “diversity-driven,” they have to hire people with criminal convictions, writes Barat Dickman, a board member of the College & Community Fellowship, a nonprofit that helps women and families most harmed by mass criminalization gain equitable access to opportunity and higher education, in an Op-Ed published by Truth Out. “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” have become buzzwords since the summer of 2020, Dickman writes, arguing that diversity training programs to help educate employers are still failing to consider justice-impacted individuals, and are disproportionately harming Black and brown people.
Black people account for 40 percent of incarcerated people in the United States, but only represent 13 percent of the total U.S. population. Even after ending their contact with the system, people with criminal convictions face barriers and collateral consequences that hinder them from finding employment, finding affordable housing and attending college. “Employers who care about diversity and racial equity should embrace candidates impacted by the criminal legal system,” Dickman writes.
