Diversity Cell Strategies

By John Hancock, Vice President of Strategy, The RightThing

 

In working with our client base across a wide variety of industries, I’ve seen a lot of brilliant initiatives implemented in order to reach out to diversity candidates. However, I’ve noticed that even top-rated diversity recruitment programs tend to focus on 2oth century, desktop technology – when, increasingly, diversity candidates access the Internet via mobile devices.

Statistics regarding overall mobile usage point to a new and noteworthy trend: People, including job seekers, are on the move and taking their technology with them.

A recent study that came across my desk from Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project finds that 59 percent of adults now access the Internet wirelessly using either a laptop or a cell phone. This figure, while significant in itself, marks an increase of nearly 16 percent over a 13-month period. Among all adults in the United States connecting via cell phones, 72 percent do so to send or receive text messages; 38 percent access the Internet; and 34 percent send or receive email.

Among African Americans and English-speaking Hispanics, these numbers trend upward—and for many applications the increases are substantial. Pew finds 79 percent of African Americans use their cell phones to send or receive text messages; 46 percent access the Internet; and 41 percent send or receive email. In addition, 44 percent of African Americans use their cell phones to send or receive instant messages, and 33 percent use a social networking site.

Among English-speaking Hispanics, use of cell phones for these applications is even greater. 83 percent of English-speaking Hispanics use their cell phones to send or receive text messages; 51 percent access the Internet; and 47 percent send or receive email. 49 percent, of all English-speaking Hispanics use their cell phones to send or receive instant messages, and 36 percent use a social networking site.

For many Americans, cell phones are an alternative to, not a substitute for, a laptop computer. Pew finds that nearly half, 47 percent, of wireless Internet users also access the Internet using a laptop. But among African Americans and English-speaking Hispanics use of laptop computers is not as prevalent. 18 percent of African Americans and 16 percent of Latinos are cell-phone only wireless users.

Pew also finds the younger the population, the more likely they are cell-only wireless users. Nineteen percent of 18-29 year olds are in this category.

Similarly, income and education are usage factors. 17 percent of people earning less than $30,000 per year are cell-only wireless users, as are 20 percent of people who have not graduated from high school and 15 percent of individuals who are high school graduates but have not attended college.

I’ve seen other research lately that also supports a mobile diversity recruiting strategy.

Nielsen, a global leader in measurement and information, finds that as of December 2010, nearly a third, of all mobile users in the United States owned smartphones. However, Nielsen finds significantly more smartphone users among ethnic and racial minorities in the United States. 45 percent of Asian/Pacific Islanders, 45 percent of Hispanics, and 33 percent of African Americans reported owning a smartphone.

Use of smartphones is not only expected to increase, but escalate at a record pace. Recent research from Gartner indicates 67 million smartphones were sold in the U.S. in 2010 and is projected to increase to 95 million in 2011.

It stands to reason that usage among ethnic and racial minorities will continue to increase exponentially.

As a result, the time to develop a mobile diversity recruiting strategy is now. Organizations that fail to include mobile as part of a diversity recruiting strategy risk limiting their candidate reach.