Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

• Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)- certified company.
• 52% of our active contractors are BIPOC, and 53% of our active contractors identify as female.
• 70% of Swoon’s leadership falls in different primary characteristics of diversity (age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, race, and physical ability).
• Swoon is on the board of Girls in Tech in Toronto. Girls in Tech is a global non-profit organization focused on the engagement, education and empowerment of women in technology.
• We are actively involved in the Atlanta chapter of Women in Tech. This organization empowers girls and women to excel in science, technology, engineering, the arts and math (STEAM) from the classroom to the boardroom.
• Swoon launched 5 DE&I committees in 2020. Although newer in tenure, the committees are dedicated to addressing barriers and bringing in a more inclusive workforce for ourselves and our clients.

Black Inclusion Group (B.I.G.) – “Our goal is to bring a deeper understanding to the representation gap of Black people within technology to our Swoon team. In addition, we want to help navigate and learn how to identify creative ways of broadening the recruiting space to include more diversity.”

• Hosted a LinkedIn Live event around coaching job seekers on how to market their resumes and multiple resume workshops with Black Women in Artificial Intelligence
• Partnered with the White Sox Volunteers Corp for MLK Day
• Educated internal team members on Juneteenth and the history around it
• Educated our external audience on Black History Month through social media content
• Supported Black Business Awareness Month by hosting a competition for internal team members to go and monetarily support Black Businesses in their community

Pride at Swoon – “To educate and bring awareness, impact actual change internally as well as externally, and engage with our community to further our efforts. Our goal is to bring awareness and education around the LGBTQ+ community and support in various ways such as attending walks and various events.”

• Created an allyship certification program where participants needed an 85% on their assessment to pass and become a certified ally within Swoon
  • We were able to certify over 30 allies with the inaugural class
• Hosted a keynote speaker from the Trevor Project
• Educated internal team members on pronouns
• Hosted a happy hour, live Q+A session, and trivia to celebrate Pride Month and give team members a chance to learn some history and get exposure to LGBTQ+ culture through the eyes of one of Chicago’s most popular drag queens, Veronica Pop
• Sponsored a team for the 2021 AIDS Walk & Run in Chicago, where we were able to raise over $2,000

Veterans Council – “To establish a community that supports our current and past service members. We strive to increase awareness around veteran-related issues and working with organizations in our communities that serve veterans.”

• Hosted resume writing workshops and mock interviews through our partnership with the Jesse Brown VA in Chicago
• Within the next 12 months, they hope to have established Swoon’s first Veterans recruiting team through their partnership with DOD Skillbridge

Women’s Initiative Network (W.I.N.) – “We want to impact change, spread education and awareness, and interact with the community to further our efforts. Our goal is to tie in volunteering into our outreach efforts and improve some of our current internal policies.”

• Hosted our first webinar panel around celebrating influential women in business
• Hosted a fundraiser to donate supplies to Hope Haven in DeKalb, Illinois, in honor of Women’s Equality Day
• Sponsoring 20 women from the Women in Business organization at the University of Iowa for their professional trip to Milwaukee in October 2021

Yesability – “To educate ourselves on how to best support individuals with various disabilities in the workplace. Our goal is to eliminate the stigma surrounding disabilities of all types by providing ongoing education to ensure the Swoon team knows what resources are available to them both internally and externally for our contractors and clients.”

• Focused on breaking down mental health barriers through hosting various lunch and learns, fireside chats, etc. throughout the year
• Worked with Have Dreams, an organization that supports individuals with Autism in the workplace, to host an educational training to showcase how we can partner with the organization to best support these candidates. As a result, we have successfully placed a Have Dreams candidate while providing on-site job coaching

Black Women in Artificial Intelligence (B.W.I.A.I.) – partnership with Black Inclusion Group (B.I.G.)

• B.W.I.A.I. is an organization that focuses on telling the story of Black Women working, learning, and advocating in the Artificial Intelligence sector.

Have Dreams – partnership with YESability

• Have Dreams is an organization that supports individuals with Autism in the workplace to better understand everything from how to best support someone with Autism to the broad range of roles those with Autism tend to seek out (though there truly are no limits!).

DOD Skillbridge – partnership with Veterans Council

• The DOD Skillbridge program is an opportunity for Service members to gain valuable civilian work experience through specific industry training, apprenticeships, or internships during the last 180 days of service. It connects Service members with industry partners in real-world job experiences.

Women in Business at the University of Iowa – partnership with Women’s Initiative Network (W.I.N.)

• W.I.N. is sponsoring 20 women for their Professional Trip to Milwaukee in October 2021. This is an annual event where individuals visit a few organizations to build their professional experience and portfolio for networking purposes. They can use this time to network and understand more about different companies and industries to ensure that they can find the best fit for themselves when it comes to taking an internship or a full-time position.

i.c.Stars – partnership with Swoon

• i.c.Stars is a minority-focused workforce development program for underserved adults. We provide pre-job search coaching and mentorship during the application and interview process.