Black-Founded Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Tech Company, Kanarys, Announces Partnerships with Leading National Advocacy Organizations to Further DEI in the Workplace

DALLAS, Oct. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Kanarys, a Black-founded DEI technology platform that is the first to foster collaboration between companies and employees on DEI in the workplace, announces their partnerships with several leading national advocacy organizations designed to help underrepresented employees succeed in the corporate setting. These organizations have been among the national leaders of diversity initiatives for decades, and with their in-depth knowledge, they form Kanarys' founding partner organizations. The partnership allows organizations to utilize the platform, give a voice to their underrepresented members, and utilize the data uncovered by Kanarys to influence workplaces everywhere.

Kanarys is currently tracking more than 1,000 companies' DEI efforts through verified employee reviews, company policies, and organizational data - the largest tracking of its kind in the U.S. The company plans to release influential insights from joint DEI assessments with the founding partner organizations in the first quarter of 2021. These strategic partners include:

• National Urban League, a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities
• Prospanica, a national association of Hispanic MBAs and business professionals. Via its annual Conference & Career Expo, and 45+ Chapters nationwide, it delivers leadership development programs that increase Hispanic access to advanced professional opportunities
• Ascend, the largest, non-profit Pan-Asian membership organization for senior executives, business professionals, and students in North America, it is committed to advancing contributions of Pan-Asians across the career lifecycle to make greater impacts as leaders in the workplace and the community
• Black IDEA Coalition, a coalition of organizations across corporate, professional, and nonprofit sectors that exists to fulfill the promise of diversity and inclusion by empowering organizations and institutions to achieve Black parity in employment, investments, and contracting
• INROADS, the nation's largest non-profit dedicated to developing and placing talented underserved youth and experienced talent in business and industry, preparing them for corporate and community leadership

In addition to these organizations, Kanarys is in the process of finalizing a partnership with the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), one of the largest student-governed organizations based in the U.S, which supports and promotes the aspirations of collegiate and pre-collegiate students and technical professionals in engineering and technology.

As organizations designed to support underrepresented employees, together with Kanarys, they'll create widespread impact benefitting professionals across the U.S. by allowing their members to gain valuable insights into the experiences of underrepresented professionals in various corporate workplaces.  Kanarys also allows employees to anonymously rate and report DEI issues and challenges at their companies without the fear of retaliation, as well as obtain valuable insights into policies, leadership teams, and culture of various corporate workplaces.

"These advocacy organizations have teamed up with Kanarys because they understand that diversity, inclusion and equity are each wholly distinct things," said Mandy Price, co-founder and CEO of Kanarys. "A company can certainly be diverse, but not inclusive. Our platform is the only one designed by underrepresented employees for underrepresented employees, making it a platform built on lived experiences, beyond a diversity check box or review rating. Our users know they can trust Kanarys because of our well-rounded approach to DEI data and commitment to true belonging in the workplace."

Kanarys' data-driven platform gathers specific insights to help diagnose, prioritize, and optimize DEI efforts in the workplace and give organizations' members the tools to help them succeed. The company, founded in 2018, has the technology to administer DEI assessments to these national organizations' members to advance their efforts.  This partnership also aims to connect, grow, and learn from their members by providing DEI data on the Kanarys' platform to inform their career decisions, as well as the careers of all employees across the country.

"Economic empowerment is the central theme of the National Urban League's mission," said Marc H. Morial, National Urban League President and CEO. "With career success as the main driver of economic empowerment, we're better able to help African Americans secure economic self-reliance and parity by enabling the nearly two million individuals we serve annually to share reviews of equitable workplaces and discover the companies that prioritize DEI."

"For more than three decades, Prospanica has actively supported Hispanic business professionals while working to advance D&I initiatives that will create a landscape where our community's talent is recognized, integrated, nurtured and respected," said Thomas Savino, CEO of Prospanica. "We want our professional and student members to trust that the investments they make in their professional development will pay off and enable them to open doors for others. Our work with Kanarys will help forge a path toward more equitable workplaces for all."

"At Ascend, we believe that greater transparency in workforce reporting provides better understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion challenges at all levels of corporations, which is why we have chosen to partner with Kanarys," said Anna Mok, President of Ascend and Ascend Foundation. "The Kanarys platform will provide us with the necessary resources to empower our members and lead to greater connectivity for Pan-Asians and all diverse groups."

"The pursuit of the American dream has often been a dream deferred for Black people in this country, and even in 2020, we still face systemic racism which often halts those dreams," said Rev. Matthew Watley at The Black IDEA Coalition. "Our strategic partnership with Kanarys will help foster anti-racist company cultures and will hold companies accountable for microaggressions, implicit biases, and explicit biases."

"We've been committed to moving the diversity needle since 1970, and through our partnership with Kanarys, we hope this will be another avenue for us to fulfill our mission," said Forest Harper, President of INROADS. "The data and insights we'll uncover together will help us cultivate a diverse and inclusive workplace while providing a pathway to closing the racial wealth gap in America."

"For over 45 years, the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) has dedicated itself to producing a diverse technical workforce," said Karl Reid, Executive Director of NSBE. "By working with Kanarys, we can extend this critical work by giving our members and our organization critical tools to ensure that the workplaces that recruit and hire our members are also inclusive and equitable."

Companies that are both diverse and inclusive see up to 44% higher ROI. In a recent study of 506 U.S.-based businesses, each one percent increase in the rate of gender diversity resulted in an approximately three percent increase in sales revenues, up to the rate represented in the relevant population. In addition, people of color experience an emotional tax at work. Nearly 60% of women and men of color indicate they are on guard daily and mentally prepare for discrimination and bias they face in the workplace. This partnership is necessary for improving equity and inclusion in the workplace for all. DEI is not a "nice to have" concept. It's vital for business growth.

Visit kanarys.com for more information.

Kanarys

National Urban League

Prospanica

Ascend

Black IDEA Coalition

INROADS

National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)

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SOURCE Kanarys