NACE Position Statement: Diversity and Anti-Discrimination

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) connects more than 7,300 college career services professionals at nearly 2,000 colleges and universities nationwide and nearly 3,000 university relations and recruiting professionals representing more than 900 corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations that serve this community. NACE is the leading source of information on the employment of the college educated, and forecasts hiring and trends in the job market; tracks starting salaries, recruiting and hiring practices, and student attitudes and outcomes; and identifies best practices and benchmarks.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has a long-standing tradition of promoting diversity and inclusiveness as part of its core mission—facilitating the employment of the college educated. It is our steadfast belief that organizations of all types, whether institutions of higher learning or employers operating in the private or public sectors, benefit by reaching out to welcome individuals of different genders, ethnicities, religious beliefs, and/or sexual orientations/identifications into their communities. The organizations benefit by opening themselves up to a broader range of ideas and a deeper understanding of their clients/customers resulting in more effective problem management and enhanced productivity. In turn, the economy as a whole will produce greater levels of growth.

The benefits of promoting diversity and inclusiveness in individual organizations can only be achieved if the environments in which these organizations exist are also welcoming, accessible, inclusive, equitable, free from harassment, and protective of the rights of individuals. Government through their legislative powers are vehicles by which a community expresses its openness to diversity and establishes its protections for individuals from any and all backgrounds and beliefs.

Recent legislative actions in several states reminds us that a vital population in our nation is expressly being denied the full rights, benefits, and protections that other members of our society enjoy.

NACE holds firmly that governments at all levels (federal, state, and local) should enact legislation that is supportive of individual rights and protects individuals whatever their gender, ethnicity, religious belief, or sexual orientation/identification. By contrast, NACE stands in opposition to legislation that stigmatizes one group of citizens by denying them the same protections as are afforded to the rest of the population.

April 2016