Support For The Black Lives Matter Movement: Affinity Groups At Work

This is the seventh post in a 12-part series on how companies can show support for the Black Lives Matter movement by changing company policies and practices. This post focuses on creating effective affinity groups to assist in attracting applicants and maintaining productive employees.

An affinity group is an employer-sponsored or created group of employees that is organized based on social identity, life experiences, or shared characteristics. Often times these groups will implicate a protected classification such as veteran status, race, gender, and sexual orientation. There is no requirement that employers offer affinity groups, but many employers find that they are helpful in attracting and retaining diverse candidates.