The NAACP engages in advocacy efforts to influence job creation in building in communities of color.

Diversity and Inclusion

The NAACP’s Diversity and Inclusion Program includes several efforts to promote greater opportunity for minorities in the American workforce.

Opportunity and Diversity Report Cards

Historically, the NAACP’s Economic Reciprocity Initiative (ERI) has focused on the workforce diversity of major companies within particular industries. In 2012 this project was transformed into the Opportunity and Diversity Report Card, a more formal survey-based report which assigns letter grades to companies based on how well they hire, retain, and promote minorities. In addition, the NAACP now focuses heavily on how these companies create jobs via procurement, and how well diversified their suppliers are as well. Visit Economic Reports and Issues for more of these reports.

The Report Card has been a groundbreaking initiative for the NAACP and has resulted in invitations to speak to members of Congress, Federal agencies, and private companies about the findings in the report. Increasingly, regulations governing workforce and supplier diversity are encouraging managers to understand diversity in new ways, with an emphasis on not just hiring minorities but in identifying opportunities for promotion and procurement which create a lasting impact on the wealth in minority communities.

NAACP JobFinder


The NAACP JobFinder is an employment search engine developed by the NAACP in partnership with the Professional Development Network.

Gateway to Leadership


In 2006, the NAACP entered into a partnership with the Money Management Institute (MMI) to create Gateway to Leadership (GTL). The goal of this partnership is to develop a pipeline of African-American applicants for the financial services industry. Representation for minorities in this industry lags behind reasonable numbers; African- Americans make up less than 6% of the total number of executives, managers, and administrators. The NAACP’s mission is to ensure that all Americans, especially people of color are provided equal opportunities under the laws of the United States of America without distinction due to color or gender. GTL is a vital key to improving diversity in this industry.

Gateway to Leadership is a paid summer internship for HBCU undergraduates interested in the financial services field. Since its inaugural year in 2007, GTL has provided almost 200 students paid internships at leading Wall Street firms. Many GTL alums have received full-time employment offers upon graduation. Although these numbers are encouraging, there is still a great need to improve workforce diversity in this industry.

The application process begins in the early Fall for undergraduates who hold at least a 3.0 GPA. Log onto www.uncf.org for more information about the application process.