Diversity

Who We Are

The EIHRA Diversity Committee is comprised of a group of professionals that are committed to diversity in order to increase the value of Cedar Rapids – Iowa City Corridor organizations.

Our Mission is to provide tools to serve members and increase the visibility of Diversity within EIHRA.  Our purpose and scope is the following:

• To support Human Resource Professionals to study, apply, and teach the value of workforce, client, and supplier diversity.
• To provide forums for Human Resource Professionals to exchange insights and information related to diversity.
• To identify opportunities for expanding and developing diversity within the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Technology Corridor.
• To monitor and address challenges to the understanding of diversity in organizations and work environments.
• To promote public awareness and education of the importance of diversity to the community and its economy.
• To reinforce the highest ethical standards with regards to diversity.

Interested in becoming a member or have a best practice to share?  Please contact us.  The Diversity Committee is always seeking new members and ways to positively impact the workplace.

Diversity Resources in the Corridor

Diversity Focus

Many organizations in our community are supporting diversity, however, we can progress more quickly and effectively by working more closely to better coordinate and integrate these efforts.

To spearhead this activity, Diversity Focus was proposed and then established in 2005 as a new entity to integrate and coordinate existing efforts as well as identify or create other activities and programs.

Diversity Focus is a non-profit organization devoted to enhancing the diversity of the Cedar Rapids-Iowa City area with the following goals:

• Communication – promote awareness and an image in the community that diversity is valued
• Information Clearinghouse – create a resource center that leverages the many products, capabilities and work of organizations supporting diversity
• Program Enhancement – advance new ideas and opportunities to build a more diverse community

Women Entrepreneurs (WE):

WE was founded by Joni Thornton in March 2002 in order to establish a network of women business owners who could support one another. The Mission Statement, “Connecting, supporting, educating and creating new customers and friends” sums up how the idea for WE came to Ms. Thornton. As Director of The Women’s Business Center of Iowa, Inc. Joni noticed that many women were not aware of the many businesses being owned and operated by fellow women entrepreneurs. “There was not a ‘Good Old Women’s’ club or network for women entrepreneurs. I felt it was time for us to join forces and support one another through networking in Linn County and the surrounding areas.” Women Business Center of Iowa.  For more information please contact:

Joni Thornton, Executive Director
136 36th Street, Drive SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52403
Phone: 319.298.2407
E-mail: womens1@mcleodusa.net

African American Historical Museum & Cultural Center of Iowa:

For more information on African American Historical Museum & Cultural Center of Iowa and its events, please see the museum’s website at http://www.blackiowa.org

Specialisterne Midwest

Specialisterne USA is driving the nationwide expansion of the proven international job creation and employment concept, Specialisterne (“The Specialists”). We assess, train and employ individuals with autism as consultants in IT and other sectors with technically oriented tasks and jobs, with 80-90% of our employees working at corporate partner sites.

Our ambition is within three years to replicate Specialisterne as a sustainable business in 10-12 regions covering the US and develop a mentorship/management model to enable employers to expand their recruitment to include high functioning people with autism and similar challenges.

For more information, visit the Specialisterne Midwest site.