Diverse Certification

Diverse certification is a program that assists individuals to become certified where they may not otherwise be able to. The Diverse certification program was created to promote inclusiveness across the technology industry. The program was designed to serve underrepresented groups (URG) like women, veterans, and minorities.

The majority of high-tech companies use a diverse certification program to certify their business partners. Through these programs, they are able to ensure that their suppliers meet diversity requirements by encouraging supplier employees to obtain specific credentials or training related to the High Tech arena.

The Diverse Supplier Diversity Certification Program is open to any individual who supports the technical needs of an organization through products and services such as IT hardware, computer services, information security, health care technology, etc. So long as you provide significant value in support of your client’s high-tech needs.

There is one difference between diverse certification and other traditional certifications: The focus on inclusive practices. For example, when a company earns ISO 9000 accreditation for quality management systems, it conforms to standard industry practice on how to operate a quality management system. Therefore, diverse certification does not conform to the status quo of how an organization should conduct their business but promotes inclusiveness instead.

For example, diverse suppliers can be audited on what they are doing to promote inclusion within their own organizations and specific policies that promote diversity at the individual level. For example, investors could investigate how many members of supplier staff have certifications for certain technologies or technical skills. This is something that would not occur in other certification programs because it is simply out of scope. In contrast, diverse certification asks these questions and more in order to gain a holistic understanding of an organization’s approach to diversity.

The value of having diverse suppliers has been discussed extensively over the past decade. However, the question still remains whether diverse suppliers are meeting organizational needs. The unfortunate reality is that there aren’t many standards in place to measure how well diverse suppliers are performing at any given time.

Diverse certification programs help to level the playing field and promote fair competition within businesses across all markets. It also has other benefits for your business including reduced risk exposure, access to a larger talent pool, accountability of suppliers and their practices, etc.