The Office of Civil Rights is proud to announce the inaugural “First Generation Professionals” (FGP) Summit, which will take place on Thursday, September 12, 2019, 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM at the Department of Commerce Herbert C. Hoover Building Auditorium (1401 Constitution Ave. NW). This first of its kind federal event will highlight people who are the first in their immediate families to enter the professional work environment (i.e. their parents held traditional blue-collar positions or those that did not require a college degree). This essential group of trailblazers, many of whom may be represented in the group of federal professionals that you serve, may face obstacles and barriers which cause them to be overlooked and underutilized, preventing them from equitable access and opportunities to realize their full potential and make meaningful contributions.

The Summit will showcase a fireside chat with our keynote speaker, Madam Treasurer Jovita Carranza, where she will describe her climb from a night-shift box handler at UPS to the highest-ranking Latina in the history of that company, and now the Treasurer of the United States. We will also showcase a panel of FGPs who will discuss career setbacks and triumphs, tips for success, and the importance of networking and mentoring.

Please take a look at our Qualitative Research on Barriers to Workplace Inclusion for FGPs, which is the result of an interagency project between the DOC Office of Civil Rights and the U.S. Census Bureau's Center for Behavioral Science Methods (CBSM). The CBSM conducted focus groups and qualitative interviews to investigate potential barriers to workplace inclusion for First Generation Professionals (FGPs), or professional employees who are the first in their immediate families to hold a white-collar professional position. The purpose of this research was to investigate whether socio-economic status (SES) may also be a diversity characteristic for which there are barriers to inclusion for employees from low SES backgrounds.

Check out our event flyer here!