The son of a Baptist minister, David “DJ” Jordan grew up in a diverse neighborhood in St. Louis, to which he credits his interest in understanding different cultures, and he aims to spread that interest in his world of staffing. “If people have fairness to be able to achieve their hopes and their dreams, that’s what keeps me going, truthfully,” says Jordan, who serves as Aerotek’s director of diversity, equity and inclusion.
As such, Jordan throughout his career has initiated, participated in or sponsored DE&I initiatives — even before it was called DE&I. He first joined Aerotek in 1995 in sales. “Our programs weren’t always called DE&I,” Jordan says. “We started out with the diversity group years ago, and that was about getting these mixtures of cultures internally together.”
From there, “inclusion” was added to the table, which found Jordan bringing his true self and understanding of different cultures to focus groups and conversations within the company, encouraging and enlightening other staff along the way. This work culminated in his appointment as Aerotek’s first DE&I officer in 2020.
To Jordan, DE&I is about progress, not perfection. Case in point, the company recently launched its first true internal employee resource groups — for BIPOC, women, LGBTQ+, veterans and first responders — in 2021.
In addition to the ERGs, Jordan helped create the company’s Leadership Listening Session, wherein Aerotek’s leaders listened to its employees speak about their experiences and goals in a two-day summit.
Jordan plans to hold these sessions recurringly and hopes initiatives like this will make Aerotek an example and leader of DE&I. He would also like to see similar initiatives within the workforce ecosystem. While he acknowledges that Aerotek has a long way to go and is certain to face challenges, he says the company is putting its best foot forward and is hopeful for the future.
Outside of work, Jordan is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first collegiate Black fraternity in the US, founded in Cornell University in 1906. He is also a board member of Skills USA, where he engages people from all backgrounds to help them learn new skills.
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