Willie and Marian Carrington, principals and co-owners of their Chicago-based firm, first opened their doors in 1979 – to help place well qualified candidates with diverse backgrounds in middle and senior level executive positions across all industries and job roles. As believers in “strength through diversity and inclusion,” their family-led business has helped shape the careers and business success of hundreds of well qualified professionals – of diverse races, nationality and gender.
The Carringtons are taking their next step by opening a new office in Washington, D.C., leveraging this trend in the marketplace by appointing Julian High as the Senior Director of their Washington D.C. practice. Mr. High joins Carrington & Carrington after working as a paid staffer for President Obama’s 2008 campaign.
His most recent Washington experience was at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) where he served as Director of Diversity and Human Resources for the nation’s largest gay civil rights group. Under Mr. High’s leadership the organization significantly increased staff, minority vendor, member, board and donor diversity. While at HRC, he also was a frequent public speaker on LGBT issues and appeared on BET, CNN, and CSPAN. He worked closely with several corporations across the country on issues of importance in their workplaces to the LGBT community.
Elizabeth Birch, past president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT advocacy organization saluted Julian High’s appointment and highlighted that creating a diverse and inclusive workplace is now a critical business imperative. "In the fierce competition for talent, affirmatively seeking top level LGBT corporate performers is the next smart thing American business can do. It is the companies that can attract, retain and inspire the best in its employees that will emerge on top. Carrington & Carrington is way ahead of the curve in expanding its practice to find and place great LGBT talent, and Julian High is an excellent choice to lead this effort."
The Corporate Equality Index (CEI) produced by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) discloses that 38% of the businesses measured by the CEI reported making targeted recruitment of LGBT people a priority in their recruitment policies. In this year’s CEI scores, 305 major corporations earned 100% perfect marks on the survey (up from 260 last year) – signaling the progress of American business leaders in advancing LGBT inclusion and engagement.
“With Julian High managing our Washington DC, presence, we can use that platform best to serve all our clients and to be more effective in scaling our three-decade network of professional contacts and leaders,” added Marian Carrington. “He brings with him a passion for the work we do, as well as the belief that diversity recruitment defines a successful organization. He will help be our added eyes and ears into many new and trusted channels to recruit executive talent from all walks of life including the LGBT community.”
“America’s story is our own story,” said Marian Carrington, one of the firm’s principals. “We have witnessed first-hand the power of change in the hands of diverse leadership. Businesses thrive and excel when they can harness the talents from every part of America, including people of color.” However, the Carringtons quickly point out that the goals of workplace leadership and diversity hardly stop with race, ethnicity and gender.
Expanding their network to encompass gay and lesbian leadership makes perfect sense to the Carrington’s practice model, Marian Carrington points out, “Even in a lackluster economy, America’s top companies have a big appetite for top performers when they meet them. For years, companies have worked to banish unfair employment practices and discrimination that includes sexual orientation and gender identity. It is time for an executive search firm with a trusted legacy in diverse hiring to show the same leadership and outreach. We could not be more proud of taking this next, path-breaking step.”
