Diversity and Inclusion Initiative

Provided to you by the NALP Foundation

Project Mission

The Foundation is committed to help our industry and society at large address the problems that place barriers to the hiring, advancement, and overall success of our workforce. 

As part of a multi-faceted initiative, the Foundation conducted a nationwide survey to evaluate diversity within the professional landscape and lawn care industry, by state, region, and nationwide. The final report, the Workforce Demographic Study (WDS), released in October 2021, is the first phase of a three-part project by the Foundation. The 2021 WDS included data from 272 companies, representing 47 states (including DC) and over 40,000 employees. 

The main goal of Phase I is to provide the landscape and lawn care industry a baseline related to workforce demographics and to identify recruiting and retention opportunities for industry employers. 

What we learned in the WDS

  1. 18% of the Civilian Labor Force is of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish (HLS) origin, compared to 61% of NALPF respondents.
  2.  While females make up 47% of the Civilian Labor Force, they represent just 8% of the workforce of NALPF respondents.
  3.  94% of owners/executives are not of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish (HLS) origin, per NALPF respondents. While 6% of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin that are owners is low, it is in line with the national average, 5.6%.
  4.  According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the Hispanic, Latino or Spanish (HLS) population grew by 23% since 2010 and is the fastest growing ethnicity group.
  5.  37% of respondents have employees that are veterans; 13% of respondents have employees with disabilities; 14% of respondents have H2B employees. 
  6. 18% of US businesses are minority owner, but only 3% of the Black/African American employees for NALPF respondents.

Toolkits

Recognizing that diversity, equity, and inclusion are different across regions, and informed by different histories and cultures, the Foundation’s goal is to generate tools to assist professional landscape and lawn care companies with their hiring and marketing culture in order to inspire, attract, and employ a diverse group of employees, as well as create assets that will help employers build a workforce environment that can support inclusion and equity.

Building a Diverse Workforce Toolkit

This toolkit outlines ways to attract and hire a diverse workforce, including identifying and eliminating barriers to entry, recruitment strategy, welcoming a female workforce, and more.

DOWNLOAD THE TOOLKIT




Retaining a Diverse Workforce Toolkit

This toolkit provides recommendations to help support and grow a diverse workforce, including building a DEI program, women in the workforce, benefits, mentor program framework, recognition programs, understanding the multi-generational workforce, and more.

DOWNLOAD THE TOOLKIT




Cultivating Growth Toolkit

This toolkit provides a collection of resources for underrepresented workers to identify entrepreneurship opportunities, upward mobility training, building a professional network and more.

DOWNLOAD THE TOOLKIT