Hupy and Abraham not leaving diversity to chance

Listen to this article

Jason Abraham finds that a lot of people assume that the workforce — if merely given enough time — will become more diverse on its own.

Unfortunately, said the managing partner at Hupy and Abraham, history has proved that is simply not the case. Recognizing that diversity can’t simply be left up to chance and time, he and his colleagues have struck up partnerships and given time and money to a large list of outside groups.

They include the Malaika Early Learning Center, a school in Milwaukee; PeppNation Sports Leadership Camps, which help at-risk children hone their sports talents so they might be able to obtain scholarships; and the TBEY Arts Center and First Stage, a pair of arts and theater organizations in Milwaukee. Beyond that, the firm is a sponsor of the Black Excellence Awards and the NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner, a member of the LGBT Chamber of Commerce and a donor to the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, Centro Legal and the Milwaukee Justice Center.

“It’s not only important to invest our time but also our money through a lot of different organizations in our community,” Abraham said. “We take this very seriously.”

And these endeavors are not taking place solely outside the firm’s doors. Abraham noted that the majority of the people working in leadership positions at Hupy and Abraham are women — including the marketing director, director of operations and human-resources director.

The firm has a bilingual team that works with clients whose first language might not be English and has had some of its marketing materials translated into Spanish. Abraham estimated that 15 percent of the people working at Hupy and Abraham are people of color.

“We try to lead by example internally,” Abraham said.

Abraham and his colleagues are motivated by their recognition that things won’t get better without contributions from people like them.

“You have to understand the environment we live in,” he said. “You can’t thumb your nose at it, like it doesn’t exist. Some people act like diversity will happen on its own. Well, I think we’ve seen it won’t.”