Giving Compass' Take:

• B the Change explores the importance of inclusive hiring practices, particularly when it comes to expanding opportunities for formerly-incarcerated individuals.

• How can nonprofits contribute to better employment policies? It starts with looking internally to see if we are practicing what we're preaching.

• Here are more ways we can reduce recidivism rates and decrease unemployment for those who were in prison.

The №1 cause of recidivism? Joblessness. This impact cannot be fully understood without understanding the inequality along racial lines. The limiting effect of a criminal record for African Americans to land a job interview is 40 percent greater than for whites with similar histories.

These statistics underline the reality that mass incarceration and the associated stigmas for formerly incarcerated people create a social and economic reality where we all lose. As a result of excluding formerly incarcerated people from the job market, the gross national product misses out on between $78 billion and $87 billion.

In 2016, B Lab launched the Inclusive Economy Challenge, calling all Certified B Corporations  —  for-profit companies verified by the independent nonprofit B Lab for their impact on society and environment  —  to make measurable improvements on inclusive practices, which includes hiring practices. The 2017 report “Back to Businesses: How Hiring Formerly Incarcerated Job Seekers Benefits Your Company,” from the Trone Private Sector and Education Advisory Council to the ACLU, is a free, downloadable guide for anyone wanting to enact fair-chance hiring policies at a business. The guide includes the reasons such practices benefit business and society, along with case studies, how-to and advocacy campaigns.

Read the full article about erasing the stigma of incarceration with "fair chance" hiring at B the Change.