Kip Wright

Kip Wright, chairman at Inspyr Solutions, has long been a champion for diversity, both within the companies he’s overseen and across the industry. This passion, he says, was inspired by his mother, who dedicated her life to serving the disadvantaged as a parole officer, a senior executive with Prison Fellowship Ministries and a drug counselor. “That willingness to serve — and to serve those others might disregard — became an important element of who I am,” Wright says.

Wright’s recent work includes the Women Business Collaborative, where he serves as a board member and the chair for the Staffing and Executive Search Workstream. Together, they have produced three benchmark surveys on the status of gender equity across the staffing industry, and they have created awareness and facilitated discussions that are beginning to drive progress. This includes enlisting and aligning the efforts of their industries’ associations and research groups.

“As a result, we are seeing some tremendous programs and awareness efforts emerging — from Thrive (ASA) to Together We Rise (SIA) to the monthly Women’s Luncheon (TechServe). And frankly, without these groups and their reach, we would not see the progress we are beginning to see,” Wright says.

As a white male … I have an opportunity to lead by example … to both pay it forward and reach backward to help others succeed.

During his tenure at ManpowerGroup’s Tapfin organization, he helped to elevate and mentor diversity-owned staffing firms as part of the supplier diversity program. He was also involved in forming a supplier diversity council and advisory board which would lead to an annual Supplier Diversity Summit.

When it comes to advancing DE&I, Wright believes companies should lead by example, get involved in equity efforts and community groups, and be aware of the DE&I landscape in the industry and in their own businesses.

He also believes the DE&I movement needs white allies to progress. “As a white male, it means I have an opportunity to lead by example,” he explains. “It means I have the opportunity to both pay it forward and reach backward to help others succeed.”

Wright plans to continue working with industry associations and research agencies, leveraging their reach and presence and offering his leadership, insights and guidance to drive improvements in DE&I. He will also continue to mentor many of the companies he started advising years ago, most of which are minority- or women-owned and managed.