What Are Employee Resource Groups?
Employee resource groups (ERGs) are a voluntary community or network of employees within an organization, unified through their shared interests and commonalities. ERGs can also be defined as ‘affinity groups’ or ‘business network groups’ that generally aim to facilitate spaces of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) that provide employee support, peer-to-peer discourse, and career and personal development within the workplace.
Historically, ERGs have accommodated marginalized or underrepresented groups, e.g. race, gender, and sexual orientation, which better recognized and amplified minority voices. “Interest-based” groups have become an evolved form of traditional affinity groups, with the wider spectrum of mutual interests and activities unifying employees and broadening the definition of modern ERGs.