3M and The BrandLab (TBL) recently announced a two-year initiative (2020-2021) focused on driving diversity within creative career paths. This partnership aims to inspire young, diverse high school students to pursue creative careers, address opportunity gaps for underrepresented students, and embody a more culturally diverse population of creative talent for organizations that have a global footprint. The design talent collaboration includes the expansion of existing internship programs with TBL and the addition of a classroom program.

“As a member of The BrandLab board of directors and in collaboration with TBL internship program, we wanted to do more to build on this important mission,” said Eric Quint, vice president and chief brand and design officer for 3M. “Designing for a diverse global population across many markets is a great opportunity for any organization, so having the right talent representing local cultures and perspectives is key to driving meaningful brand experiences together.”

Global companies have an opportunity to reach a diverse set of customers and stakeholders in meaningful and relevant ways across industries. Therefore, it’s important to engage diverse creative mindsets and cultural backgrounds within organizations to bring different perspectives to represent the wants, needs, and desires of all customers around the world.

3M reports that it has recognized this value among its own design teams and has partnered with TBL to address such challenges in the Twin Cities. In addition to 3M, Target has been a part of this program, and other global corporations are starting to show interest in joining the initiative with participation, investment, and commitment.

“We are excited to partner with 3M and Target as part of our capacity-building campaign, ‘Breaking Boundaries,’ to make sure we can provide more opportunities across additional markets for creative students to include design,” said Ellen Walthour, CEO of TBL. “The partnership between 3M, Target and TBL is one example of how TBL brings people and organizations together to address the opportunity gap.”

For more information, visit www.3m.com and www.thebrandlab.org.