America faces a massive talent shortage. Over 70 million qualified workers called STARs, workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes, are screened out on job opportunities because they lack a 4-year degree. This disproportionally affects people of color, veterans and women who have gained their skills through community college, military service, or certificate programs. Additionally, corporations have automated the hiring process, relying on algorithms that automatically screen out those without a degree, thus missing out on qualified talent. The problem is that companies don’t realize they are part of the problem they are trying to solve. To rewire the labor market, we needed society, employers, and workers who are STARs to acknowledge the scope of the problem, change their perceptions, and join the fight against degree discrimination. Our goal was to initiate a cultural shift and get employers to change their hiring practices.

To initiate a full cultural shift, we needed a simple way for people to understand the sheer scope of the problem, question their biases, and join us in taking action. We started by giving the problem a name - The Paper Ceiling - the invisible barrier that comes at every turn for workers without a bachelor’s degree. Building on the equity of the Glass Ceiling, we created something new, a ceiling made of paper rather than glass, representing resumés lacking a bachelor’s degree, which created this barrier. This fresh modern take on the concept gives people a shortcut to understanding and adopting the idea faster. We invited people to join us to tear this paper ceiling and see the world beyond it; a world working on building a more equitable and inclusive labor market based on skills, not degrees; performance, not pedigree; and inclusion, not exclusion.

To rewire the labor market to become more diverse and inclusive, we had to reach two distinct audiences, often at opposing ends of the spectrum, and get them on board without alienating them or disparaging those with a bachelor’s degree.

Employers – HR, recruiters and key decision makers at small, medium, and large businesses or state governments. These businesses have inadvertently contributed to the problem as society has moved towards using a bachelor’s degree as a proxy for specific qualifications. Compounding the issue is that the process has become automated, making it harder to recognize and fix.

Workers ‘Skilled Through Alternative Routes’ (STARs) - They’re held back, regardless of their skills – whether earned through on-the-job experience, community college, bootcamps, military service, or apprenticeship. They miss out on job opportunities and, as a result, economic upward mobility and need to understand how to advocate for themselves and overcome this issue.

Along with a nationwide public service announcement (PSA) campaign, including OOH, print, film and radio, to bring to life the issue, we created social assets targeting employers specifically. These were designed to raise awareness and trigger their desire to be part of the solution. For STARs and their allies, we created assets to highlight their stories and talent to shine brighter in social media. The finishing touch was an installation at CES, the Tech mecca, to reach the 100,000+ attendees and potential employers, designed to help them grasp the scope of the problem and spark conversations online. The installation featured 30,000 resumés, allowing people to physically experience what holds qualified workers back from breaking through and accessing opportunity. By engaging with real stories of STARs throughout the campaign, both STARs and Employers could confront their own biases and start tearing the paper ceiling to end degree discrimination.

Over seven months, the campaign generated 2.3 billion impressions across LinkedIn, Reddit, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. Pre-launch, STARs had little awareness, and since aided awareness has jumped 33%. Additionally, after coining the idea of ‘The Paper Ceiling’, it’s been mentioned 1,124 times in the press. More than 768K total users visited tearthepaperceiling.org to learn more about the movement. The hashtags #TearThePaperCeiling and #HireSTARs generated 102M and 95M impressions respectively on Twitter alone.

Beyond buzz, the campaign drove impact. The campaign is becoming part of culture and a powerful tool in driving change. Six states – Maryland, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Utah, North Carolina, and New Jersey – have now passed executive orders removing degree requirements for thousands of jobs in each state. Even former President Barack Obama praised the effort when retweeting an article mentioning The Paper Ceiling, saying it's “an example of smart policy eliminating unnecessary college degree requirements”.