While it looks like the whitelash against DEI in the corporate sector will continue, it doesn’t mean that other sectors have to follow suit. If anything, it’s an opportune time for spaces in education, nonprofit, and philanthropy to evaluate their internal relationships with DEI, and how equitable their own workplaces are.
For Black and Brown folks who work in the nonprofit sector, all it takes is a look around the office or conferences we congregate at to know that the sector’s diversity does not apply to top leadership positions, or at larger, wealthier organizations. Data confirms this, too; Candid’s 2024 State of Diversity in the U.S. Nonprofit Sector report “suggests that nonprofit CEOs are more likely to be white, while nonprofit workers are more likely to be people of color.”
Somehow, in the world of nonprofit, mission-driven has become applicable only to the outside world. It’s easy to call out funders and systemic inequities, but it’s much harder to be the change we want to see.
The imbalance of power in this sector is most acutely felt by women of color, in particular those who reach the director level and suddenly find themselves struggling to move any farther up the leadership ladder; or women of color who are given prestigious titles, yet whose voices are routinely ignored in decision-making practices.
Shifting DEI from a nice-to-have or a talking point into a way of life at your nonprofit organization can begin with considering the following questions:
What does power and decision-making look like within your organization?
If you’ve ever worked at a nonprofit, you know that power and decision-making isn’t as simple as looking at an organizational chart. CEOs and other senior leaders tend to make all final decisions, but across all levels of an organization, employees should feel as if their ideas and concerns are valued and taken into consideration.
Women of color at nonprofits are too often placed in the disheartening and discouraging position of not being factored into the organization’s decision-making processes, or having their authority chronically undermined. Taking honest stock of how decisions are made within your organization, how feedback is shared, and whose voices are heard the most are all critical factors in shifting to a culture that shares power, instead of exerting it over women of color.
Are there spaces for team members to regularly share feedback, and what happens with that feedback after it’s presented to leadership?
Feedback and data gathering are crucial ways to advance strategic DEI goals at a nonprofit, and paint a clear picture of where racism and anti-Blackness are showing up. Is your nonprofit using regular measures like check-ins, one-on-ones, or surveys to capture employee sentiment? If not, it’s time to consider how that can become a regular practice in your DEI strategy.
Once feedback is received, it’s paramount here to ultimately use that feedback to inform positive changes for the organization. Working with a firm like ShiftED can support your organization in implementing the feedback that your team is providing.
How much of a priority are you making DEI within your internal culture?
Nonprofits and mission-driven work often have a culture that can feel like the house is on fire 24/7. False urgency is a tenet of White Supremacy Culture, and squashing it to get clear on what is actually a priority within your organization is a necessary action to take.
At the heart of mission-driven work are people. And if the people within your organization – and the women of color, in particular – are feeling devalued, unheard, and experiencing racial aggressions, then DEI must take center stage as a priority. Schedule a consultation with ShiftED to begin your journey today.
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