A Brief Primer on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Nonprofits
In our strategic planning work at Mission Met, one of the common themes that our customers address is diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
As a complex and highly-nuanced topic, it can be difficult for nonprofit staff and board members to create a common understanding of the issue. With that in mind we’ve created this brief overview that we hope you and your team can use to inform your discussion.
Note that we at Mission Met are not DEI experts. Within this article we have referenced others that are much more knowledgeable about this than us. Please provide a comment to our article if you have any feedback or ideas that could help the article’s readers get an even richer understanding of this topic. Thank you.
What is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion?
Diversity, equity, and inclusion–typically referred to as DEI–is a catch-all phrase for three distinct but related ideas: Diversity is about the presence of difference. Equity is about the process of fairness. Inclusion is about ensuring people with diverse backgrounds feel and are welcome in the organization.
While the term has become more prevalent in recent years, it is important to approach this not as a trend to be applied to certain sections of your organization but as a new way of thinking about your entire operational framework.
As such, it will be valuable to break down each of the three ideas individually to see how they fit together.
Diversity
A diverse staff and board brings together people with different identities and qualities like:
Race
Gender
Sexual orientation
Religion
Ethnic background
Ability/disability
Language
Class
Diversity initiatives also look for people who have been (and currently are) underrepresented or marginalized in the field and in the community as a whole.
However, having a diverse staff or board does not quite mean that your organization has accomplished diversity. There’s much more to it than that.
In a blog for the DEI training and consulting group She+ Geeks Out, Fatima Dainkeh, reminds leaders that “Representation isn’t just about having ‘different’ people present. It comes down to making sure that different voices are heard, valued, and represented in decision-making processes.”
Equity
Equity helps tear down roadblocks. This requires more than simple changes and gets at the very policies, procedures, and processes of an organization.
Equity differs from equality in a few important ways. Equality focuses on the same treatment of every individual. In a perfect world, that’d be fine, but people operate within broken and unfair systems, especially those who have any sort of minority status.
Equity is more about helping all people reach the same level of success, even if that means disenfranchised people are given opportunities that help get them to the same places that majority groups have historically operated within.
Inclusion
While diversity and equity are proactive steps, inclusion is an outcome of those efforts. Inclusion gets accomplished when diverse people actually feel welcomed and experience a sense of belonging.
This includes not just the presence of diverse individuals, but their voices being heard in important aspects of the nonprofit. Diverse groups of people should participate in decision-making conversations and have professional development opportunities or ongoing training available to them.
Inclusion only works when the people of the organization get behind it. Policies and procedure changes, while good first steps, will not change the hearts of staff and leaders. To help with this, Dainkeh offers a list of questions to evaluate oneself and staff when it comes to inclusion:
How do we act or feel when our teams expand to include individuals from a variety of educational backgrounds?
Who do we say good morning to when we enter the office?
Do we make assumptions about certain groups of people but not others?
Does everyone feel like their contribution matters?
Does change happen when adequate feedback is given?
Who is involved in decision-making?
Having answers to these questions, she says, will “help us to think about whether or not we’re practicing inclusion in the workplace and beyond.”
Different Approaches
Besides DEI, there are a variety of other approaches to this general topic. We’ll highlight some of these below and provide links to follow for more information.
Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion
DEAI shares much of the same elements of DEI but adds accessibility. The American Alliance of Museums has a great breakdown of their definitions for each category. They explain that accessibility “is giving equitable access to everyone along the continuum of human ability and experience” and that it is particularly concerned with thinking “beyond compliance” and the physical environment to promote “access to and representation in content for all.”
Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
JEDI includes elements of DEI, but highlights the importance of justice. Here’s one article that explains some of the DEI and JEDI distinctions. From the article:
“Diversity and inclusion rhetoric asks fundamentally different questions and is concerned with fundamentally different issues than efforts seeking equity and justice. Leading with Justice and Equity is a significantly different framework because it prompts us to think about the systemic barriers to access, engagement, and success at the forefront of our work and how we can transform an organization to try to eliminate these barriers.”
Equity, Diversity, and Belonging
EDB specifically highlights the importance of belonging as a part of the framework. Pathink Pathak explains that “some people need different or greater resources – and treatment more broadly – than others. That can only lead to the conclusion that we need equity or fairness, not equality.”
Additionally, he adds that “inclusion is a technocratic process” while “belonging is an emotion and an outcome.” The difference is key for him and other proponents of EDB because “you can be formally included… without feeling that you belong.” EDB attempts to change that and focus more on fostering that sense of belonging.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
The definitions for this approach are the same as DEI but puts equity at the beginning, seeing it as the most essential starting point for a better workspace and society.
The Importance of Prioritizing DEI
Whichever approach you choose, prioritizing DEI will bring valuable benefits to any nonprofit.
Research shows that diversity leads to better, more creative decision-making as leaders pull from a larger pool of perspectives and experiences. It also is tied to greater creativity, diligence, and hard-work among staff members.
Multiple voices will also foster a greater sense of innovation as individuals bring fresh ideas. An article from The Council of Nonprofits states that “When board members, employees, donors, and others who shape the values and activities of a nonprofit come from a wide array of backgrounds, they bring unique perspectives that influence how the nonprofit approaches its mission in more inclusive and innovative ways.” Making DEI a central priority for your nonprofit will help you better meet your mission and vision.
Finally, the most important reason to prioritize DEI goes beyond the success of any organization. People of all backgrounds and walks of life have the right to the same opportunities as everyone else, and nonprofits are uniquely positioned to help make that a standard operation.
Additional Resources and Closing Thoughts
Effectively preparing for and implementing DEI practices takes significant time and thorough planning. This blog was meant to just serve as a very basic primer. To learn more, here is a list of resources that can help in your efforts.
Nonprofits exist to make a difference, and DEI represents a powerful change every organization can make together.