Mission Met believes that building equitable systems and an inclusive work environment starts with having a clear and meaningful commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ). Similar to the importance of having clear mission and vision statements, we see a DEIJ statement as being a guiding light for any organization.

However, while we had long-lived and practiced a DEIJ approach, prior to 2023 we hadn’t documented a statement that would be our guiding light in our DEIJ efforts. Having just wrapped up our process, we wanted to share what we did and learned along the way.

In this blog post, you'll find out about the team effort that went into creating Mission Met's DEIJ statement. It’s our hope that sharing the step-by-step process we took, including areas for improvement, will inform and inspire you as a mission-driven leader to develop your own statement (and subsequent strategy) dedicated to these core principles.

Our Statement Development Process: Summary

Our overall process included the following four broad steps:

Champions: Identify champions to lead the process
Research: Conduct research on DEI statements
Survey: Conduct a survey of the team
Statement Development: Draft DEI statements and definitions and revise them with the team

Our Statement Development Process: Description

We enlisted two co-champions to lead the effort in crafting a powerful diversity, equity, and inclusion statement. Following our proven strategic planning approach, these DEI champions were tasked with leading the process of creating the statement and embedding it into our everyday operations.

The first step was to research the development of DEI statements, examining several existing examples, and compiling insightful notes. They then collaborated to develop a plan for meaningful action.

Armed with research, our champions devised a survey that sought valuable feedback from the entire team on existing statements and explored opportunities for personal and professional growth, ensuring Mission Met's seamless integration of this vital work.

The survey questions included:

Why does DEI work matter to you personally?
Why does DEI work matter to your department? Be specific about the work you do.
How can you or your department create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment at Mission Met?
What are some ways that Mission Met, as a company, can create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment?

Once the team responded, the champions discussed the survey results. To promote objectivity, a powerful language model chatbot, ChatGPT, was used to identify recurring themes in the survey responses. In addition, they extracted unique phrases from each question.

The champions developed a report that shared high-level themes, which also included an initial version of a statement, and shared it with the Mission Met team. Each team member reviewed the statement and information individually. A week later, we reviewed it together at a team meeting.

Upon assessing the first draft, several team members felt that a crucial element was missing: “justice.” To address this, the champions reconvened and amended the statement, transforming it into a DEIJ statement. After making a few more edits to enhance clarity, the second draft was sent to the team for their input.

Our Current Statement

After going through our statement development process, here is our current statement:

Recognizing the need for social change, Mission Met is a team united in our commitment to co-create a work-world where every person feels seen, heard, and valued. Our diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice journey is a shared movement that we undertake together – as individuals and as team members, with our communities and customers. We prioritize empathy and understanding, learning from one another's unique experiences and cultures. We are committed to lifting up marginalized communities and promoting justice, including, but not limited to persons with diverse abilities, gender identities, gender expressions, socioeconomic status, national origins, races or ethnicities, sexual orientations, neurodivergences, and veteran statuses. By embedding these principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice into our work, we forge a more dynamic, inclusive, and robust business that will have a more far-reaching impact on the mission-driven leaders and organizations we serve.

Areas for Improvement

As mentioned already, the champions did not initially include justice in the first draft of the statement. After discussion as a team, we came to the conclusion that justice is at the center of this work – the beginning and the end – and needs to be represented in our statement.

For a company or organization to fully embrace the tenets of DEI, justice must be a key component of our efforts. The principle of justice calls for fairness and equal treatment for all individuals, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender identity, or other characteristics. Justice means that everyone has the same opportunities and is treated equitably in all areas of life. When justice is prioritized in a DEI statement, it sends a powerful message about the importance of creating a workplace that is truly inclusive and equitable for all employees. Without justice at the center of DEI efforts, the goal of true diversity and inclusion is impossible to achieve.

Additionally, clarification and guidance were lacking in the survey, as the definitions of diversity, equity, and inclusion were not provided. This oversight hindered effective communication and understanding among participants. We added definitions to our report after the survey ended and after the first draft of the statement was reviewed by the team. By including clear definitions before the survey, everyone would have had a common understanding of these important aspects, enabling them to provide more informed responses.

Next Steps

We are now developing plans and goals to support our DEIJ-related projects and strategies.

Based on the preliminary survey and team discussions, we have identified several key areas where we can integrate DEIJ initiatives. These areas have been grouped into the following draft "focus areas."

Workforce Diversification and Inclusion: This involves making additional efforts to hire a diverse range of staff, interns, and consultants. It also emphasizes the importance of incorporating diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) considerations into partnerships and collaborations.

Strategy 1: Broaden the search areas when hiring to attract a diverse workforce, including staff, interns, and contractors. Use inclusive hiring practices that ensure candidates from all backgrounds are considered equitably.
Strategy 2: Prioritize partnerships with consultants and businesses from diverse backgrounds. This can include sourcing products and services from women, LGBTQ+, and minority-owned businesses.

Education and Engagement: This emphasizes the importance of educating the team on DEIJ, historical inequities, and unconscious bias. It includes fostering a culture of open communication and storytelling around personal experiences and heritage.

Strategy 1: Provide DEIJ training to the team, which could include workshops, seminars, or courses. This could also include reading DEIJ-oriented books or engaging with external experts.
Strategy 2: Allocate time during team gatherings (e.g., lunches, retrospectives) to listen to each other's stories about heritage, challenges, and experiences regarding diversity/equity.
Strategy 3: We strive to reflect the genuine diversity of our audience in our communication and marketing efforts, creating opportunities to serve all types of people and making the practice of inclusion a priority.

Proactive Commitment to DEIJ: This strategy emphasizes the importance of having a clear DEIJ strategy and vision backed by measurable commitments. Additionally, as we enter the age of AI, we will be vigilant in ensuring that our systems do not perpetuate harmful stereotypes or inequities.

Strategy 1: Develop a long-term DEIJ strategy with clear goals, status updates, and regular check-ins. This should be accompanied by a DEIJ statement included in proposals and public communications.
Strategy 2: Implement initiatives that promote DEIJ externally, such as hosting a Nonprofit Strategic Planning Day and increasing access to our services and products.

Our plan is for us to collectively select 2-3 areas to focus on and then find champions to own or co-own each strategy. Together, we can create a meaningful impact within both Mission Met and the broader community.

Conclusion

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice are complex and extremely personal topics. As a result, it's natural that our DEIJ statement will remain in a state of flux. We recognize the importance of growth and adaptation, and we embrace the fact that our statement will change as we learn and evolve. Rather than being a static document, our DEIJ statement is a living, breathing representation of our commitment to creating a more equitable and just world. We are excited to embark on this journey with our community and look forward to exploring these issues together.

Be sure to check back on our blog for future articles about this topic.