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By YW Boston

Right now, your organization, and the nonprofit sector as a whole, has an obligation to bolster its commitment to employees and constituents of color, especially Black employees and constituents. The last few months have been difficult for nonprofits, as our means of operating and much of our funding have been challenged due to COVID-19. In the face of a crisis, equity and inclusion work is too-often deprioritized and neglected. It is critical that nonprofits do not let commitment to DE&I waver. As employees and constituents navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to the existent crisis of systemic racism, it is important for nonprofits to lead with empathy and understanding.

First, this requires that nonprofits acknowledge the undue burden that racism is putting on Black colleagues and constituents. When it comes to COVID-19 outcomes, Black communities are experiencing three times the death rate as compared to White communities. This means that Black employees are more likely to be experiencing grief, fear, and anxiety due to structural inequities. Further, the news coming out daily about police brutality and state violence, enacted on innocent Black individuals and protesters in support of Black lives, can be especially exhausting and traumatizing to those who either fear or have experienced similar violence. Your Black colleagues may or may not speak about this during the workday, but it is the duty of employers to express increased empathy, regardless. Just as nonprofits regrouped to strategize how to support employees and constituents through a global pandemic, we should consider how we will support employees and constituents experiencing heightened stress, trauma, and risk due to ongoing racism and heightened police brutality.

One way to lead with empathy, for instance, is to be open and honest about the COVID-19 racial disparities we are witnessing, and how that directly impacts your staff and your mission as an organization. Do not fall back on tropes of “We are all in this together,” or “this pandemic is an equalizer,” because the data show that this notion is false. Particularly after high-profile racist events, such as the murder of George Floyd and ongoing police brutality against Black people, do not go about business as usual by prioritizing the work routine and ongoing projects over the wellbeing of your staff. In addition to making a public statement denouncing racism, demonstrate to your staff how you are committed to more equitable outcomes for your staff and communities. Provide optional space for staff wishing to have a conversation about recent events with colleagues. Prioritize mental health and let your employees know they can take time off if they wish to do so.

In addition to short-term responses, we must ensure we don’t “go back to normal” when COVID-19 and police brutality stop being front-page news. Inspect your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) strategies to determine areas for growth. Take an intersectionalapproach by considering the ways in which all forms of discrimination–such as racism, sexism, classism, or ableism – interact. One of the most important things your organization can do is reach out for help when you need it. Whether your organization has never openly spoken about race before, or you wish to deepen your existent commitment, make an intentional investment in addressing inequities within your organization and in our broader communities.

Remember, our country has hundreds of years of racism in its history. It is not enough to denounce racism, but instead continuously work towards eliminating it. All of us in the nonprofit sector have the responsibility to our staff and to our constituents to keep learning and evolving–and most importantly, to take action.

About YW Boston

As the first YWCA in the nation, YW Boston has been at the forefront of advancing equity for over 150 years. Through our DE&I services—InclusionBostonand LeadBoston—as well as our advocacy work and youth programming, we help individuals and organizations change policies, practices, attitudes, and behaviors with a goal of creating more inclusive environments where women, people of color, and especially women of color can succeed.

As part of that work, we are helping organizations prioritize Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and become socially connected while staying physically distant. During this time, YW Boston is providing organizations with digital workshops and resources to help them better understand the challenges faced by their employees. For more information, please contact Sheera Bornstein at sbornstein@ywboston.org.

By YW Boston

In the midst of a crisis, continuing to foster an inclusive workplace is as important as ever. Nonprofits know that COVID-19 is impacting communities in different ways. As some organizations continue to work remotely, leaders and managers must ensure that they support staff of all identities. Here are some best practices for supporting staff and practicing inclusivity in a virtual landscape.

1. Acknowledge and address the diverse challenges of working remotely and during a crisis.

Let people know you are aware that individuals’ experiences vary during this time. The ability to work remotely in a comfortable space is a privilege not everyone has. People may not have the technology for regular video conferencing. Living situations also vary by individual: many people live with roommates or are balancing work with caring for others. Give people advance notice if there is an expectation for them to participate via video, and send a follow-up email with action items.

2. Explicitly incorporate an inclusion lens and remain mindful of bias.

Begin meetings with a focused statement that centers DE&I and your organization’s mission. Recognize that microaggressions can still occur virtually, and encourage people to reach out to you or to colleagues for support if they run into barriers to full participation. Setting a precedent of open communication around decision-making can also go a long way in empowering employees. Before announcing a policy change, emphasize that your organization is seeking solutions that do not cause disparate impact and that team members should weigh in with their feedback. Provide private ways for employees to submit feedback, in order to mitigate the risk of making anyone feel like their needs and concerns are being exposed.

3. Offer micro-affirmations.

Managers can help counteract feelings of isolation among those they manage, especially employees who hold marginalized identities. Micro-affirmations include recognizing the achievements of others, taking a professional interest in staff, and asking for others’ opinions. These small gestures can often be overlooked during times of crisis.

4. Leverage technology + structured participation to capture diverse viewpoints.

Without the ability to see body language, people with marginalized identities may find it even harder to jump into a discussion. Incorporate different participation strategies, such as a round-robin, that give everyone the opportunity to speak. Emphasize that you want to hear input from everyone. Use technology tools—such as chat rooms, polling, and other in-app nonverbal feedback functions—to get input on ideas.

6. Delegate responsibilities.

Prioritizing inclusion can be more challenging when simultaneously managing technology. Consider holding meetings with a co-host. By sharing the work, you can focus on facilitating and noticing which individuals the team has not heard from.

7. Take advantage of supervisory meetings.

Managers have opportunities to build their inclusive practices during 1-on-1 meetings. Ask open-ended questions to learn about specific concerns and listen for challenges related to employees’ physical workspace, feelings of isolation, or changes in mood and appearance. Work with each employee to ensure they have what they need to feel good about their work. As a manager, you can use these learnings to advocate for all staff members to ensure everyone receives necessary support. Your organization’s leadership should observe common themes in order to implement new policies and practices.

About YW Boston 

As the first YWCA in the nation, YW Boston has been at the forefront of advancing equity for over 150 years. Through our DE&I services—InclusionBoston and LeadBoston—as well as our advocacy work and youth programming, we help individuals and organizations change policies, practices, attitudes, and behaviors with a goal of creating more inclusive environments where women, people of color, and especially women of color can succeed. 

By YW Boston

Physical distancing policies established to help flatten the COVID-19 curve have unearthed the disparate impact that this pandemic has on employees within the same organization. Some staff cannot work from home. Others, whose primary responsibilities relate to direct service, face increased safety risks. Many parents, especially women and women of color, are juggling childcare and eldercare responsibilities while still putting in a full day’s work.

As soon as Americans became worried about COVID-19, we saw an increase in physical and verbal assaults against Asians and Asian Americans. Studies show that ecological threats exacerbate people’s prejudice against perceived outsiders and economic downturns increase prejudice against people of color. When a majority of our population gives into this “scarcity Mindset”, those with fewer resources are hit the hardest. Nonprofit organizations must stay vigilant to ensure equitable outcomes. We are already seeing how this pandemic disproportionately affects low-resource and at-risk families. For instance, many part-time and hourly-wage workers’ hours are being cut dramatically, while others are being laid off. As we see this pandemic cause a widespread economic downturn, we need to recognize how structural racism causes more severe consequences for people of color. Inequality persists during recessions, including the fact that as unemployment rose in the last recession, the severity of workplace discrimination did, too. Times of global uncertainty and fear can trigger automatic responses such as implicit bias.

Nonprofits may be facing additional hardships due to interruptions to programming and fundraising. Yet it is as important as ever for nonprofits to maintain their people-centered approach. We must prioritize ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our own employees and constituents. Leaders should avoid making assumptions and provide appropriate support to employees. Although we are going through a shared experience as a nation and as organizations, not everyone shares the same access to resources and safety nets. Being an inclusive leader during times of uncertainty requires flexibility, transparency, and proactive communication.

About YW Boston

As the first YWCA in the nation, YW Boston has been at the forefront of advancing equity for over 150 years. Through our DE&I services—InclusionBoston and LeadBoston—as well as our advocacy work and youth programming, we help individuals and organizations change policies, practices, attitudes, and behaviors with a goal of creating more inclusive environments where women, people of color, and especially women of color can succeed.

During this time, YW Boston is providing organizations with digital workshops and resources to help them better understand the challenges faced by their employees. As part of that work, we are helping organizations become socially connected while physically distant.

By YW Boston

YW Boston has been working to advance racial and gender equity and build more inclusive environments for over 150 years. Today, YW Boston’s InclusionBoston program has partnered with over 100 organizations to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion and create lasting cultural change. As part of this work, YW Boston partners with industry leaders to share insights and discuss successful strategies. We sat down with the Executive Director of The Urban Labs and EVP Chief Experience and Culture Officer at Berkshire Bank Malia Lazu to learn about her insights into how organizations can prepare for and successfully implement diversity and inclusion strategies.

Here are three implementation strategies for nonprofits from our conversation with Malia Lazu:

Don’t rush into action

Nonprofits are looking for lasting change, so they are eager to see results. It is important to remember that inclusive spaces are not built overnight. As Malia Lazu explained, “First you have to focus on building the relationships you need to get where you want to go. We need to build different kinds of relationships and that takes time.”

Hiring diverse candidates should not be the first step

First, focus on figuring out why you have not been able to attract and retain a diverse team. Malia highlights the importance of this prep work, “You want to do that internally. You don’t want to have folks telling on you on Twitter or Glassdoor.” This likely includes ensuring that you have equitable policies and have put effort into making sure all employees feel included. Learn more about the difference between diversity, equity, and inclusion in our previous article and how to work toward each here.

Encourage leaders and team members to work towards being better allies privately

When we talk about systemic change, we often forget that people make up systems. We are the product of systems and we all have work to do when it comes to deconstructing our personal biases and presumptions. Ally-ship is critical to the success of diversity and inclusion efforts. As Malia offered, “A good ally should read and educate themselves on as many diverse experiences as possible. Allow vulnerability and be open to it.” As the saying goes, ‘we don’t know what we don’t know’ and we should not expect others to do the work for us.

About YW Boston 

As the first YWCA in the nation, YW Boston has been at the forefront of advancing equity for over 150 years. Through our DE&I services—InclusionBoston and LeadBoston—as well as our advocacy work and youth programming, we help individuals and organizations change policies, practices, attitudes, and behaviors with a goal of creating more inclusive environments where women, people of color, and especially women of color can succeed.

by YW Boston

Nonprofits are increasingly interested in measuring their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts to determine whether these are actually effecting change. Whether you are evaluating efforts within your office or your community, evaluations are important tools for measuring progress. They are a valuable tool that will inform any adjustments, should you need to course correct. Yet bias often shows up in evaluations, just like it can show up elsewhere. This unaddressed bias can jeopardize the success of your DE&I efforts.

YW Boston has focused on developing evaluation tools that allow us to effectively measure individual and organizational readiness for D&I work, as well as tracking progress and areas of improvement. Here are some tips to help you identify and disrupt bias in your DE&I evaluations.

1. Acknowledge that bias is always present and address it accordingly

The first steps towards addressing any challenge involves acknowledging the problem at hand and exploring possible root causes. People are biased, and as biased individuals, we can reproduce our biases in everything from self-assessment and decision making, to the tools and technology that we use. Prejudice and racism are institutionalized, so it is important to recognize that bias will be present within data—such as demographic data—and processes, regardless of where and how data was collected. Try pushing beyond quantitative data as it does not always tell the full story. Your quantitative and qualitative data may be communicating differently, so it’s important to gather more perspectives in order to gain deeper meaning. One common hurdle in evaluations is the inability to disaggregate. Disaggregation is critical to identifying singular data on specific identities such as race, gender identity, class, abilities, as well as intersections of identities.

2. Examine what is being measured

In the words of Marc Miringoff, “we measure what we value.” Our environments, experiences, and institutions will impact our ideas about what is important and what should be measured. Therefore, institutionalized bias, prejudice, and racism will impact choices about the data we gather, the findings we prioritize and the meaning we ascribe to them. One way to mitigate racism within evaluations is to examine who is performing them. Evaluators have a lot of power, so ask: Are your evaluators diverse? Do they have an understanding of power and privilege? What data collection methods are being prioritized? Is your default indicator a white male?

3. Consider who determines outcomes

It’s equally important to consider who’s involved in the post-evaluation process. After assessments are complete, someone will interpret the data and decide how to move forward. Consider shifting power dynamics from institutions and “experts” to communities and individuals most affected by the research. Evaluators can ask themselves, “Who is not included?” Define your theory of change and what it would take to achieve your outcomes. Identify your timetables and gather input from those who will be involved in making them happen. Think about what a negative or positive outcome might mean and who will frame those results.

Nonprofits should prioritize an equity lens throughout the process, even after evaluations have concluded. Be intentional about how your share data and make sure participants know what is being measured and why.

About YW Boston 

As the first YWCA in the nation, YW Boston has been at the forefront of advancing equity for over 150 years. Through our DE&I services—InclusionBoston and LeadBoston—as well as our advocacy work and youth programming, we help individuals and organizations change policies, practices, attitudes, and behaviors with a goal of creating more inclusive environments where women, people of color, and especially women of color can succeed. 

by YW Boston

In order to address discrimination and inequities within the workplace, many organizations are turning to implicit bias training. Their responses take often the form of one-day trainings after incidents involving micro- and macro-aggressions. Implied in these efforts is the belief that one-day trainings are enough and that these trainings can remove bias from employees.

Through partnerships with other organizations, YW Boston has found that neither of these assumptions is correct. To successfully address discrimination and inequities in the workplace, organizations must transform the way they approach unconscious bias.

Identify and accept

Many people are brought up to believe that holding any social biases is a bad thing. This common belief, often referred to as “colorblindness” when discussing racial bias, approaches bias as a negative, unwanted aspect of society. However, this conceals the fact that everyone holds biases on almost everything and everyone, whether that is a positive, negative, or neutral bias.

In many ways, bias is naturally-occurring and necessary. Humans form positive associations with people who are similar to them, which can exist around a wide range of social and observable characteristics, such as race, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, and body type. Bias is also seen in the long-held expectation that people take care of individuals within their own groups.

Recognize and acknowledge impact

Rather than being preventative, the belief that all bias is negative encourages people to bury their long-held biases within themselves without interrogation. That said, although all bias isn’t inherently negative, it’s important to acknowledge and address the fact that it can become a harmful force when connected to institutional and structural power.

As individuals begin to show a favorable bias towards their own in-group, they are concurrently being socialized in a world where certain groups hold a majority of institutional and structural power. By holding institutional and structural power, privileged groups shape the world around us in ways that can harm groups with less power and privilege. As individuals move through the world, they encounter these racialized, gendered, and discriminatory power structures, transforming their personal bias into prejudice.

Contextualize

It is through this combination of implicit bias, prejudice, and power that bias becomes a hindrance in the workplace. When people feel most comfortable and protective of people like them, they are more likely to seek them out in a professional setting. This may lead to white interviewers preferring white candidates, or male managers providing more opportunities to their fellow male co-workers. In both instances, these professionals distribute power within the office in reaction to their internal biases.

Re-frame and address

People cannot change the fact that they hold biases, but they can change whom they see as their in-group. If bias naturally arises when individuals seek to take care of their own community, it is crucial that workplaces define themselves as a community. Reducing the negative implications of implicit bias in the workplace involves working on both the individual and organizational levels. First, individuals must begin by shedding the belief that they can eliminate our biases completely. YW Boston has found that workplace discrimination is more likely to be reduced if people are taught to doubt their objectivity and accept they are biased, rather than believing they can be transformed to become “bias-free.”

Organizations must also commit to breaking the link between biases and behaviors by addressing workplace culture (shared values and collective identity) and climate (what is rewarded, supported, and expected in the organization). As research has found, individuals are less likely to act on their biases if the values of anti-racism and racial equity are apparent within organizational culture and climate.

About YW Boston

As the first YWCA in the nation, YW Boston has been at the forefront of advancing equity for over 150 years. Through our DE&I services—InclusionBoston and LeadBoston—as well as our advocacy work and youth programming, we help individuals and organizations change policies, practices, attitudes, and behaviors with a goal of creating more inclusive environments where women, people of color, and especially women of color can succeed.

By YW Boston

The previous two editions of Our Shared Sector described the differences between each part of the “DE&I” Acronym–diversity, equity, and inclusion. The articles also covered several steps that nonprofits can take to weave these principles into their organizational cultures.

Your organization may now feel ready to embark on their diversity and inclusion journey towards a more equitable workplace. Or you may have already begun to implement changes. What happens when you stumble across roadblocks and find the need to re-assess? Here are three key strategies to address common pitfalls during your diversity and inclusion journey:

1. The diversity within your staff may not be reflective of the diversity of your constituents.

One of the business arguments for DE&I raises a concern that understanding a breadth of markets is impossible without diversity of thought. After all, diversity boosts innovation within organizations. How then can companies measure whether they are building a representative workforce? DE&I experts suggest that leadership should compare demographic information to the makeup of employees within their organization. Reports show that although women made up 51% of the population in the United States in 2012, the number of women within executive teams only accounted for an average representation of 16%. Representation is even lower at the intersections of race and gender.

2. A diverse pool of candidates may be hiding in plain sight.

When it comes to hiring, where can nonprofit organizations find diverse professionals that are representative of their constituents? We often hear recruiters and leadership executives justify their lack of diverse hiring by claiming they simply can’t find any diverse candidates. In some cases, going as far as claiming that diverse candidates do not exist or show interest in their industry. It’s important to remember that it’s not just about knowing where to look, but how. If you only look in those places that have already produced homogeneous candidates, you are unlikely to find much diversity. Instead, try sourcing through the networks of your diverse peers. Reach out to candidates and invite them to apply to a position within your organization. Furthermore, diversity may be hiding in plain sight, as some diverse folks may be “coding” to try and fit in.

3. You may need to re-evaluate your metrics.

Let’s say your organization is trying to address racial or gender wage gaps. Research shows that women, particularly women of color, earn less than their male counterparts. Additionally, people of color, women, and in particular women of color are less likely to be considered for promotions or find placement in leadership positions. One way to address wage differences as early as possible is by paying close attention to how inequities manifest themselves during the hiring process. The Equal Pay Act— a law amending the Fair Labor Standards Act that was signed in 1963 and advocated by YW Boston— encourages candidates never to reveal their previous salary to future employers. This is important because candidates, particularly candidates with diverse intersecting identities, may have been underpaid at their previous position so bringing up past salaries during a negotiation or using them as a starting point may be detrimental to the candidate. After all, salary is often a better indicator of a company’s budget size, not of employee experience.

About YW Boston

As the first YWCA in the nation, YW Boston has been at the forefront of advancing equity for over 150 years. Through our DE&I services—InclusionBoston and LeadBoston—as well as our advocacy work and youth programming, we help individuals and organizations change policies, practices, attitudes, and behaviors with a goal of creating more inclusive environments where women, people of color, and especially women of color can succeed.