I went to a “Diversifying Your Board” workshop today. It was led by two of our brightest and up-and-coming Latino leaders. Getting their perspective was very helpful, and the good news is that what I have been advising is sound.
We started out by introducing ourselves and telling about our diverse backgrounds. Diversity is not only about ethnicity. There are a variety of aspects to ourselves that make us diverse as individuals.
In terms of diversifying your board, they made a great case for why it would be a good idea to do so. For one, it has been proven that groups with more diversity can solve problems better and more easily than homogenous types of groups. Mainly the reason why is for the simple fact that having people coming from different backgrounds and perspectives will yield different viewpoints and solutions.
Another great reason to diversify is that your ROE is higher. ROE is Return on Equity. This means that you are creating a profit with the capital that you already have and by using the resources that are available to you. For the non-profit businesses, your ROE is more related to how well you are able to carry out your mission. Businesses with more diverse leadership have 53% higher ROE ratings. They are better able to reach out to more parts of their communities due to the diversity.
They did a great job of diving into some eye-opening demographics too, such as:
- 1 in 5 people are disabled
- Since 2012, Nonwhite infants constitute the majority of children born in the U.S.
- Same sex couples live in 93% of the counties in the U.S.
- Around 2040, we will be a minority-majority looking at projections from our current statistics
- 63% of Latino Households make charitable donations
- 66% of African Americans donate to organizations and causes every year.
- On average, Asian Americans give away a larger percentage of their income per year than whites.
Looks like the time is now to diversify! However, your board has to be ready for this. They pointed out that it will be a little uncomfortable at first for both your current board members and the new people you bring on. There are uncomfortable conversations to be had. The new people will feel a little out of place at first, especially if they are the only one from their diverse background.
I really liked their keys to recruitment which began with, know your audiences. You want your board to be reflective of your audiences. You then will want to create a welcoming atmosphere, establish credibility and trust, go to them instead of expecting them to come to you, and of course engage in personal outreach and building of relationships.
The reason I liked these keys of recruitment? It’s audience development! You can use audience development to diversify your board. Create the connections, collaborate with organizations that serve diverse populations, show you care within your community, and become a part of your community. The 4 Cs of audience development can guide you to building relationships in order to diversify. Get to know people and become a part of their world!
They dove into some of the barriers to recruitment as well. Find out what the barriers are for people and attempt to offer a solution. One common barrier is “tokenism,” and they suggested recruiting in pairs to make people more comfortable. What a great idea!
There was so much more that was mentioned in this presentation that I simply do not have the time and space on this blog post to list. It was one of those “you had to be there” moments, and I am thankful I took the time to go to this workshop.
My big advice to you, if you see a workshop on how to diversify your board, go! The only way we are going to learn how to get past the uncomfortable stages of diversifying is to learn straight from the people we are wanting to connect with. There are caring people that will guide us if we would only connect with them.
Cheers to happy and loyal audiences,
Shoshana
PS Want to learn more about diversity? Check out: www.diversityinc.com
