Achieving a representative and durable process that improves nonprofit diversity has been a goal for nonprofits long before the more recent push for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring. The exact terminology and names may have changed, but nonprofits have long recognized the value and importance of having volunteers, employees, and leaders who better reflect the diverse range of backgrounds and experiences of the public. However, addressing this issue is a long process, one that requires data collection and analysis, continual iteration, and a willingness to change a status quo that hides implicit biases.
A recent study from Candid provided some insight into where we are in this process while acknowledging the difficulty of gathering crucial data, particularly the disclosure of information that individuals and organizations may not feel comfortable sharing with the public. Despite some major improvements in the diversity of the nonprofit sector as a whole, there is still a concentration of resources, both in terms of finances and organizational size, in organizations under the leadership of white men.
These findings suggest that efforts to create a more diverse nonprofit sector may be overly concentrated on staff rather than leadership and that systemic or implicit biases in fundraising, networking, and the overall structure of the nonprofit world have led to a sustained lack of diversity among CEOs and other executives. Here are some key takeaways from the report:
Diversity is improving overall
Candid’s study showed that efforts to improve access to resources and address systemic biases in hiring have led to a marked improvement in the diversity of nonprofits overall. When considering the entire workforce, nonprofits are now “slightly more racially diverse than the overall U.S. adult population.” This is supported by a similar report from The Communications Network, which indicated that both a concerted effort to communicate about DEI values and initiatives and the elimination of common obstacles to greater opportunity have greatly improved organizational diversity. Paired with the other findings in the report, this shows that diversity efforts can have dramatically positive results when put into sustained practice.
Diversity data collection is improving but faces major challenges
Another positive point is that data about organizational demographics is now much more readily available than ever before, reflecting a documented trend not just in data collection but in the continual improvement of data to ensure that it is as accurate as possible. For example, the practice of disclosing one’s demographic data during the hiring process is useful for data gathering, but it may not paint a full picture, as new hires may decline to self-identify at that time. If an organization makes efforts to continually collect demographic information beyond this point, it improves accuracy.
Despite this overall trend, the report also showed that members of what they defined as “sensitive groups,” i.e., marginalized groups that may feel unsafe disclosing demographic information, were less willing to share information, offering an incomplete picture of diversity numbers. Transgender or disabled employees were less likely to fill out demographic surveys or were more likely to “decline to state” their status. This was also true for questions about sexual orientation. Similarly, many organizations did not collect this information, possibly out of concern that it could make team members feel less comfortable or safe at work.
While these concerns are valid and reflect ongoing issues around discrimination and marginalization in society as a whole, they also limit the ability of organizations to address these issues directly and promote a safe and equitable environment for all groups. Building the kind of trust, communication, and open commitment to diversity that helps members of sensitive groups feel comfortable will likely be a major point of emphasis for nonprofits going forward.
Nonprofit leadership is lacking in diversity:
Perhaps the most discouraging finding from the Candid study is that many of these diversity efforts seem limited in their ability to push for change at the top of organizations. Although many nonprofits boast a great deal of diversity, the nonprofit space is still dealing with a funding and leadership structure that concentrates the majority of power and resources in the hands of white and male leadership. There are two key dimensions to this:
- Nonprofit leadership is much less racially diverse than the staff:
The study shows that only 47% of nonprofit staff identify as white, but at the leadership level, this number increases by over 30%, with 70% of nonprofit CEOs identifying as white along with 66% of nonprofit board members. There is a particularly dramatic gap between the number of African American and Latino employees (24% and 19%, respectively) and leaders, with only 15% identifying as African American and 6% as Latino. - Nonprofits with diverse leadership are smaller and less funded:
In addition to the overall lack of diversity, the study also found that organizations with diverse leadership tended to be smaller both in terms of size and available resources. Organizations led by Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) tended to be smaller, with 43% having expenses under $50,000. White male CEOs, however, are present at 27% of all nonprofits but 41% among nonprofits with a revenue of $25M+. This concentration of organizational wealth and size in the hands of white male leadership shows that the strong efforts to improve diversity have stopped short of the C-suite.
Solving this issue will not be simple, as it reflects the broader and deeply entrenched nature of implicit bias and privilege that has prevented marginalized groups from reaching positions of leadership. However, studies like these can help start organizational and sector-wide discussions and efforts to foster more diverse leadership opportunities that better reflect the many perspectives already represented in the nonprofit labor force.
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The information contained in this article is not a substitute for legal advice or counsel and has been pulled from multiple sources.
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