This past year brought a renewed attention to and interest in organizations’ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. A key first step to change is recruiting diverse candidates, board members, leaders, and more to push forward an organization’s work. Day 2 of On Board 2021 focused on these goals with the keynote session “Pushing Beyond Diversity: Fostering Inclusive Environments.” Speakers discussed how nonprofits can move beyond building a diverse board and team to creating truly inclusive environments where everyone can thrive. 

Speakers included: 

  • Pavita Cooper, Founder, More Difference
  • Caroline Grossman, Executive Director, Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation (Moderator)

Quote of the Day

“There was a ripple effect across the world, as there should have been. Organizations have gone beyond words and have begun listening more.” — Pavita Cooper, Founder, More Difference

Three Takeaways from the Conversation

  • Mission alignment is critical in driving nonprofit success. Board leaders must redefine what a role on their board looks like and recruit to that in order to attract members who are truly passionate about the same core values and committed to doing the work.

  • Representation is only one piece of the puzzle. While it can be an easy metric to measure, representation can mask internal organizational issues, whereas gauging equity and inclusion is much harder to quantify. New measures that hold diversity as the input and inclusion as the output are more effective at evaluating the inclusivity of a work environment at a deeper level.

  • Lean on your network. Reach out to other business and social sector leaders to encourage sharing experiences among colleagues and helping to establish best practices for creating boards that are diverse and inclusive in their actions.

To learn more about On Board agenda or register for a future session, click here.

Read About On Board 2021 Day 1

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