The Building Movement Project’s (BMP) latest report is providing insights on the persistent challenges and barriers within the sector when it comes to effectively addressing the lack of diversity in nonprofit leadership and the inequities people of color face.
The Building Movement Project’s (BMP) latest report is providing insights on the persistent challenges and barriers within the sector when it comes to effectively addressing the lack of diversity in nonprofit leadership and the inequities people of color face.
Race to Lead Revisited: Obstacles and Opportunities in Addressing the Nonprofit Racial Leadership Gap builds on BMP’s original 2017 report, demonstrating that despite the intentional diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work throughout the sector there’s still much more to do.
Highlights from the report:
More people of color (52%) aspire to become nonprofit leaders than their white counterparts (36%).
BMP’s report states that there is still white advantage in the nonprofit sector. The report uses the term white advantage to describe “how structure and power operate specifically in the context of nonprofit organizations, steadily reproducing concrete and experiential benefits for white people despite a stated agreement in the sector on the problems of racial inequity and the need to change those conditions.”
90% of people of color agreed with the statement, “People of color must demonstrate they have more skills and training than white peers to be considered for nonprofit executive jobs,” compared to 65% of white people.
People of color who work for organizations with white leadership reported the least positive experiences among respondents. For example, they responded that they’re less likely to work at the organization in three years, less likely to be given a voice in their organization and receive fewer fair and equitable opportunities for advancement.
Organizations led by white people are more likely to have larger organizational budgets from funders.
Three-quarters of respondents in 2019 said their organizations have instituted DEI initiatives. The most common of these DEI initiatives were training—mostly on vocabulary terms like implicit bias and white privilege rather than on recruiting diverse staff or conducting racial trauma/healing courses—and including DEI elements in their mission statement.
Increased efforts haven’t translated to changes in the systemic white advantage. For example, 72% of people of color agreed with the statement, “We know how to improve DEI, but decision makers don’t have the will to make changes.”
According to the report, “Hundreds of write-in responses and focus group observations indicate an exhaustion experienced by people of color in the nonprofit sector. People of color shared reflections about the constant demands of both job responsibilities and navigating issues related to race, and particularly the intersection of race and gender.”
The report shared that since 2017 there have been changes that indicate the potential for progress, including the significant national conversation on racial inequities and heightened awareness of racial inequities along with calls for increased and focused action within the nonprofit sector.
Recommendations identified in the report include:
Address white advantage in the sector: Significantly increase the number of people of color in board and leadership positions and create organizational changes that make this transition successful. Also, institute new practices, policies and procedures to advance the well-being of people of color.
Focus on structures and the experience of race and racism: Strengthen efforts to understand and validate the individual and collective experiences of people of color in nonprofit organizations and institutions.
Policies have meaning, but only if enforced: Ensure the realignment of policies and practices related to racial equality are acted on consistently and universally.
Provide funding to organizations led by people of color: Interrupt the cycles that are exacerbating the inequities our sector is committed to fight by examining internal practices to understand whether groups led by people of color are equitably provided resources that will help them grow and thrive and make changes to those practices as needed.
Reflect the community by putting racial diversity in action: Set a racial equity goal that the organization’s leadership should reflect the racial demographics of the population they serve.
Measure results: Establish thoughtful and measurable ways to assess progress based on a widely-shared plan for what should change, who is responsible and how results will be documented.
BMP recommends that nonprofits undertake this work in partnership with like-minded and similar-sized organizations with similar goals, recognizing that a cohort of groups working together on race and race equity can offer each other feedback, collaborate to solve problems and address difficult situations, provide support and accountability for the DEI process and share reflections on challenges and accomplishments.
Want more?
Read the full report.
Has your organization instituted new efforts to advance racial equity? Contact CMF.
