How to Incorporate Diversity into Your Organization

Prepared by the ASAE Diversity Committee

Diversity is an issue that should a part of every aspect of association/non-profit management.  Too often organizations relegate the issue to a Diversity Committee to address.  Ownership of diversity is delegated to that committee and all other departments abdicate any responsibility to address the issue.

Yet, aspects of diversity touch almost every area of association/non-profit management—from recruiting volunteers and leaders to recruiting and retaining valued employees, from creating meetings accessible to all to marketing your organization's programs to a diverse audience.

In an effort to understand how diversity issues touch all areas of an organization, ASAE's Diversity Committee has created the following document which highlights ways in which each department of an association/non-profit can think about and incorporate diversity issues into its policies and procedures.

Governance and Volunteer Structure

• Selling the business case for diversity to current leaders and staff
• Institutionalizing diversity through the organizational planning process
• Selecting and grooming diverse members for leadership roles
• Changing leadership culture to embrace diversity, including training for leadership and key staff
• Creating an welcoming atmosphere in the volunteer leadership structure
• Understanding that diverse volunteers will think differently and be open to new and innovative ideas and approaches
• Classifying and setting diversity goals for membership that complement volunteer leadership diversity goals
• Measuring and accounting for progress against goals
• Mentoring newcomers in leadership positions
• Benchmarking against other organizations with successful diversity programs
• Publicize commitment to diversity as an organization, in all activities.
• Establishing organizational bodies to support and lead the diversity effort
• Consulting with outside diverse communities for strategic direction

Executive Management

• Articulating, leading, and setting the stage for a diversity orientation among volunteer leaders, members, and staff
• Acting as a role model for diversity in professional and personal lives

Human Resources

• Hiring, promoting and keeping diverse employees, so that staff reflects diversity of membership and the community
• Using alternative media to recruit employees, reaching out to diverse communities
• Training staff to appreciate diversity and create an environment where all employees are welcome and integrated into the mainstream
• Establishing training, mentoring, and management development programs to assure success among diverse employees
• Setting examples and modeling by staff leadership of successful work teams and relationships that include diverse staff
• Supporting, measuring and recognizing diversity successes by leadership
• Including diversity goals in employee performance expectations and evaluations
• Setting staff diversity goals by hierarchical level
• Training about and complying with all statutes related to a diverse workforce
• Engaging in pro-active diverse employee recruitment and promotion from within
• Providing employee benefits that are conducive to attracting and keeping diverse employees
• Evaluating supervisory performance in the area of hiring and developing diverse staff

Government Relations

• Setting advocacy policy to include interests of diverse members and constituents
• Approaching legislative issues with consideration for special needs and interests of diverse members and constituents
• Coalescing with other organizations to support diversity issues in your profession or industry
• Establishing an advocacy group to champion issues that relate to diverse constituents and work with Congressional caucuses that represent their issues

Communications/Publications

• Going "public" with diversity statement and inclusiveness policies in all appropriate communications with all audiences
• Reinforcing organizational diversity in publications and other media through print, graphic, and audio/visual representations, and translations, while avoiding tokenism
• Including diversity topics as appropriate in industry or professional publications for members' use
• Using alternative media that attract diverse audiences
• Building image around diversity

Marketing

• Integrating diversity into the marketing planning process
• Adding diversity considerations to market segmentation strategies
• Making product, price, place, and promotion decisions to reflect inclusiveness
• Designing products and services to appeal to diverse audiences
• Establishing pricing structures to maximize access to offerings across all audiences
• Considering delivery channels that reach diverse audiences
• Targeting promotions to diverse audiences, with copy, graphics, and media placement tailored to reach and interest underrepresented audiences
• Creating an organizational brand identity that reflects diversity

Membership

• Surveying for and finding demographic information about your members and prospects
• Setting demographic goals for recruitment and retention and measuring results
• Segmenting your prospect universe
• Broadening the definition of diversity to reflect all possible groups
• Broadening membership benefits and services to include the needs of diverse audiences and balancing those needs against those of more traditional members
• Conducting campaigns to attract diverse audiences
• Tailoring membership promotions to diverse audiences, using targeted media
• Partnering with similar industry or professional organizations that represent a diverse segment of your membership eligible universe

Meetings and Education

• Selecting venues that are accessible, attractive, and hospitable to diverse groups
• Planning program or agenda to interest and be sensitive to the needs of diverse participants
• Screening and preparing presenters to appeal to diverse audiences
• Planning educational activities that represent all levels of experience and diverse viewpoints
• Using a variety of presenters that diverse audiences can identify with
• Including accessibility, accommodation, and language options in registration materials
• Facilitating positive experiences among diverse audiences through orientation programs, mentoring activities, etc.
• Including diversity elements in certification programs
• Accommodating the disabled, providing facilities for childcare, breast feeding, etc.
• Examining certification criteria and standards to eliminate any biases that may exist

Chapter Relations

• See "Governance and Volunteer Structure" and using formal and informal relationships, requiring or encouraging similar diversity infrastructure and initiatives in chapters and allied organizations
• Role modeling diversity to the chapters
• Measuring and recognizing chapters which have successful diversity programs

Legal

• Training staff and volunteers to adhere to all statutes related to diversity and inclusion
• Involving staff or outside counsel in diversity initiatives
• Providing training and information about policies on diversity, harassment, and accessibility
• Publicizing open standards on discrimination, harassment, and sexual orientation issues, incorporating a formal grievance procedure
• Complying with disability statues and concepts

Planning

• Including diversity in organizational mission, goals, objectives, and action plans
• Setting up measurement and evaluation systems for diversity action plans
• Including diversity initiatives appropriately in mainstream budget, not only funded by special grants
• Articulating a business case for diversity, and applying it throughout the organization
• Anticipating short- and long-term population trends by segments, in your industry/profession and constituents

Finance and Administration

• Obtaining grants and other funding for diversity initiatives
• Pro-active budgeting for diversity initiatives
• Setting procurement policies to include use of vendors and consultants that have diversity initiatives in their organizations
• Outfitting headquarters office and other facilities to include access and accommodations for diverse employees and visitors
• Including minority groups in philanthropy programs