Diversity in the workplace goes in and out as a hot topic. When economic times are not so great, the topic seems to take a backburner to the more pressing issue of the lack of job security for all of us.
In early September, the Chronicle of Philanthropy devoted a special section to Achieving Diversity at Nonprofit Organizations that brought attention to some of the disparities of how women and minorities are represented in the fundraising profession. On one hand, in this particular profession, women seem to be doing extremely well; the Chronicle states women lead 51.5% of the fundraising units at big charities. And, the role of women in nonprofits has surpassed the rise of women in the for profit sector. However, there are more women in the nonprofit sector. In fact, you could actually say men are the minority in the nonprofit sector, but, while specific statistics weren’t noted, white males are in place as the leaders at the highest levels of university and college fundraising. Yet, women make up 67% of college and university fundraisers (per the Council for Advancement and Support of Education).
While we can put our hands on an abundance of statistics to get pictures of diversity in the workplace, my focus today is on how to best achieve it.
Nonprofits have a mandate to seek diverse leaders by letter of the IRS law – 501(c) (3)s organized for the public benefit and overall nonprofits do a good job. But, often, organization leaders get all confused when it comes to being more diverse and inclusive. Diversity for diversity’s sake is an ineffective strategy.
Diversity can mean different things to different organizations. Often, there is desire to increase minority representation on a board, but it’s gone about in a haphazard way. Successful African American and Hispanic friends often tell me that they were approached — out of the blue — to serve on the board of an organization with which they have never been involved often just to increase the minority presence on a board. The same can be true with recruiting top talent. It is insulting to reach out to candidates just because they are underrepresented in an organization.
Achieving diversity isn’t something about which hiring directors can be lazy. It takes work to find true talent. While it’s easy to go to your neighbor or university alumni group to find people, those might not be the most effective routes to pursue. Perhaps, instead, look at minority organizations with missions similar to your own, and identify those leaders who possess a cross-over of abilities, interests and qualifications. Above all, you want the best person for your organization, and often that can be the person you think least likely to come on board.
One of my successful searches was one where I started by seeking one type of candidate – a Hispanic female. It was for a social service agency that primarily served Hispanic women and their children. The beloved executive director was leaving. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we found a Hispanic female to whom the women who use the agency could look up, admire and respect?
Well, that Hispanic leader never appeared as much as I tried to find her. I did exhaustive research and source calls, and it eventually became apparent that the best candidate was not going to be whom I originally pictured. Finding a replacement who looked like the beloved executive director — keeping with the status quo — could have been a comfort for the staff, the board and the clients; but that wasn’t the best candidate.
The best candidate turned out to be a younger, black male. In some ways, the board was very courageous in making this appointment. How were agency clients going to respond? Funders and donors were so comfortable dealing with the previous executive director; would they accept this new comer? But, the board knew the best candidate was someone who not only had a clinical social work background and administrative experience, but it was also someone who wanted to succeed as an executive director of a social service agency. In this case, that person was a black male.
It can be a challenge to find a diverse pool of candidates for a leadership position, but if you put effort in to looking – through research, exhausting networking and thinking outside the box – , you will find them. Having a diverse group of leaders from which to choose helps all seeking leadership positions. A great attribute about members of the nonprofit sector is that we are willing to learn and collaborate with each other. If we just stick with the same old/same old, we will get the same old/same old results.
I know diversity can be a hot and testy topic – what do you think? This is something of great interest to me as a recruiter, and I’d love some feedback.
Carmel Napolitano is a New York City based independent executive search consultant for the philanthropic, nonprofit, and public sectors. With over 20 years of experience, Carmel started her career in higher education fundraising, She has an exceptional track record of placing senior staff at local, regional, national, and global organizations. For more information take a look at her website, www.cgnassociates.wordpress.com or email her at cgnexecsearch@gmail.com.
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Last updated on March 6th, 2012 at 09:29 pm
Organizations that have Organizational Ombuds — a neutral, confidential, independent resource to assist people in dealing with concerns and issues — have a better shot at retaining a diverse workforce.
We all have a difficult time talking about the undersides of diversity, e.g. racism, sexism, and other issues of discrimination. But when people can get a hand with just talking about the issues or just being listened to then the issues can be defused and diverse experience and perspectives can become a valuable aspect of an organization.