MWD BLOG

Though often shortened to simply “DE&I” for ease of use, the practice of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion also entails a much broader spectrum of Justice, Belonging, Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression, Equality, Accountability, Transparency, Collaboration, *pauses to take a breath* Interdependence, Sustainability, Intersectionality, Decolonization, Decentralization, Transformation, Individual and Collective Liberation, and so on … But JBA-RA-OEATCISIDDTI&CL, while an undoubtedly epic acronym, is likely too long to remember and even this more expansive list doesn’t cover the ever-evolving calls for our action. And so, for the purpose of utilizing a shared language and framework in which we can continue to organize and develop long-term strategies, I’ll also use the acronym “DE&I” here in identifying what Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion means at MWD. 

Diversity

Likely not surprising to read at this point, the fundraising and non-profit sectors aren’t particularly diverse, and rather are majority cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied, and white or white-passing, especially in middle-management positions and across leadership structures. And in our commitment to diversity, we’re ideally seeking to shift the make-up of our staff over time in a way that more closely represents the communities in which we live and work across race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, family status, country of origin, immigration status, education, conviction history, socio-economic background, and other aspects that make up our identity or impact our lived experiences.

We are first committed to this work because of our values. In addition, the business case supports these efforts because diversity drives innovation. Of course, a company can have subject-matter experts, but it’s those well-led, cross-culturally competent teams who collectively bring forth the most unexplored ideas, tap into new markets, and deepen current products and services. 

In developing a more diverse make-up we’ve begun by encouraging our current staff to self-identify through surveying; we can’t impact what we cannot first measure, and proactively collecting and analyzing demographic information sets a foundation for improving it. We’re also in an ongoing review of our hiring practices including redrafting job listings to ensure more inclusive language, expanding the job boards and places we recruit to better connect to those communities currently underrepresented on our staff, and increasing salary transparency. We are examining our recruitment process, the ways we collect feedback on candidates, and how we can increase the number of touchpoints between applicants and MWD staffers to create a more well-rounded perspective on a potential hire. An area for further development for us is to partner these internal efforts with outside trainings that help us better understand the biases that exist within all of us that impact our decision-making abilities. Our brains are hard-wired to jump to conclusions, so it’s critical we disrupt the snap judgements that unconsciously insert barriers to a more diverse workforce. 

And because we’re playing the long game here, we also recognize that in those instances where we will still lack a diverse candidate pool across levels, we must also uncover the ways we can cultivate a pipeline of our own and are exploring the development of a training and internship program that would nurture prospective and current employees and future leaders who can both continue to grow within our agency over time and also help to permeate and diversify our industry beyond the current majority. 

Equity

Equity takes into consideration what each person in a shared environment needs to thrive. This has long been a value woven into our core mission and reflected through our compensation and benefits strategies that seek to build wealth and stability for all employees, regardless of level or position in the agency including fully-paid core benefits, pay equity, automatic employer retirement contributions (regardless of employee deferrals), equalized profit sharing, and a transition of our agency from a sole proprietorship to majority employee-owned. Beyond compensation and benefits, we’re also turning our focus to a review of our current processes, statements, policies, and practices, in order to identify inequities that exist within our company culture, remove those elements of oppression, and develop new guiding language. 

It’s also important to acknowledge the benefits, policies, and practices we have implemented over time have the greatest impact on those who have already made it through our doors, meaning our equity strategies must also tie back into diversity initiatives in order to cast a wider net when seeking those future employee-owners. 

Inclusion

Inclusion initiatives seek to bring the outsider in. Likely each of us has felt or will feel like “the Other” at some point in our working careers, manifesting in forms of loneliness, isolation, vulnerability, inferiority, fear, anger, and/or a questioning of worth and value, among others. The employee experience is not equal; each of us is influenced by the aspects of our individual identity. And it’s in the intersectionality of those complex identities where both the agency and our individual stakeholders can flourish.

When the invitation is extended and we bring our authentic selves into the workplace, performance is positively affected, engagement is boosted, and the decision to depart is a much more difficult consideration. For us, the most successful approaches to creating a diverse and equitable workforce must also include the building and maintaining of an environment where employees know we also belong because we feel an interconnectedness to each other and see ourselves reflected in MWD’s values.

One of our largest opportunities is in deepening the channels of two-way communication with our staff through surveying, town halls, and other open discussion forums. We want employees to have greater occasions to voice opinions, share feedback, and then co-create how strategies and solutions are implemented. At the same time, we’re working to increase transparency and visibility around the agency’s governance, drivers, and decision-making processes. 

In each of these areas of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, we’re trying to address in the workplace what is not yet healed in the world around us: racism, discrimination, inequity, injustice, and the like. And yet if we do not interrupt these systems of oppression, we perpetuate them.  MWD remains committed to interrogating how these show up in our agency and identifying ways we can dismantle them and evolve. And as a visible ally in our sector and industry, we’re dedicated to sharing our experiences along the way. There’s much more to come, so stay tuned.

Amanda Melton, (she/her), VP of People & Culture, has a background in Human Resources that is rooted in social responsibility, having worked over two decades with MWD, an agency whose mission and values seek social and economic justice, fairness in the workplace, and supporting our communities. In her role, Amanda champions an environment where employees can truly thrive by crafting a suite of benefits that supports total health and wellness, celebrating employee ownership, encouraging individual and corporate philanthropy, and working to create and maintain an atmosphere where every employee has a voice.