Roundtable Event: May 17, 2006
PANEL:
Jennifer Rutledge: While there has been real progress in the last ten years in the efforts by nonprofit boards to increase the diversity of their membership, there does not appear to have been as much attention paid to incorporating and welcoming these members.
According to a survey among minority board members conducted in 2004 in Westchester and another conducted for Jennifer's 1994 book on Diversity, minority board members reported feeling disenfranchised, isolated, not connected and under-utilized.
The problem is not that boards are somehow treating minority members differently, but rather that they were not paying sufficient attention to insuring that they incorporate and engage all new board members. They were treating their diversity goals as a separate process rather than incorporating them into a more thoughtful board development process.
Boards do not need to do anything different for people who are different. They do need however, to build a board culture that is welcoming, uses the talents of its members and has clear standards and expectations for all board members.
Boards need to have their house in order before inviting people in. Building a diverse board must start from a board development plan that identifies the skills and resources that the board needs. Adding a diversity component to that is simply a matter of widening the pool from which potential candidates can be sought.
It is important for boards to understand that the value to be obtained from recruiting board members from a diverse pool is the widening of perspectives that are brought into the discussion. No board member can be viewed as "representing" a particular population or point of view. Board members can however bring a point of view that can more directly empathize with the needs of that population.
Marjorie Torres: Marjorie described her experience in having been recruited to two different boards. She has found her experience rewarding, in part because in both cases she addressed the question of her role on the board directly. She would accept a position only if there was a genuine commitment to diversification and to providing a meaningful role for her on the board.
In both cases she has been successful in significantly increasing the role of women on these boards.
In her experience increasing its diversity has had an evolutionary impact on each of the boards. She has seen the broader range of opinions and perspectives change the board's deliberations and actions in ways that cannot be predicted. For example on one board, the addition of younger members changed the ways in which the board communicated, increasing the use of various forms of electronic communications helping to speed up communications processes.
Bonda Lee Cunningham: For diverse perspectives to be heard it is important not only for the board to be clear about its goals for incorporating new members, but it is equally important for there to be a critical mass of newer perspectives. It is difficult for one lone voice to make a difference. It is easier for several people, even if their perspectives are different, to have an impact.
It is also important for the board to have a process to incorporate newer members such as mentoring, ongoing support, training, etc.
Board recruitment goals should change as the needs of the organization change. An organization, for example, in the process of redefining its goals needs different skills on the board than one that has made those decisions and is embarking on a capital campaign.
Irrespective of the skills needed, the first quality must be a strong commitment to the mission of the organization and a willingness to devote time and resources to advance that mission.
Discussion: What is the value of diversification to the board's ability to fulfill its responsibilities?
In some cases, diversity can bring more ability to produce action. Women, at least on one board, had different leadership styles than the previously predominantly male board. The interaction produced greater results.
Adding younger members to a board brought new ways of working in teams and communicating.
Adding members who have different potential networks creates more opportunities for connections for the organization.
Diversification in the broadest sense means simply considering the additional perspectives that will enhance the discussion. A national Latino organization, for example, addressed the need to include voices from the many different Latino cultures.
The analysis however must always consider the organizations mission. The YWCAs, for example, held an intense discussion at a national conference (facilitated by Jennifer Rutledge), on whether to include men on their boards. http://www.kintera.org/atf/cf/{02369ED0-C22C-45E9-8B03-8579DE96349F}/ProVote_FAQ_Media.pdf
In a changing world, there is a constant need for different perspectives.
Broader perspectives can result in better decisions
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