by Annie Davidson
June 28, 2023
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) contributes to building a better world. As board members and leaders of your association, your role is to guide your organization’s DEI journey in a way that makes the most sense for your mission, your industry, and your profession.
Our Perspectives recently spoke with several Smithbucklin clients about each of their DEI journeys. Some associations are further established in their DEI journeys, and many are just beginning to have discussions.
Get inspired to take the next step in your organization’s journey with these insightful highlights.
Getting started
It can be tempting to jump right into action, but it is important to do the work of understanding first. “We created a committee and embarked on the hard work of examining the issue,“ said Denise Roosendaal, FASAE, CAE, Executive Director, Institute for Credentialing Excellence (I.C.E.). “We are naturally driven toward outcomes and deliverables, but allowing that ‘space and grace,’ as Shawn Boynes, FASAE, CAE, past chair of ASAE Fellows, put it, to first establish the trust, relationships, and tools to better inform the discussions was a critical step in this journey. After a full year, we felt comfortable to write the strategic guidance document and the DEI policy statement that has driven our work since.”
Collaboration
Sometimes, outside help can contribute to a better understanding of where gaps exist. “The International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT) hired a consultant to assess the organization's maturity in diversity and inclusion,” said Guilherme Lopes, Executive Director. After creating a three-year plan with specific objectives and goals, ISTAT started activities such as an annual board training, roundtable discussions for members, and a DEI award to honor positive role models in the industry. The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) followed a similar path, although they formed a taskforce rather than soliciting outside help. “We also created a shared interest group focused on DEI and tapped into members active in DEI at their own organizations,” shared Peter Finn, Executive Director.
Taking a leap forward
In other situations, the board is already on a path to change and tasks involved are more tangible. Human Factors & Ergonomics Society (HFES) already had a deliverable in their strategic plan to facilitate equal access at events and were ready to take the next step. “We searched for, interviewed, and engaged disability consultants to develop resources to make annual meeting presenters’ slides and posters inclusive, conduct an extensive audit of the hotel property to assess degree of access, and create an accessibility vocabulary glossary,” shared Steve Kemp, CAE, Executive Director.
Inspiration can come from other organizations as well. After noticing lack of diversity in the field and successful fellowship programs in other organizations, Chicago Estate Planning Council (CEPC) decided to act. “The client chose to implement best practices witnessed in similar organizations,” said Kathleen Callahan, Executive Director. “The best practice was encouraging younger professionals to enter and stay in the field. To do that, we provided a lot of mentoring, training, merit scholarships and recognition to these younger professionals as a complimentary fellowship. We solicited sponsors in the community to fund the fellowship program and volunteers in the community to serve on the selection committee and as mentors. We then indicated a need for the fellows to ‘pay it forward’ by becoming leaders in the organization and recruiting additional diverse participants.”
Annie Davidson is in Corporate Marketing at Smithbucklin.