By Joanna Eng, who manages the Idealist in NYC blog.
From Flickr user arvindgrover
We might not think that nonprofit organizations typically have to deal with as many problems of workplace discrimination and lack of diversity as the corporate world does. After all, we're already out to make the world a better place, aren't we? But when it comes down to it, there is often a lot more we can be doing in this area.
"I was recently asked to chair a languishing diversity committee at my medium-sized nonprofit." This is the challenge faced by just one of the professionals that Carmen Van Kerckhove seeks to help in her blog about diversity in the workplace. The latest installment gives guidelines on
how to start a diversity committee. Other topics she has covered include
How do I convince my non-profit that it needs to improve its cultural competency? and
How employee affinity groups can help you recruit and retain a diverse workforce. Not all of her advice is specifically for nonprofit organizations, but most of it applies across sectors.
Besides Carmen's advice, we at Idealist have compiled additional resources to help nonprofit professionals find best practices in the area of diversity: Our
Nonprofit Human Resources Center offers a section dedicated to
cultural diversity.
Diversity is a key factor in not just traditional human resources, but volunteer management as well. Our
Volunteer Management Resource Center offers advice on how to make volunteer opportunities as
accessible as possible to diverse populations (including those with physical or mental disabilities, the homeless, military communities, and immigrants and refugees), and how to engage volunteers
across generations.
