Nonprofits Can Cultivate Communication to Support Diversity

How can nonprofits build diversity awareness into their communication? There are no easy answers. But I find it helps to think of diversity-friendly communication as a tapestry. If you weave diversity awareness into each aspect of your outreach, you’ll see better results than you would if you tacked it on at the end.

That’s the approach my former coworker Dr. Sherrill Sellers recommended when we wrote the CIRTL Diversity Resources. Although the Diversity Resources were written for university instructors, nonprofits can use similar approaches. I recommend checking out our case study collection if you are thinking of organizing facilitated conversations about diversity.

When we were producing the Diversity Resources, we sifted through many university workbooks on creating welcoming climates. We found that a band-aid approach to diversity-friendly communication may be a step in the right direction, but it is just a step. More needs to be done.

After the Be the Media! conference in Boston on Dec. 6, I wrote the following list of questions to help organizations communicate inclusively. Items 1, 2 and 6 are partly based on comments by our facilitators, Elena Letona and Kathleen Pequeño.

1. Whom do you ask for their opinion? If you look at whose voices are absent from your decisions, you may find some gaps. Consider having conversations, surveys and focus groups to include unheard stakeholders. For example, if you are working on an environmental issue in a low-income community, remember to ask for community feedback. This is especially important if there is a language barrier.
2. Are your communication channels working? Make sure not to rely exclusively on the Internet if you want to reach a diverse base of potential supporters. Consider mobile-friendly websites and phone apps. Low-income young people often browse using their phones. Test drive new approaches to see what works.
3. Is your communication jargon-free, easy to understand, and interesting? Remember, your audiences are not required to listen to you, even if you’re communicating vital health information about disease prevention or disaster awareness. Think about the style of language you’re using. If you use research language with non-specialists, your message may be ignored or misinterpreted. Ask your audiences for feedback.
4. Is your message relevant? Why should your audiences care about the issues that matter to your organization? If you get to know them and learn what matters to them, your communication will be much more on target than it would be otherwise.
5. Have you stepped outside your office to visit your audiences lately? How well do you know them? The more you develop  relationships, the better your communication will be.
6. Have you considered partnering with or hiring messengers from underrepresented groups? Try crowdsourcing media, inviting people to tell their own stories via videos or blogs, and asking questions to draw out answers. You can use the results to develop stories for funders, decision makers, and media.
7. Do you ask for constructive criticism? If you only focus on positive stories, you won’t see the roots of problems.
8. Are your events, jobs and internships accessible to people who earn less than a middle-class income? Holding fundraisers with lower ticket prices, reducing reliance on alumni networks for hiring, and paying interns who can’t afford to take unpaid internships are three steps you can take to make your organization more welcoming.

Weaving ideas like these into your communication and outreach can help you develop real relationships with communities rather than being seen as an outside agency. The more you make your communication two-way – listening, respecting community comments, and taking an interest in others – the better your results are likely to be. Seek to understand before seeking to be understood.

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Like Biodiversity, Cultural Diversity Creates a Healthy Environmental Movement

Orion Magazine hosted an online meeting, “Bringing Cultural Diversity to the Environmental Movement,” on June 19. The speakers set the stage for the conversation by talking about alienation. They’ve noticed a culture of subtle silencing, unintentional exclusion, and institutionalized discrimination in the environmental movement which shuts down the contributions of people of color.

When environmental professionals of color meet one another, said presenter Marcelo Bonta, they begin telling stories about their innovations which have not been accepted by their employers. They also talk about the social exclusion they experience regularly.

“I always feel like an outsider,” Bonta said. He founded an organization, Environmental Professionals of Color, to provide a structure where environmentalists of color can connect with one another and advise organizations about diversity.

This bleak environment still exists despite a backdrop of increasing diversity in the United States. 2011 was the first year since the country was colonized when more ethnic minority children were born here than white children. This trend is likely to continue and could affect the long-term viability of the environmental movement in the United States. If environmental organizations do not diversify, social justice organizations may end up taking on their responsibilities.

Minority communities do take an interest in environmental issues, careers and activities, Bonta said. Since environmental groups and degree programs are failing to connect with minority communities, social justice organizations have stepped in to fill this role and are engaging in sustainability and environmental justice efforts.

One of the presenters, Ginny McGinn, leads a retreat called Young Leaders Reimagining Conservation where she encourages environmentalists to examine issues of privilege and race. The program is based at the Center for Whole Communities. Half of the attendees at the retreats are environmentalists of color.

Monica Smiley, executive director of Tualatin Riverkeepers  in Oregon, says the retreat was one of the most profound experiences of her life. “It really lit the fire,” she said. She returned to Oregon determined to diversify her organization’s staff, board and outreach. Tualatin Riverkeepers is in a watershed region with a mostly Latino population; Smiley resolved to reach out to Latinos and include them in environmental programs and decision making.

From Bonta’s perspective, linking sustainability to equity will open the doors of the environmental movement to more diverse points of view – a change which he feels is urgently needed. “That’s the future – not just of the environmental movement, but society in general,” he said.

“Conserving [and] preserving the environment is also about people,” McGinn said. “Van Jones really got it once he began to connect the dots.”

McGinn pointed out that environmentalists understand the value of biodiversity; diversity of background and opinion is just as valuable as biodiversity, from an organizational standpoint. “Diversity is what creates a healthy environment,” she said.

To listen to the audio recording of the event, visit the Orion Magazine multimedia website.

Why Science Outreach Can Support Diversity

Reading Unscientific America was an eerie experience for me. This book is more disturbing than most of the news I read online.

What bothered me most wasn’t the waning support for science research and science journalism. It wasn’t the social distance separating scientists from most people in the United States, either… although that is part of the problem.

Because of my experience writing about diversity and science, I took the ideas a step further and reached a disturbing conclusion. When they avoid communication, outreach and interdisciplinary thinking, science organizations may be unintentionally and effectively excluding a very large fraction of the population: women and people of color.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that some minority-serving universities in the United States base 20 percent of science professors’ tenure evaluations on community service. At other universities, that expectation would be unusual.

Some research says women turn away from science majors because they don’t believe scientists help people. This stereotype isn’t true; anyone who watches TV shows like ER or CSI will see science majors saving lives.

Science doesn't necessarily look like this.

If the dominant message says scientists don’t care about the rest of the public, that could contribute to public apathy about science funding. The authors of Unscientific America make a persuasive argument that we should train scientists to do outreach – and fund full-time jobs for them in that field later.

Here is the message I’m concerned could be countering attempts to diversify the science workforce:

If you enjoy communicating or want to contribute to your community, don’t choose a science major.

I blog about the personal, everyday relevance of science because I know these stereotypes don’t reflect reality. In one new industry – green technology – there are signs that women are taking an interest in science because they see their work as a social contribution.

Science is everywhere. It is relevant. It changes the world around us all the time. Science is everyone’s story.

Question of the Week: Creating Friendly Atmospheres

Because I’m interested in starting conversations that help people reach beyond their usual social circles, I’ve been thinking about ways to change how groups interact.

I’m inviting people to comment here with ideas and resources.

What are some strategies you use for making online and offline conversations more welcoming and less polarized?