Practical Strategies to Increase Board Diversity

Gain a better understanding the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and what they mean and may add to an organization.

Many nonprofit leaders state that diversity is important to their organizations, but all too often they do not prioritize or act on these words. Nonprofit boards are generally no more diverse than they were 20 years ago with a recent survey finding that 90 percent of CEOs and board chairs and 84 percent of board members were white. Recent movements like Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, catalyzed by a growing intolerance of longstanding inequities, have heightened the need for many nonprofits to identify and prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion as organizational values. But nonprofit boards looking for quick solutions often fall into the trap of tokenism and fail to reap the true benefits that can be gained by diverse leadership. The information also explains how nonprofits can embed DEI as core organizational values in creating a more diverse board and inclusive culture. Adding diversity without appropriate intent or strategy can result in tokenism and damage an organization's culture and reputation. This content offers critical advice for nonprofits so they can develop practical strategies to increase board diversity in the right ways and for the right reasons.