Why Are Hispanics Underrepresented on Boards? August 28, 2010; Dallas Morning News | Racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented on nonprofit (and foundation!) Governing boards, but Latinos are frequently more underrepresented than others. In Dallas, where there is a significant Hispanic population, nonprofits appear to be working on getting more Latinos into nonprofit governing positions. Why the underrepresentation? One of the two Latino board members at Mi Escuelita Preschool, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, ascribes the problem to the limited "culture of philanthropy" in Mexico. Because so many people in Mexico (and Latinos in Dallas) are so poor, charity is frequently limited to disaster relief, when Latinos pull together but only for a short time.
Creating the Safe Space to Talk About Race in the Nonprofit Sector. Just because we now have a president of color does not mean we should take the topic of diversity off our agenda.
By Rosetta Thurman | Feb. 27, 2009 Here in America, we’ve had several opportunities to discuss race since the election of our nation’s first African American President: The New York Post title depicting the author of the economic stimulus bill as a dead monkey Attorney General Eric Holder declaring that our country is “a nation of cowards” when it comes to race And all of this talk of a “post-racial” America. Whatever that is. I don’t need to tell you how disappointed I’ve been after reading the commentary these events have prompted. I’m not saying we should drop everything and run around hooping & hollering about race and diversity. I’m always disappointed when discussions about diversity at nonprofit conferences are so sparsely attended. We also need to define in a real way what can and cannot come into the room when we talk about race. A Fresh Look at Diversity and Boards. Part One in a series of three on nonprofits and diversity: Just last week a new report showed that while 57% of California's population is comprised of people of color, just 28% of nonprofit board members reflect that demographic reality.
While not all boards want to diversify their racial and ethnic composition, many who do are struggling to clearly define their reasons for diversification and are uncertain as to how to proceed effectively. Often the objective is to add people of color to a predominantly white board, but other situations exist as well, such as adding Latinos to an Asian board, or younger people to a predominantly older board. Over the last decade or so, the way we think about diversity has been changing. This article -- the first of three in a series -- provides a fresh and practical focus on board diversity. One thing we know about working to address demographic diversity: cookie-cutter solutions don't work, because the situations are so . . . well, diverse. 1. 2. Nonprofits Don’t Really Care About Diversity.
Nonprofit staff isn’t very diverse.
Nonprofit boards aren’t very diverse. Nonprofits need more diversity. About a dozen people sent me the link to The Voice of Nonprofit Talent: Perceptions of Diversity in the Workplace, a new study produced by Commongood Careers and Level Playing Field Institute. I didn’t read it right away because honestly, most reports about diversity in the nonprofit sector pretty much say the same damn thing and are a total waste of funder’s money. Does any of this sound familiar? Nonprofit staff isn’t very diverse. But this study is a little different. I’m Not Making This Up The numbers don’t lie, people.