Increase board diversity

• Date: 01 May 2018
• Published date: 01 May 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.30679

Editor: Jeff Stratton

Email, iPhone & iPad delivery available! Call 800.835.6770 for information. Visit us at www.boardandadministrator.com

© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

View this newsletter online at wileyonlinelibrary.com • DOI: 10.1002/ban

Increase board diversity

Leading with Intent: 2017 National Index of

Nonprofit Board Practices showed that 65 per-

cent of nonprofit executives are dissatisfied with

the level of racial and ethnic diversity on their

boards.

A webinar, “The Declining Diversity of Nonprofit

Boards and What to Do About It, Part 2,” offered

solutions about how to fix this problem.

Guest speakers Anne Wallestad, BoardSource

CEO; Vernetta Walker, BoardSource chief gover-

nance officer and vice president of programs; and

Ruth McCambridge, editor-in-chief of Nonprofit

Quarterly, shared their suggestions and strate-

gies for making boards more diverse. Here’s what

they said.

Wallestad attributed the sorry state of affairs

to a dissonance between how CEOs feel about the

lack of diversity and what’s being done about it in

board recruitment.

“It’s low or no priority in recruiting,” Wallestad

said.

In a sense, CEOs are saying, “We’re unhappy

about the state of affairs and not doing anything

about it,” Wallestad said.

McCambridge said organizations need to cre-

ate tension that pulls the board in the right

direction. A “champion” for change is important,

she said, “but it can’t be a single person” lead-

ing, she said.

“If you build a coalition or a group, you are

more likely to get the board excited about the is-

sue,” McCambridge said.

McCambridge cited Dr. John Kotter’s Frame-

work for Change for its usefulness in tackling is-

sues such as this.

Kotter uses eight steps for transformational

change in his framework:

1. Create a sense of urgency.

2. Build a guiding coalition.

3. Form a strategic vision and initiatives.

4. Enlist a volunteer army.

5. Enable action by removing barriers.

6. Generate short-term wins.

7. Sustain acceleration.

8. Institute change.

For more information, go to http://goo.

gl/1kCrdg.

Continue the ‘diversity’ conversation

Walker said it’s important to always talk

about the importance of diversity and what it

means for your organization. “Have a ‘What

does this mean for us?’ conversation and talk

about the opportunities you may miss,” said

Walker.

“Concentrate on your mission and values,” said

Walker, “but be prepared for resistance. You may

lose some people if you don’t have this discussion

about your values.”

May 2018 Vol. 34, No. 9 Editor: Jeff Stratton

continued on page 4

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Fix board inghting before it bites you 2

Stress respective roles from the

beginning—with board candidates 5

Roles and Responsibilities of the Board

and Executive Director 8