The green movement is poised to save our civilization from destruction. In such a vital role for the survival of humanity, we must have an approach that is not only diverse but intersectional as well, taking into account the lived experiences of those working to preserve the planet.
Dorceta Taylor, an environmental sociology professor at the University of Michigan, published a 2014 report indicating an absence of racial diversity in America’s government organizations and environmental agencies. With these agencies already under threat from opposing governmental forces with false narratives, this is of special concern. After all, if we want to save the planet for everyone, a diverse representation of individuals must be allowed to work towards that effort.
Taylor also found that in addition to people of color lacking representation in environmental organizations, these organizations shy away from reporting diversity statistics as has become common practice in other sectors. Let’s examine why this is an issue and how environmentally focused organizations can improve.
Sustainability: For the Environment and in Your Organization
Sustainability should be a permeating feature of any environmental organization, and that extends to the diversity in your workplace. If the only people of color in your office are coffee-fetching interns and all the board members are white, what does that say about who is permitted to create a future that works any differently than the one capitalism, colonization, and patriarchy already made?
Taylor notes: “Students of color do not want to come and sit at the front desk, answer the phone, get the coffee, and stay there all their lives.”
Clearly, they’re capable of more than that, and the concept of putting privileged people in charge at the disadvantage of others has done nothing but destroy our environment so far. We must find another way, or our overall mission will fail.
Diverse Organizations Are More Successful
No mission is more critical than saving the environment, and thus the future of humanity. A key study reveals that diverse organizations produce 19% more revenue than those that aren’t. Plus, people with different experiences can collaborate to create more innovative ideas. Diverse teams are more creative as a result.
On all levels, it makes cultural, financial, and ethical sense to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace in the green movement. What can organizations do to improve? How do we create not only staff boards, but complete organizations full of diverse voices and talent?
Consider Intersectionality and Education
Systemic oppression hits marginalized people from many angles. A major pain point is financial disadvantage. African Americans are more than twice as likely as whites to experience life below the poverty line, largely due to systemic disadvantages. Meanwhile, the cost of higher education grows faster than available wages. If you’re only posting jobs for candidates with advanced degrees, it makes sense that you’ll receive fewer candidates of color as applicants.
Additionally, consider your niche: if you’re working in environmental tech, note that candidates of color and women experience many barriers to entry in the general tech field as well.
Your organization can find qualified candidates of color if you offer support to fill the gaps of systemic disadvantage, in this case waiving a degree requirement or providing educational scholarships for qualified candidates. Centering the environment in our lives in a late-stage capitalist society is challenging: we must focus on our own needs before we can consider larger issues, and due to systemic oppression, marginalized job candidates face these issues to a greater degree.
Talk About Diversity
If you believe that environmentalism is a diverse area of opportunity and growth for everyone, you need to talk about it. As African American candidates are 16% less likely to get invited to a job interview versus white candidates, a default careers page isn’t enough to attract diverse candidates.
If you want candidates of color, you need to extend an invitation as well as a promise to support them during their career at your organization. Other companies are doing that, and 70% of job candidates consider diversity an important quality of an organization.
As mentioned above, you also need to consider intersectionality and be clear about it in your recruiting materials, as diversity is about more than just skin color. In addition to racial equality and the disadvantages people of color experience, think about the further marginalization that people of color face when they also live a transgender or disabled experience, or when they don’t have healthcare. If your diverse recruiting initiatives don’t address issues of intersectionality, you’re going to lose out on the types of candidates you’re hoping to attract.
Just like raising money and awareness for environmental causes, creating a diverse workplace involves effort and sincere outreach. Educate a diverse talent pool on how they can apply to your organization, the flexibility you offer, and the ways your organization can include and support them.
Create a Diversity and Inclusion Statement
Why is diversity critical to your organization, in your own words? Think about this initiative and craft a compelling inclusion statement for your organization. This should go on a page on your website, but it’s also important to use this language specifically in every job posting.
How can you stand for diversity in the environment you’re saving if you’re not interested in cultivating the same in your office? A solid diversity and inclusion statement addresses this. An inclusion statement also builds more general trust in your organization overall.
Additionally, transparency is important. Are you at the beginning of creating a more diverse workspace? Instead of including stock photos of random teams not actually employed by your organization, describe where you are in your journey and why you’re ready to improve.
Overall, saving the environment, or even solving a piece of the sustainability problem, is a massive endeavor. Marginalized people already deal with various stressors and pressures that people of privilege don’t experience, which can make such a lofty mission feel secondary to day-to-day survival. If you can bridge the gaps, proceed with transparency about your workplace, and address the barriers to candidates applying, you can improve the diversity outlook for your organization.
Photo Credit
Image Source: Unsplash creative commons
Guest Author Bio
Jori Hamilton
Jori Hamilton is a writer and journalist from the Pacific Northwest who covers social justice issues, healthcare, and politics. You can follow her work on twitter @HamiltonJori, and through her portfolio at Writer Jori Hamilton.
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