Advancing Equity & Justice
Summary of Broads’ Organizational Plan
In Spring of 2021, Broads developed an Equity and Justice Organizational Plan with guidance from equity and racial justice consultant Angell Perez and an organizational self-assessment tool created by Angela Park (also an equity and racial justice consultant). There are six categories of this work. Each category has a vision of what we’re striving for and action items for the near future. There will be several stepping stones to attain our desired state, and we acknowledge that our action plan, stepping stones, and vision are moldable as we learn and grow on this never-ending journey.
1) Framing, Importance, and Integration
This realm of transformation is the big picture, ensuring we have a strong rationale of how this work connects to and strengthens our mission. We will incorporate these values into all our annual plans, programs, and 5-year strategic plan.
2) Culture and Internal Operations
We want to ensure that we have a clear, shared articulation of the aspirational organizational and workplace culture—closely tied to explicit organizational values—across staff, board, and volunteers. Our board and staff share a responsibility for consistently exhibiting certain behaviors that contribute to this lived culture, and there is accountability for these behaviors (e.g. staff performance reviews, board commitment forms, feedback forms from volunteers, etc.). We will also continuously update our human resource policies and practices to ensure everyone is treated equitably and we retain a thriving staff, board, and network of volunteers.
3) Skills and Competencies
We will foster learning and skills development through continued training and discussions, and embed these skills and competencies into our job descriptions and staff performance review processes.
4) Fair Hiring and Equitable Representation
Ultimately we want our staff, board, volunteers, and members to represent greater racial diversity that reflects that of the United States. We’re taking action steps to update our recruitment and hiring practices.
5) Integration into External Programs, Communications, and Development
We are working to ensure all Broads’ programs are planned, executed, and assessed with justice and equity explicitly in mind. In order to get there, we have several strategies to ensure we are developing strong, authentic, trusting partnerships with historically underrepresented groups. With this comes thoughtful, deliberate communication in all materials including our website, emails, and newsletters.
Additionally, we will continue to openly discuss the racial wealth gap and structural inequities, especially in the environmental community, and share resources, funding, access, and power.
6) Assessing and Sharing Progress and Learning
While this work is far from quantitative, we are striving to ensure all staff and board members are updated, understand ongoing assessments, and can effectively convey our progress on justice and equity to others. Assessment methods may take on various forms (e.g. surveys, data collection, revisiting annual work plans), with the aim to clearly identify where we’re lacking and where we’re making strides. We also will actively participate in opportunities for learning about other organizations’ efforts to embed justice and equity across the environmental community. We will continually share information, tools, and lessons learned to contribute to the advancement of the conservation movement!