Study Reveals Most Associations Prioritize Diversity and Inclusion but Lack Success Benchmarks

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Less than half of respondents reported that their association had a diversity strategy for leadership or hiring, and under 25% said a diversity strategy existed for recruiting, promoting, and onboarding. So how can associations cultivate a diverse and inclusive workforce?

According to the respondents, the main challenges to creating a diverse workforce include finding qualified applicants (54%) and identifying diverse candidates with equal or greater experience and skills than non-diverse candidates (38%). The rest is accounted for by having an apparently non-diverse work culture (29%), and encouraging the best talent to accept an offer in a competitive job market (23%). However, research demonstrates that these challenges are not insurmountable.

First, associations must cultivate talent from all areas of their organization and avoid sticking to the hierarchal structure based on current position alone. For example, chapter volunteers with strong leadership skills could make insightful board members, and account managers could offer suggestions regarding how to improve relevance to association members. The survey data and collective responses suggest that associations could create a more diverse workforce by:

  • Developing job descriptions and position specifications with diversity and inclusion in mind. Avoid restrictive communication styles and unintentional bias, and connect desired experience and skills with diverse candidates.
  • Consider an outreach strategy that results in a more diverse candidate pool.
  • Addressing and minimizing bias in the interview process and ensuring interviewees take a proactive stance on diversity and inclusion.
  • Avoid making assumptions during the onboarding process which could exclude people or make them feel uncomfortable.
  • Prepare staff from everywhere in the workforce hierarchy for career advancement, identifying where diversity lacks in the hierarchal structure.

In essence, associations could benefit from widening their focus and refraining from assuming that individuals only make worthy candidates if they currently work in a related position or an association. Skills are transferable, industries can be learned, and a diverse workforce creates new opportunities.