We’re at a Pivotal Moment for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Here’s What We Know

Throughout Social Current’s decades of partnering with social sector leaders to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), we have seen support for this work ebb and flow. However, we believe we are at a critical moment for this work. Last year’s Supreme Court decision on affirmative action was a significant blow to EDI efforts, with thousands of EDI executives leaving or losing their jobs. Today, we continue to face ever-increasing polarization and preemptive efforts to roll back EDI policies.

Phyllis Richards and Jerica Broeckling, who provide Social Current’s EDI training and facilitation services, recently published an article on this topic in Nonprofit Business Advisor. In it, they outline why, despite ongoing challenges, we cannot afford to turn our backs on EDI. Additionally, they outline three truths they have seen emerge from Social Current’s work with organizations around the country:

• We are still just getting started
• We won’t make large-scale progress until we bring more people, more groups, and more systems into the work
• We have to be united in our beliefs and a common vision; this journey requires all voices

“The end goal of this growth is shifting of mindsets, which we believe is the deepest level of change that needs to be achieved for this work to be successful. People who think differently about the work will have different expectations, different goals, and ultimately different practices,” they say in the article.

At Social Current, we believe advancing equity is a journey, not a sprint. Organizations should look to embed EDI in many areas – from staff engagement to service delivery – and maintain steady progress toward durable change.

Read the article, “Why We Can’t Afford to Turn Our Backs on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion” online. The full text is available through August.

Training and Support for Your Journey

Social Current is offering a variety of trainings for supervisors and staff leading EDI initiatives. Learn more and register online.

For tailored assistance in EDI, we offer customizable consulting services.