Lack of Diversity in Environmental Non-Profits
Environmental non-profits have a significant lack of diversity and inclusion at all levels of leadership. This is extremely detrimental to the success of advancing a more sustainable, clean energy world. By not having a more inclusive and equitable range of voices, researchers, and thought leaders in this space, non-profit organizations will continue to miss the mark in mobilizing and connecting with wider audiences across America and the world.
According to the Green 2.0 Report, “The State of Diversity in Environmental Organizations: Mainstream NGOs, Foundations & Government Agencies,” no environmental organization, government entity, or foundation has over 16% of its staff and leadership self-identifying as a Black, Indigenous, or a person of color (BIPOC). Not only is this lack of representation detrimental, it will continue to prevent environmental organizations from developing comprehensive climate solutions centering the most marginalized.
When environmental issues are more urgent than ever, we don’t have time to waste with diversifying leadership in this field. Environmental injustice is a direct product of white supremacy, extraction, and colonialism. We live in a society where Black people can’t enjoy hiking or birding without dealing with white people calling the cops. The fossil fuel industry feeds this same society endless propaganda that normalizes drilling, mining, and building pipelines through BIPOC communities.
As we’ve just witnessed even in the past month in cities like Austin, Texas and Jackson, Mississippi, Black communities are neglected after a disaster hits. These communities are still struggling to have access to safe, clean drinking water, shelter, food etc., and continue to go under-funded and unnoticed by the greater public.
We have to name and address why this happens
We can’t talk about climate change without referring to the communities hit first and worst by the impacts of this crisis. Without having more BIPOC at the table, solutions to the climate crisis remain off-base, and large portions of the population will not be interested in this work.
There are few reasons why this happens, but here are some key barriers to entry for BIPOC :
Poorly compensated positions
Many environmental organizations pride themselves on “saving the earth,” yet this heroic endeavor falls short with compensating and supporting their staff of color.
This can look like:
Only offering unpaid or volunteer internships, fellowships, or a scarce living stipend
Arguing that young people of color should care more about the cause rather than a paycheck
Not acknowledging the race and class privilege that comes with accepting unpaid labor
The reality is that many BIPOC have to pay their bills, support their families, and fight to stay afloat. Taking an unpaid role, in order to gain experience, is something that few BIPOC can afford to do.
Even those with the privilege of taking unpaid internships, as I was, may still be at a disadvantage entering this field. Organizations may not invest the time and resources into an employee they aren’t paying. However, they do a lot of the brunt work that keeps organizations afloat. If you want to provide meaningful, long term work to people, unpaid internships along with maltreatment, isn’t starting off on the right foot.
In order to justify this, an organization would have to do a lot supplement the deficit. This includes an extensive amount of professional exposure, networking opportunities, and skill-building, and that still isn’t enough. Ultimately, it’s unclear how many environmental non-profits are actually making this happen.
Lack of long-term professional development opportunities
It is one thing to bring in diverse populations into your workplace and another to actually properly support and nurture their professional development.
The environmental field critically lacks leaders of color. Therefore, there’s not an extensive amount of opportunities for mentorship, networking, or career advancement. Many positions in environmental organizations are temporary, part-time, or seasonal. This leaves many employees in a predicament where they cannot truly level up and advance to higher-skilled roles. The lack of consistency and scarcity of clear career pathways makes the environmental field much less attractive to diverse prospectives.
Tokenization and micro-aggressions
A common trend that many BIPOC in environmental organizations complain of is tokenization. Many environmental organizations, especially now, are developing special initiatives to recruit large groups of BIPOC on to their teams. They may pool a ton of funding for recruitment, and may successfully create a more diverse work place. However, it is important to note that even with this diversity, it does not guarantee inclusivity.
A work space must be able to breathe and transform as an organic entity. It has to be willing to challenge its comfort zone if it is to accommodate new, diverse perspectives. Representation becomes lip service very quickly if there is no proper accountability mechanisms. There needs to be deep self-reflection, check-ins, and humility, otherwise people will inevitably feel alienated.
Some BIPOC workers may experience a feeling of an exclusion in some of these predominantly white institutions. Even worse, their employer may have some unscrutinized implicit biases. This may lead to problematic things like: putting extra labor on the plate of a BIPOC (especially someone who is young) who may say nothing because of the existing power dynamic. It can also look like consistently asking a BIPOC to talk about racial justice to educate your team. BIPOC have so much more to offer than just being your diversity experts just because of the color of their skin.
Further, many organizations may underestimate the skill set or perspective of their BIPOC staff. They may overlook what they bring to the table and not provide space to lead or grow. This can cause many BIPOC to feel resentful and disconnected from their co-workers overtime.
Overall.. it’s not looking great
Overall, it is erroneous for an organization to solely depend on their diversity and inclusion statement on their website (i.e. we aim to employ people from all diverse backgrounds) to prove they’ve done the work.
Many have not done the deep work through DEI consultations, developed transparency reports and tracking for their progress, nor have the internal structure (i.e. a sufficient HR role or department) in place for a BIPOC to advocate for themselves.
You are creating an environment where a BIPOC will not feel like they can succeed. You are not forging any meaningful systems of accountability nor a community they can rely on after being exploited. So they leave.
These are some core examples explaining why the lack of diversity in environmental organizations happens. Now, it is also important to note how organizations should move forward to improve these things in the future.
Here are some ideas to think about:
Create long-term opportunities and pathways for BIPOC to thrive
Ideally, if you’re choosing to hire a BIPOC, you’re investing in talent that is largely underrepresented in this space. This doesn’t mean “special” treatment. It means your organization needs to take a long, hard look at whether it provides the environment for a BIPOC to succeed or not. This can be done through examining long term funding and career development opportunities. These are tangible actions to show that you’re aware of the disparities and are doing something about it.
If it does not have this in place, your work needs to be deeply re-evaluated. I recommend checking out VertueLab’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work in the clean tech space to see how this can be modeled more effectively.
Questioning your leadership structures
What are the demographics of your organization at all levels of leadership? What are some implicit or explicit biases your team may have that need deeper examination?
Establishing more methods of accountability
Develop clear and distinct methods for analyzing and reflecting on your organization’s internal structure. Be highly skeptical as to whether or not it is accommodating for more diverse staff. It is very important to have specific metrics to understand your progress. This will vary from organization, but it is important to have reports and discussions to back up your intentions.
Create an inclusive work culture
This means treating your employees equitably, and to be consistently vigilant about the power dynamics in a meeting/ team. It requires having a holistic picture of your members and team as a whole.
You need to care for their mental health as well as their long-term goals and visions. Provide all that you can within your means to make them feel like their career journey matters to you too.
This also means humbling yourself as a leader or an organization when you bring on diverse talent, as you do not, nor will ever truly understand the lived experiences of a BIPOC. However, you can create an environment where regardless of their background, you actively recognize, use, and accommodate BIPOC strengths and talents (beyond their knowledge of DEI).
These are just starting points to address the lack of diversity in environmental organizations, but this is truly only scratching the service. Equity work is deep, long, arduous work that requires commitment, compassion, and honesty. Let’s not make it about perfection, dominance, or shaming. It is about being honest about the gaps and divides in this field, and making active strides toward dismantling oppressive structures on a daily basis. It is not only our moral imperative, but a truly urgent work place crisis that the environmental movement can no longer treat as a pipe dream.
A last note – I offer DEI consultations to institutions across this sector. If you’re interested in my services, please feel free to contact me.
