General

In response to a call for concrete actions, Working Groups were formed comprised of Massachusetts lawyers working in different types of legal organizations and settings, including members from the Affinity Bar Associations of Massachusetts and members of the Standing Committee. Over 50 lawyers…

Symbolic racism accounted for the effect of conservatism on outcomes in the DEI condition. This suggests that conservative participants’ reactions to DEI aren’t independent from symbolic racism. Organizations will need to address criticisms of DEI programs. Successfully responding to these…

Our in-depth interviews with 23 HR and DEI professionals across various industries in the United States offered evidence that the mantle of DEI work is emotionally taxing. These professionals shared vivid accounts of stress and frustration and expressed the need for near-constant emotional…

Creating an equitable environment and supporting diverse populations in navigating them are key to sustaining workplace diversity. Organizations can work toward this goal by taking five steps: committing to sponsorship, addressing systemic factors to eliminate glass ceilings, diagnosing “glass…

Robust appraisal systems make pay transparency an opportunity to improve performance rather than a compliance burden.     

This article highlights the key characteristics of the Black leadership experience: (1) the fact that Black leaders tend to get appointed in times of crisis, (2) that Black leaders tend to be prepared for these opportunities, (3) that their authority is overwhelmingly contested, (4) and that a core…

Article provides three action items any business can take to create a more inclusive organization.  For small or medium-sized organizations with limited resources to dedicate to DEI efforts, determining how to meaningfully create a more inclusive work environment can be daunting.…

Rolling Stone shares insights from its own Rolling Stone Culture Council to encourage readers to place DEI into practice in every facet of their company culture and operations. I appreciate this type of editorial; it’s an example of how organizations can demonstrate they’re walking the…

In today’s organizational climate, where leaders are being held accountable for shifting their organization from a white supremacist culture to a more justice-oriented one, critiques of hierarchy are a key leadership challenge. I often hear leaders express frustration at not knowing how to respond…

A Q&A with author Jessica Nordell on tackling sexism and stereotyping in the workplace and the need for better data on whether corporate diversity training actually works.

When staff members learn how to acknowledge and talk about their social differences, nonprofits can get better at developing strategies, forming alliances and mobilizing people, a recent study found.

Rania Robinson advocates for inclusivity to be driven by the topmost leader, and the role of the CEO in maintaining accountability before others become burdened 

From the article: “When we aren’t overly talkative, overly expressive and living our lives out loud as they expect, I believe our lack of animation and conversation can be misread as mean, unfriendly, angry, unhappy, and even not engaged. The trouble with this is, this misperception…

  Hybrid work is likely to exacerbate diversity and equity challenges — and gains — that we saw during the era of remote work. By measuring five aspects of the hybrid workplace — 1) who’s spending time working at the office versus at home; 2) who gets to choose when…

A panel of Columbia Legal Services (CLS) advocates share their experiences on the journey towards race equity.

While these commitments are critical, the hard work of building inclusive cultures comes down to the conversations happening every day in boardrooms, in virtual team meetings, and in one-on-one interactions. The language we use when discussing our DEI efforts matter. The words and phrases we use…

PowerPoint Presentation on how to begin to center racial equity in civil legal aid work.

From the article: This article will help you understand the steps you can take to improve diversity through recruitment. We cover the 20% of diversity recruitment strategies that can yield 80% of the results including: Setting the right goals Collecting and understanding equality…

Is it time to stop making the business case for diversity? Two scholars who have been studying diversity for decades say that the business case is a dangerous fallacy, one that lets leaders off the hook and trades human dignity for dollars.

From the introduction: The police body camera footage, social media posts, and mounting news stories all made it clear to the leadership at software company HubSpot this summer that it was time to communicate where the company stood on race and racism. But it was the unsteady cellphone…

The following provides guidance for identifying and starting to implement race equity work within your organization. This simple tool can help organize priorities after you have conducted an Organizational Equity Assessment or gathered other data and are ready to develop an Organizational Equity…

As with other civil legal aid organizations, a core part of the mission of Columbia Legal Services (CLS) is to advocate for people living in poverty. In the U.S., poverty is inextricably linked with race. We cannot address issues related to poverty withut examining the racialized systems that…

As part of its continued work to support nonprofits as it centers and advances racial equity within its organizations, the Boston Foundation partnered with us to develop a directory of racial equity capacity builders currently serving Greater Boston nonprofit organizations. The goals of the project…

A shareable database of consultants and programs that support nonprofits to address racial equity.

When engaging individuals from racialized or equity-deserving communities, organizations will often share promises of “safe and brave” spaces to encourage inclusive discussion, and for allies to learn from experiences different from their own. We can probably stop making those promises…

Data show that Black attorneys account for less than 5 percent of associates and less than 2 percent of partners at law firms. Those stats have stayed about the same over the last decade. This article talks about ways to narrow the opportunity gap.

Tool to understand where an organization’s starting point might be and illustrates the developmental stages towards committing to, demonstrating and delivering on the promise of Race Equity and Justice

Organizations want to both support their Black employees and upskill their workforce around racism, bias, and inclusivity in ways that are unprecedented. What should come next? Companies can do a few virtual trainings then default back to the status quo — or they can recognize that the racial bias…

Collecting demographic data can be necessary and beneficial, whether it’s to ensure a broad representation of applicants in a publication or on a board, or for a fellowship offered to underserved artists who are also parents. However, the labels people use to self-identify change rapidly.…

An overview, description, and explanation of the impact of the four levels of racism, race equity and resilience - ideological, internalized, interpersonal, and institutional.  

From the introduction: Developing a shared language for thoughtful discussion about equity is critical for all of our work. This glossary of key terms includes many words and concepts that are foundational and relevant to CSSP's work. This is a living document. Just as our work has evolved…

From the introduction: The following resource is designed for programs working with pro bono attorneys and legal advocates in Washington State. Our goal is to provide a starting point for volunteers seeking to understand and practice key concepts related to race equity and anti-bias work. The…

From the introduction: The following article aims to support individuals and organizations who seek to learn about, organize, and effectively facilitate “caucuses,” or affinity groups, to support learning and development around racial justice. Each section explores common questions…

From the introduction: Organizations continue to struggle to meet the diverse needs of their employees and the people they serve. Because of this challenge, requests for racial equity resources and toolkits are growing in number. This toolkit, adapted from the Aspen Institute’s guide…

A guide for workforce development organizations and practitioners to evaluate their programs, operations, and culture in order to identify strength areas and growth opportunities. Practitioners can use this toolkit to familiarize themselves with various practices and policies that support…

Recognizing the critical link between race and poverty, the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law (Shriver Center), with support from a dedicated and talented national Advisory Committee, launched the Racial Justice Institute (RJI) in 2014. RJI is a cutting-edge national leadership program,…

From the article introduction: "Regardless of the setting or circumstance, addressing intense interpersonal racial interactions remains a monumental endeavor. Whether these interactions are between colleagues, family members, or estranged racial groups hopelessly divided and unable to find…

From the authors: In this editorial, we encourage authors to rethink and update the demographic questions they use in their research surveys. We argue that this is important for ethical and professional reasons (i.e., inclusion and advancing diversity) and also for research integrity reasons…

From the introduction: The purpose of this guide is to add to the resources already created by partners who have been working in this feld by demonstrating how a race equity lens can be adopted by foundations or other organizations that work directly with systems, technical assistance providers…

This is a case study about Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles launching a racial justice project. Dubbed the “Race Equity Initiative,” the project was created so that we, a large and diverse legal services organization, could become more fluent in the changing conversation about racial…

Legal Services of Northern California in October 2003 looked at racial disparities in health care, wealth, and housing and concluded that we, as a program, could no longer continue a poverty law practice that did not consciously confront these disparities. Here we describe our efforts to adopt a…

Racial discrimination and isolation underlie and exacerbate the legal, social, and economic problems that low-income people of color face. To address their legal problems, individual legal aid lawyers and paralegals have to employ both antidiscrimination statutes and community-based strategies;…