In a field study, economists Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan found that job applicants with white-sounding names received 50% more calls for interviews than candidates with African-American names. Forty-five percent of American workers surveyed by Gallup experienced workplace discrimination and/or harassment over a one-year period. These numbers speak a truth about racial inequality that continues to permeate American society.
In response to a free webinar that Nonprofits Insurance Alliance (NIA) is sponsoring on June 24, “Beyond JDEI: Advancing Racial Equity in Organizations,” NIA received an email from a member who rejects that systemic racism exists in the United States. His message reinforces to us the responsibility to be deliberate and steadfast in leading honest discussions about the attitudes, practices and public policies that continue to perpetuate structural and institutional racism in this country – and what needs to be done to replace a system of hierarchical racial privilege with one built for social justice.
A year ago, when the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer and the Black Lives Matter protests ignited a global movement to condemn and end institutional racism, organizations, including NIA, and communities throughout this country united to affect meaningful change. To do this, though, to dismantle centuries of oppressive cultural representations in our schools, government, financial institutions, social services and places of business and worship, requires more than awareness or Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (JDEI) initiatives. It requires solutions that address institutional and structural racism through fundamental understanding and action.
This is why NIA is proud to sponsor “Beyond JDEI: Advancing Racial Equity in Organizations.” Representing more than 21,000 nonprofit organizations, NIA believes that lack of racial equity is an issue that harms all of us by limiting the valuable contributions of those whose voices have been silenced. We believe the only way we will be able to move to a place of true equality, and achieve the promise of American democracy for all, will be by making racial equity a priority in all our interactions and business decisions. As an organization, we are seeking practical ways to do that more effectively as well as helping our members by providing them with resources that are easy to implement as they move forward in their own work for racial equity.
In this session, Nikko Viquiera, training strategy director at Race Forward, will lead participants through a live presentation and Q&A designed to help nonprofits analyze and identify root causes of structural racism; ask the right questions to address the problems; and develop viable, long-lasting solutions.
Register here.