Since the end of May, countless organizations have made public statements that take a stance against racism specifically and in support of social justice more broadly. The death of George Floyd (and many others) and subsequent social unrest have inspired many organizations to quickly make public statements to clarify their values to customers, partners, and team members. Nearly as quickly, critics have responded. Statements have been derided for “unnecessarily veering into politics” and for not being bold enough…sometimes the very same statements. Businesses have been met with threats of boycotts for having made statements at all, for being “too much talk and not enough action,” or for NOT making a statement. At a time of great social upheaval, it can feel like whether your organization chooses to make a statement or not, it is a lose-lose proposition. If you are curious about my thinking on the matter, I tweeted the following about this conflict a couple of weeks ago:
If you are an organization that is taking the necessary time to have difficult internal conversations, build long term infrastructure, and utilize internal governance to genuinely make your work and workplace more equitable, THANK YOU. I know there is a lot of pressure to be “seen” to be saying/doing things quickly. I know that some might interpret this silence as a lack of courage or complicity. Keep working. Doing this right is so much more important than doing it fast. Doing this authentically is much more important than doing it conspicuously.
I realize that sentiment doesn’t alleviate the immediate pressures of the moment, which can be immense (though it’s notable how much that pressure has waned in the 2-3 weeks since that tweet). Still, I am going to step back a bit to start a discussion about the merits of crafting statements, both in and out of times of crisis. “Diversity & Inclusion statements” are often the product of visioning and strategic planning processes. They may be drafted as a piece of overall organizational strategy or (perhaps more often) as a result of embarking upon specific equity and inclusion efforts. One thing is clear, it is MUCH easier to craft these statements when the organization is not faced with a crisis. Inward-facing statements generally make organizational values explicit to those who work inside of the organization. At a minimum, they outline values that team members are expected to buy into by virtue of their employment. If they are particularly well-crafted and integrated into SOPs, these documents can serve as guardrails or integral components of decision-making hierarchies. Public-facing statements make organizational values explicit to consumers, partners, potential employees, and members of the community. Depending on where these statements are found, they may serve different purposes. A sign in a taproom can help to define what kinds of speech and/or behavior is expected from guests. A statement adjacent to an RFP or vendor application might support a supplier diversity program. A statement on an organization’s website might convince a potential job applicant from an underrepresented group that an organization is an inclusive one. A public statement, shared on social media, may reassure an organization’s surrounding neighborhoods that the organization has the community’s best interest in mind.
Two Types of Statements
Most diversity & Inclusion statements fall into one of two categories. They are either statements of belief or statements of commitment. In my experience, statements of belief are far more common–and easier to craft. After all, most people believe that all kinds of people are equal and deserve equal opportunities (though headlines and social media might convince us otherwise). Statements of commitment are comparatively less common and more difficult to craft. The statements outline a specific set of actions an organization is committed to making and/or resources an organization is committed to investing. Making statements of commitment introduces significant measures of accountability and responsibility to the equation…and risk. It probably won’t be a surprise for you to hear that I am a BIG fan of statements of commitment. However, I believe they should be the product of a comprehensive process of examining organizational values, context, and goals and a prioritization process that considers the following:
- Relevance – Does this commitment actually matter to your employees/customers/community?
- Scope – Is the commitment specific enough to be meaningful and broad enough to be translatable?
- Feasibility – Is the commitment in your sphere of influence? Do you have the capacity to act?
- Opportunity – Does this commitment address an area of need or a specific problem (I call these opportunities).
- Value – Does this commitment provide value? To the organization’s bottom line? To employees? To customers? To the community?
—————–I am currently developing a course called SAY→DO: Making Actionable Commitments to Workplace Equity & Inclusion. In that course, I will guide organizations through a visioning and strategic planning process that will produce statements of commitment that are clearly aligned with overall organizational values, tailored to the community, scaled to fit an organization’s capacity, and robust enough to anchor equity and inclusion efforts moving forward. Stay tuned for more information!