What it takes to promote, attain meaningful internal staff diversity in global development

The international development and international affairs policy community has long struggled with the issue of recruiting and retaining diverse staff, not to mention a diverse leadership core. It lies at the heart of the development discussion — one of sustainability, inclusion and capacity building, all of which organizations support in the projects they fund, but don’t always implement as effectively into the capacity development of their own internal staff members. But diversity — which goes far beyond gender and race to include considerations such as socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, disability and ensuring tribal or ethnic inclusions — has larger business, policy and program effectiveness implications. “As an African American woman, my presence sends a strong message about American values and our principles as a country,” Natalie E. Brown, deputy permanent representative of the United States to the U.N. Agencies in Rome, told Devex of the business case for diversity. Professionals at NGOs, governments and U.N. agencies have spoken publicly about the need to diversify their staffs for years, but the issue has come to the forefront of human resources discussions only in the last few, with organizations coming under fire from boards and funders for not having a staff that represents their broader populations or the communities in which they work, and subsequently hiring “diversity officers” to right the situation. A diverse staff brings diverse networks, which are critical for partnerships and reaching populations that may be vital for both program delivery and proper implementation. Brown noted that in one of her assignments in the Middle East, adding a woman to the team of local staff following political issues made both a statement of the importance of gender, but also provided access to networks that hadn’t traditionally been available. Additionally, staff from different backgrounds bring a range of perspectives for brainstorming, reaching consensus and coalition building. “We have more credibility in our efforts to promote more inclusive societies with a diverse team; if we don’t reflect this value publicly, it becomes more challenging for us to argue the importance of inclusion to the countries in which we work,” added Brown, who has worked extensively in the Middle East and North Africa. The benefits of promoting a diverse team have become quite obvious, but just how to ensure an organization’s diversity — less so. There are, however, several best practices to help groups head in the right direction. Best practice 1: Collaboration One way to start building a more diverse team is to solicit cooperation from fellow organizations. Joining forces to collaborate in conducting outreach to identify diverse talent pools can only mean that those pools will be more far-reaching. One example of just such a cooperation is the Think Tank Diversity Consortium, which seeks to create an environment in which talented researchers and administrative personnel from underrepresented groups are well aware of, and successfully applying for, a wide range of professional positions at all levels in the public policy arena. Its members include The Council on Foreign Relations, The Urban Institute and the United Nations Foundation. Zarina Durrani, currently the coordinator of operations for this effort, noted that when she was the director of human resources, and later director of diversity initiatives, at the Brookings Institution, it became obvious that there was a need for a pipeline to access more diverse staff. Brookings reached out to colleagues to share resources and develop best practices rather than compete individually for talent or funding. Just this year, Brookings formalized the consortium into a membership organization where those who join pay dues; funds are put toward joint programming or recruitment outreach. There are many advantages to this, noted Durrani. Group recruitment appearances at job fairs, for example, is a simple way for job seekers to access recruitment officers with whom they would not normally be able to connect. The group also meets to share best practices and participate in events designed to create a dialogue and promote diversity, like their inaugural event on women’s advancement in the think tank sector. Best practice 2: Creating a pipeline It’s more important than ever to utilize as many avenues as possible to connect with candidates who bring diversity. Finding feeder pools, fellowship programs targeted at diverse populations, creating internships, and of course, interacting on social networking sites are all methods that organizations are exploring. A pipeline can be informal — and building one simply means gaining access to people or organizations that you might not otherwise have had contact with. How would a recruiter access economists with their doctorates from traditionally underrepresented groups, for example? One way is to make connections with more junior professionals, who, in another few years, will be mid-level hires. Like developing any meaningful network, organizations have to be in it for the long haul. ‘Ticking the box’ won’t cut it. The International Career Advancement Program launched its Global Access Pipeline Initiative, for example, in the fall of 2009 to create a consortium of like-minded organizations committed to promoting diversity in the international affairs arena, including the international development marketplace. It is growing in size and strength, according to Kim McClure, foreign service officer from the U.S. Department of State, who co-directed the initiative in its earlier stages. “From my perspective, I think that GAP is something that excites employers because it provides a ready-made network of diverse talent from every point in the pipeline that is easily accessible to employers looking to target top-notch talent,” she said, referencing talent anywhere from K-12 to college students, recent graduates, graduate students and mid-career professionals. The GAP project links pre‐collegiate efforts with college and graduate programs that are then connected to key mid‐career programs. These, in turn, become part of the special diversity recruitment efforts at prominent international institutions from which leadership pools are drawn. Thus, beyond creating a pipeline, GAP allows organizations to collaborate and share opportunities to attract a wider array of applicants. Jobs are often posted on GAP’s listserv, and members can direct interested applicants, while ‘flagging’ them as from a GAP institution; employers know to give these candidates a close look as they are referred by a trusted pipeline. Employers looking for diverse interns or entry-level hires can reach back to the pre-collegiate and collegiate programs, for example, and post mid and senior level postings to share with GAP’s mid-career network. Best practice 3: Fostering networks and leadership Employees with a diverse set of experiences provides a program or sector with ideas and actions that may not be commonplace in traditional philanthropy, which, ideally, would also come with a deeper understanding of the community in which a program is being implemented. According to Yumi Sera, the director of philanthropic initiatives at Amplifier Strategies LLC, diversity in her sector matters because “philanthropy is about giving back to the community and creating social impact.” This means that programs can certainly benefit from a diverse set of leaders. One program that focuses on leadership is the International Career Advancement Program, founded by Thomas Rowe, associate professor and former dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. ICAP’s mission is to bring greater diversity to the staffing of senior leadership in policy and NGO positions in the international public sector by helping highly promising mid-career professionals from underrepresented groups advance to more senior level positions through mentorship, career counseling and developing strong networks. In fact, the ICAP e-dialogue happens weekly, listing job opportunities, noting when its members are traveling abroad and providing contacts and broadcasting opportunities for professional development. ICAP fellows have become ambassadors, foundation leaders, and climbed to prominent positions in the INGO community. Sera was a member of the second ICAP class in 1998, and sees the diverse network it has created as an asset that she’s brought to every job she has held since. “I have consistently relied on the ICAP for my work in international development and philanthropy; just this week, I explored a possible partnership opportunity in Islamabad with someone from ICAP,” she said. “The instant connection it provides allows me to be very effective in my work.” Sera has also experienced the program’s pipeline benefits, noting that she was in a position to hire an ICAP fellow during her time at the World Bank. After 17 years, ICAP will suspend its leadership program in September 2014 as it regroups to solicit funding to continue its mission. Challenges facing HR practitioners The importance of the commitment of senior leadership has long been touted, but there has been less attention paid to the importance of making the business case to those line managers who actually make the hiring decisions. As human resources — or the top organizational leadership — may not be the ones making the final decision on many entry- or mid-level hires, it becomes critical that everyone is on the same page and accountable for creating diverse teams. An HR officer could spend quite a bit of time developing new relationships and networks, but a rushed line manager who instead continues to solicit resumes through his or her traditional networks doesn’t do diversity any favors. The HR professional can sometimes get “lost in the shuffle” when things are moving quickly, Durrani noted. She recommended that many voices within an organization, especially a larger one, are needed to transmit this message of inclusion. Thus, the diversity discussion and business case has to be so much a part of the essence of the organization that a re-education of the broader workplace might be necessary. A key contribution HR practitioners can make is to keep the importance of diversity and inclusion at the forefront by offering training in diversity awareness and cultural competence, discussion of unconscious bias, enhanced onboarding and support of internal employee resources group. Finally, a lot of effort has been put into identifying diverse talent, but less on retaining and grooming such talent. Sera, a development professional who spent several years at The World Bank, mentioned the fact that while the staff hailed from many countries and “looked diverse,” there were often hidden, nuanced assumptions about both socioeconomic level and culture that could make things unexpectedly challenging. For example, Sera candidly shared that, “as a Japanese American, I have had to face stereotypes based on others' perceptions of how they expect Asian women to behave. If I were assertive, in both America and in Japan, it was not always a welcome trait.” Right now, it’s something she’s learned to overcome on her own, but the diversity conversation, too, is shifting beyond recruitment to focus on retention, creating an inclusive workplace environment and also to encompass nurturing talent through leadership development. Check out more insights and analysis provided to hundreds of Executive Members worldwide, and subscribe to the Development Insider to receive the latest news, trends and policies that influence your organization.