1. Ground yourself in relevant terminology. Learn the language that every global development professional needs to know about diversity and inclusion.
  2. Ensure every member of your team or organization has access to training to increase their self-awareness and learn practical tools to address unconscious bias and associated behaviors. To be effective, the trainings must be contextualized and nuanced to the organization and the industry. Employees who complete the trainings should receive continuous support through group check-ins, individualized coaching, and professional development opportunities to habitualize more inclusive behavior.
  3. Leaders must tie inclusion and diversity back to their organizational performance goals and make real commitments to drive long-lasting change. A significant portion of the global development workforce is under the age of 36, and research shows that millennials are much more likely to stay in a job if they trust the company that they work for. This means that public commitments from global development leaders to increase diversity and inclusion must be accompanied by hiring of more women and minorities into U.S. and field-based leadership roles, equipping managers to develop meaningful connections with their team members, enabling access to diverse learning opportunities, and demonstrating fairness in promotion and salary decisions.

Read the full article on racial bias by Sarah Grausz and Farah Mahesri at Devex International Development