Giving Compass' Take:

•  Jin-Soo Huh, writing for EdSurge, discusses the challenges and shortcomings of doing DEI work remotely in education organizations. 

• Despite the hurdles, there are toolkits available to drive progress in DEI work. How can donors encourage schools to make this work and access to the work a priority?

• Read how funders can support diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Widespread protests, sparked by the killings of Black people at the hands of police, have led to a global conversation on racial discrimimination. Many companies have shown their support through blast emails and social media posts. But how can they go from words to actions and meaningfully foster diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) after many rapidly converted to operating remotely due to COVID-19?

DEI is especially important for education organizations due to their work with learners of all backgrounds. Students need to feel valued and affirmed, and educators and others whose work impacts them should espouse those values by exploring and honoring differences.

“All organizations in the education sector need to be focused on equity and serving all students, especially those furthest from opportunities,” said my colleague Stephen Pham, director of organization learning at The Learning Accelerator. “We throw around the equity term all of the time. We need to walk the walk.”

One resource is the Remote DEI Toolkit, which was developed by a group of seven remote educational organizations to support DEI work without having a centralized physical office.The community of practice launched in fall 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak.

The toolkit could not be timelier. The organizations approached DEI by identifying practices that allow for sharing vulnerability and establishing trust among remote colleagues. The toolkit grew from there to cover specific organizational practices, such as ensuring equity in hiring. It also focuses on developing internal capabilities of staff members so that these can be translated into their work with educators and students.

Remote DEI work is not without its challenges. Among them:

  • Building relationships and trust
  • Navigating conflict.
  • Hiring, recruiting, and onboarding.
  • Optimizing organizational culture.

Read the full article about remote DEI work by Jin-Soo Huh at EdSurge.