Promoting Diversity in Philanthropy: A Matter of Leadership, Commitment and Strategy
by Martha Montag Brown
In our 15 years experience of doing senior level searches in philanthropy, sustainability and corporate responsibility, we have found that diversity is very often the natural outcome of working to seek out the strongest, most qualified candidate pool. We work hard to create the “best” slate and – more often than not – that means a “diverse” slate.
This has been especially true for the philanthropic searches we have done for private and corporate foundations on the east and west coasts. For these positions, we have been able to tap into our extensive networks of senior leaders in the non-profit, public sector and private sectors, and leverage the huge pool of diverse talent that exists.
But, it is also true that there are searches where we have had to work hard to create qualified diverse slates of candidates. The reasons for this are varied. Sometimes it is the challenge of a highly specialized position where there is a smaller pool from which to draw qualified candidates. Sometimes it is a position that is based in a geographically less desirable or less diverse location. Or it may be the challenge working on a search in a newer field such as “sustainability” where the legion of diverse professionals is still growing.
Regardless of the type of position, executive search firms play a unique and critical role in the process of promoting diversity in hiring. We source and connect the pool of diverse talent with the foundations, businesses and non-profits who are looking to hire qualified leaders. It is our “business” to tap into diverse networks, build relationships with professionals, and then successfully match qualified candidates with foundations and other organizations that value diversity.
Successful executive search, placement and retention are critical for foundations and other independent sector leadership organizations working to increase the diversity of their organizations. Foundations turn to executive search firms for many reasons, but one common reason is that search firms have the networks and relationships in diverse communities.
During our fifteen years in business, we have placed highly talented professionals of color in more than half of the positions we were retained to help our clients fill. In addition, many of these placements have been women, LGBT community members and/or members of other diverse communities. Given our track record of success in combining diversity and excellence, many of our clients come to us specifically to benefit from our diversity-related technical assistance and advice.
For us, a commitment to diversity and inclusion has always been a core value, but, it has also been a natural outgrowth of the relationships we have built, nurtured and leveraged with diverse communities. Over the years, we have built a dynamic and growing network of accomplished, creative, impressive, qualified leaders of color. We regularly communicate with these professionals and call upon them as potential candidates, and use them as a referral network and sourcing tool.
The majority of foundations we work with are increasingly and necessarily engaged with diverse population groups. For many foundations, diversity is a high institutional priority. For others, it is an important but less visible commitment. Whatever their missions and related program interests may be, our clients have a wide variety of diversity priorities given the strategic importance of diversity in today’s marketplace. While race and ethnicity interests continue to garner the greatest interest and attention from the private funders, other aspects of diversity also come up, e.g., gender, language, cultural background, sexual orientation, etc.
Whether a foundation does its own hiring or uses outside executive search firms, the strategies for success are similar. Our own experience is that diversity and excellence go hand in hand. When you work to create a qualified slate of candidates, diversity will be a natural outcome. And, for those particular searches, where creating a diverse qualified slate is harder, the following are some strategies that could be helpful:
10 Strategies and Insights For Promoting Diversity
- Start at the Top
CEO and board level commitment and engagement is essential to make diversity appointments happen and work over time. When institutional leadership is firm in its commitment to the issues and prepared to make it work, successful diversity and inclusion is more achievable. Working with executive search clients from the outset to encourage top level leadership on diversity can be critical to success.
- Put Diversity on the Table Upfront as a Success Strategy
For executive search professionals, it is essential to work with clients early on to encourage their attention to diversity as a search priority. If diversity isn’t a stated commitment of the foundation, executive search professionals can educate the organization and demonstrate how having a diverse slate is beneficial to the search and the foundation’s strategic work.
- Advance a Diverse Candidate Slate
The end goal should always be to present an excellent, highly qualified and diverse slate of candidates whose skill sets and experiences match up with the essential requirements of the position. In almost every institutional setting where highly qualified diverse candidates are presented to hiring managers the prospects of achieving increased institutional diversity are substantially increased.
- Stay on Top of Diversity Trends
Executive search professionals who value diversity continually stay current on diversity issues, trends and opportunities. Abundant information is available through specific diversity networks, websites and reports.
- Learn the Cultural and Institutional Norms of your Client
In any search, it is helpful for the executive search professional to get a “lay of the land” and understand the internal and external landscape as it relates to diversity. This often involves meeting with leaders on the executive team, and other key staff people associated with the position. It means understanding the particular cultural and institutional norms of the organization, relevant board input, other recent hires, and particular priorities and goals as they relate to diversity. Conversely, it is useful for executive search professionals working with foundation clients to share their diversity-related assets, strategies and track record.
- Tap Into Diverse Community Leaders and Networks
It is imperative for executive search professionals to network broadly as a core strategy for expanding their access to diverse talent and related referral sources. Our own success in producing diverse slates of candidates has come in large part from the networks, deep relationships and trust we have built with diverse leaders and professionals over the years. We have also found it helpful to engage with key leadership networks of diverse executives and organizations as an outreach strategy. We regularly interface with organizations such as Asian-Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, Association of Black Foundation Executives, Hispanics in Philanthropy, Native Americans in Philanthropy, as well as a wide range of other affinity groups particular to specific issues and causes.
- Expand and Build your Diversity Networks in Creative Ways
It is also useful for search professionals and their clients to work diligently to expand the existing pool of diversity candidates. To achieve this, search experts and their clients must be prepared to roll up their sleeves and tap into new referral networks and non-traditional diverse community contacts. They need to develop more far-reaching systems to get the word out to emerging leaders in diverse communities about available employment and appointment opportunities in the philanthropic sector. In these ways, philanthropic institutions can benefit more readily from diverse community talent that is likely interested and available to serve, but simply not sufficiently in the conventional information loop to surface otherwise.
- Increase Opportunities for Foundation Exposure to Diverse Community Talent (and Vice Versa)
Many diverse community leaders have benefited in recent years from expanded access to higher education, professional exposure in a number of key fields and increased competition for their talent across multiple sectors. It will be important to continue to grow and utilize the wide range of innovative programs - talent banks, fellowships and internships, training/exchange forums - that exist in the philanthropic sector for promoting diversity. All of these programs increase formal pathways for accessing access diverse talent and introducing multicultural professionals to the field.
- Encourage Diversity Values In All Hires
Given the changing demography of our times and the rapidly diversifying communities in which we live and work, diversity should be a part of the conversation that happens in any hire. We look for candidates who demonstrate cultural respect and sensitivity relative to communities and experiences other than their own, and who understand why and how diversity is important to their work.
- Leverage Your Own Personal and Professional Network
All of us, but particularly leaders of color, need to commit themselves to referring their colleagues, candidates and people they mentor for particular positions. The power of the network of personal and professional connections is immense, and it is through leveraging these relationships that some of the most important work happens in the goal of promoting diversity in philanthropy.
About Martha Montag Brown
Martha is a seasoned executive search professional who brings an in-depth knowledge and a sophisticated understanding of the field garnered through more than 25 years in global leadership roles as a senior staff person and consultant in corporate and foundation environments.
Martha began her search practice in 1994 as an outgrowth of a foundation and corporate community affairs consulting practice. Martha Montag Brown & Associates has grown to include dozens of clients in the corporate, foundation and non-profit sectors. It is a nationally respected search practice, and one of the few with a unique focus on corporate community affairs, philanthropy, and corporate responsibility.
Martha previously served as the Executive Director of the Levi Strauss Foundation and held a variety of positions in the Community Affairs and Foundation functions in both the domestic and international arenas. Martha spearheaded the development of the company’s AIDS funding program, initiated the Foundation’s Project Change anti-racism initiative, led international giving and community relations programs in Japan, New Zealand and the Philippines, developed the company’s Work/Family programs and Child Care Fund, facilitated publicly supported literacy and citizenship classes for employees, and managed state and local government and community relations during plant closings.
Martha holds a degree from Georgetown University. She has served on numerous non-profit boards, and is very active in a variety of board and volunteer roles and has donated many hours, and the resources of her practice, to numerous pro bono searches for a variety of non-profit organizations.