When You’re a Diversity Hire: Should You Stay, or Should You Go?
What do you do when you’re considered a “diversity hire?”
Oooof. I’ve been there. Maybe your supervisors keep asking you to show up for photoshoots, but won’t give you the funding needed to effectively run your programs. Or they want you to represent your organization on a panel, but won’t let you make a decision about what should happen with your team. It’s hard when your organization wants a face of color, but not the mind or mouth to go along with it. It’s really hurtful to feel like a token hire and even more so when your PEERS may see you as a token hire.
3 Steps to Assess your Next Steps
So, what do you do? As both an executive coach and executive recruiter, here’s my response.
First, I want to validate what you’re feeling. Can you write down some examples of how you know this to be true, and acknowledge them with your supervisor?
Second, what do YOU think you should do next? Can you picture what good, healthy, positive change could look like for you? How could you be made whole?
And finally, what are you comfortable with in terms of taking action? Staying, leaving, or asking for something different?
My Personal Story
I can also share my own personal story: When I first started working for a large environmental nonprofit, I loved marrying my passion for nature with my social impact work. But I quickly realized there was NOBODY ELSE in the room who looked like me. Unlike the women’s nonprofits or social justice organizations I used to work for, I had no peers or mentors of color.
I’ll never forget attending a breakout session at an LA conference, where a dynamic Latina woman from a grassroots organization had just finished speaking. I went to give her a hug and thank her for sharing her wisdom. I introduced myself and the organization I worked for.
She whispered into my ear, “You don’t belong there and you need to ‘GTFO.’ You should be using your skills to help the people.”
I was shook! Her words rang in my ears for weeks. I wondered, “Should I keep working for this predominantly white organization, or go make an impact in my local community?”
Reasons to Stay, Reasons to Go
But what would happen if I left? This big, resourced, influential organization would just continue to be white-led, white-facing, and white-serving. That’s why it takes all of us. People of color belong everywhere decisions are being made about the environment. We need us in:
Big organizations influencing programs and partnerships
On the ground at the grassroots level
And at foundations making decisions about where money is invested.
At that moment, the right decision for me was to stay. But as many of you already know, eventually it was time for me to go out on my own, and use my talents and expertise to help other nonprofits lean into their values and become the organization they envision. Ultimately, you have to make the decision that’s best for you.
If you’re a person of color working in the conservation space, let’s stay connected, lift each other up, and make an impact on the environment, together.
