Effective Practices: DEIJ Committees

Gleaning from our experience working with small schools and organizations for nearly five years as a group and decades as individuals, we have created a series of documents on Effective Practices that we are excited to offer to our clients. 

Each document is focused on a key theme or area that clients often have questions about or need support to improve. Our intention with the Effective Practice documents is to offer maps for our clients and share resources that can serve a wide range of small schools and types of organizations. We intend for these resources to support unique inquiries and journeys while addressing common themes, as communities widen to become more inclusive, equitable, diverse, and just.

Today, we warmly share the next in our Effective Practices series: DEIJ (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice) Committees. This document focuses on practices, considerations, questions, and annotated resources to aid in developing and strengthening DEIJ committees.

Document preview:

Out of decades of experience leading and supporting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) Committees (who use many variants of the acronym, including EID, EDI, JEDI, and more), we know that strong leadership and clear structure are essential to a committee’s sustainability and working relationships. How can a DEIJ Committee - often made up of volunteers - synthesize a range of opinions, function transparently and effectively, and impact their community for the good of all? 

Effective practices to consider:

1. Work from a mandate. In many schools, the DEIJ Committee is a Board-mandated committee that reports to the Board on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, or annually). If your group already has a mandate, review it annually as a group to be sure the committee is working within its scope. If your group doesn’t have a mandate, draft one and request formal approval of the mandate by the governing body/bodies at your organization. Contact us for a sample mandate if you need help getting started.
   
   As part of the drafting process, it’s crucial to develop shared language and clarify definitions. New committees and those welcoming new members should begin with an exploration of terms like diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, belonging, and other key language for your community. 
   

2. Create or identify (and stay accountable to) foundational documents. These include the committee mandate and any other essential documents, such as bylaws, meeting agreements, confidentiality agreement, etc. These touchstones lay the foundation for shared agreements about the committee’s scope, authority, and decision-making role within the organization. Require all members to become familiar with these documents prior to joining the committee, and agree to adhere to committee policies. Members don’t have to (and likely won’t) agree with each other on all issues, but all members must be expected to conduct themselves in accordance with shared agreements in committee meetings. 
   
   We strongly recommend: 
   
   a) creating meeting agreements that hold everyone accountable to a standard of respect, care, and civility in meetings
   b) asking all members to sign a confidentiality agreement that prevents private information from being shared outside the committee. 
   

3. Ensure broad representation in committee membership. This includes making sure that most or all of the different groups in your community are represented on the committee and having representation from all governing/leadership bodies in the community. If your organization has a DEIJ Director or similar role, make sure that person is on the committee or in close contact with committee leadership.
   
   In a school, this usually means having Board members, parents/caregivers, alumni, Administration, and even older students on the committee. Student voices and representation are key. If you are in a school that ends at Eighth Grade, you can invite middle-school students to join a committee meeting annually to share their thoughts, or the committee can meet periodically with students during the school day or poll them using a survey.  
   

4. Have a clear onboarding process. Some committees ask potential members to meet with two committee members for a conversation or orientation, attend a meeting to better understand how the committee works, and/or complete required reading and sign required documents prior to joining as a committee member. 
   

5. Offer a list of recommended reading and workshops for further growth, healing, and education. See the resources below as a guide. 
   

6. Develop a plan for managing conflicts, disagreements, incidents of bias, and breaches of policy. In addition to using the tools outlined in the committee’s meeting agreements, some committees engage in training together, such as SEEDS training for conflict resolution, The SEED Project professional development training, or a Nonviolent Communication workshop. (See other workshop options in the Resources sections on pages 5-8 of this document.) 
   
   Other committees have helped their organization develop a Bias Incident Protocol (sometimes with the support of Alma Partners) that applies to the committee as well as the entire organization.

Important Considerations:

• Consider creating affinity groups to support conversations on inclusion and belonging. 
  
  Here are a few resources on affinity groups: 

• What is an Affinity Group in the Workplace?

• Today’s Affinity Groups: Risks and Rewards

• Using Affinity Groups to Build a More Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Workforce

• Why People of Color Need Spaces Without White People

• Identify clear goals

• Go back to organizational mission and DEIJ statements

• Articulate how the committee will help the organization fulfill its mission and translate its DEIJ statement into meaningful action

• Discuss what you want to learn from your community and any specific problems you are hoping to solve

• Are there specific issues or policy areas that you want to explore?

• Examples of specifics to consider: employee recruitment and retention, relationships with community partners, integration of DEIJ goals with the organization's strategic plan and goals, alignment within the community on DEIJ goals, role of the DEIJ Committee, campus/workplace accessibility, accessibility of community events, etc.

• Measure progress annually

• Develop systems for annual surveys and review of goals to measure year-by-year progress

• Use specific and easily comparable metrics (ex: employee or student recruitment/retention rates, survey participation rates, satisfaction rates on surveys)

• Consider using SMART goals to measure impact 

• Stay organized and communicate often and clearly with your community

• Create an annual work plan for the committee as a tool to stay on track, view progress, assign tasks to committee members, and communicate with your community

• Make a clear plan about how you will:

• Prioritize action items

• Share out lessons learned each year

• Assess your ongoing progress/challenges and communicate those to your community 

The full document (available only to current clients) includes extensive resources, including recommended workshops, and a list of helpful questions to guide DEI Committees. 

If you’re a current client and don’t have access to this document, please write to us at connect@almapartners.net for a copy. We also offer 1-hour consulting sessions to go deeper on the content of this document. If you’re not a client yet, book an introductory call with us to learn more!