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  WINDY CITY TIMES

How community organizations tackle diversity: Complete responses
by Emily Reilly and Matt Simonette
2020-07-22

This article shared 2999 times since Wed Jul 22, 2020
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Windy City Times surveyed a number of community organizations to see how they address diversity within their ranks, including board leadership, senior management and employees. In our questions, we were most interested in how advocates have been ensuring that their organizations have input from historically under-represented members of the LGBT community, such as transgender or bisexual folks. Complete responses from the organizations follow. Link to online chart at conclusion of article.

ACLU of Illinois

1. What is the name of organization? ACLU of Illinois

2. How many people are on your board of directors? 44

3. How frequently does board membership for your organization turn over? Board members are elected for 3 year terms, unless they are filling an unexpired term.

4. How frequently does your board meet? Quarterly

5. How many staff members does your organization employ? 43

6. What considerations do you make in persons whom you invite to the board? Do you give weight to a prospective member's sexual orientation or gender identity in making such decisions? Demonstrated commitment to civil liberties principles, special skills, willingness to serve as an ambassador for the organization, diversity, including sexual orientation and gender identify, are all factors that are used to consider nominees for the ACLU board.

7. Do any of your board members openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community? If so, how many? Yes; three, including the board president

8. Do any of your board members openly identify as transgender, gender-nonconforming or intersex? If so, how many? No

9. Do any of your board members openly identify as bisexual? If so, how many? No

Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community? If so, how many? Yes; 12

10. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as as transgender, gender-nonconforming or intersex? If so, how many? Yes; one

11. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as bisexual? If so, how many? No

12. Has your board had conversations about its diversity and how well its makeup represents the constituency the organization serves? If so, what do you see as the key challenges to achieving such representation? Yes; Identifying nominees for the board who have time to serve, who bring community contacts, lived experience, experience with non-profit management, and familiarity with the broad array of ACLU issues.

14. Have your organization's principals had conversations about the organization's staff's diversity and how well its makeup represents the constituency it serves? If so, what do you see as the key challenges to achieving such representation? Yes; job recruitment and marketing

15. What policies and procedures does your organization have in place to guard against discrimination on the basis of gender-identity or sexual-orientation? ACLU of Illinois has a respectful workplace policy that spells out the core values and expectations of staff, board and volunteers. ACLU also has a whistleblower policy that annually provides the names and contact information of board members authorized to receive complaints, allowing staff to go directly to the board if they feel uncomfortable making a report to staff leadership.

AIDS Foundation of Chicago

1. What is the name of your organization? AIDS Foundation of Chicago.

2. How many people are on your board of directors? 27. We have three vacancies as of July 2020.

3. How frequently does board membership for your organization turn over? Board members serve two-year terms with no term limit. About half of the board members are up for renewal every year. Members of the Board Governance Committee meet with every board member up for renewal to discuss their commitment to the organization and to determine if they are interested in serving for another term. On average, there are about three openings for new board members per year.

4. How frequently does your board meet? About six times a year.

5. How many staff members does your organization employ? 128

6. What considerations do you make in persons whom you invite to the board? AFC considers a variety of criteria, such as commitment to the organization; connections to the communities that AFC prioritizes ( young Black gay and bisexual men, transgender women of color, Black women living in high-incidence areas and Latinx gay and bisexual men ); the demographics of the candidate and the board as a whole; and the candidate's knowledge and expertise about issues related to HIV; the ability to connect AFC to supporters, potential corporate partners, legislators and other key community leaders. While AFC always seeks to identify candidates who can make major donations, our board giving policy is very flexible, helping to build socio-economic diversity on the Board. Every member must make a personally meaningful stretch gift, which in practice ranges from $25 to $25,000 or more. AFC has achieved 100% board giving for four years in a row.

6a. Do you give weight to a prospective member's sexual orientation or gender identity in making such decisions? Sexual orientation and gender identity are important considerations in recruiting board members, along with race, age, HIV status and other factors outlined above.

7. Do any of your board members openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community? Yes. If so, how many? 65% gay, 33% straight.

8. Do any of your board members openly identify as transgender, gender-nonconforming or intersex? No.

9. Do any of your board members openly identify as bisexual? If so, how many? Yes, four percent.

10. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community? Yes. If so, how many? AFC does not collect this information. AFC employs many members of the LGBTQ community, including in key leadership roles. Four members of AFCs Senior Leadership Team are LGBTQ out of nine. AFC does not collect information on staff sexual orientation or transgender identify because of staff limitations; our Human Resources & Talent Management team lacks the bandwidth to do so. AFC will consider collecting this information in the future. AFC's leadership believes AFC has a substantial number of gay, lesbian, bisexual and GNC staff. We aim to improve transgender representation among AFC's employees, and AFC invites trans individuals ( and everyone! ) to apply for open positions at AFC by visiting www.aidschicago.org/employment .

11. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as transgender, gender-nonconforming or intersex? Yes. If so, how many? At least two. AFC does not collect this information, so there may be other staff who have not identified as trans, gender-nonconforming or intersex. See question 10.

12. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as bisexual? Yes. If so, how many? AFC does not collect this information. See question 10.

13. Has your board had conversations about its diversity and how well its makeup represents the constituency the organization serves? Yes. If so, what do you see as the key challenges to achieving such representation? Over the past five years, AFC has prioritized representing the community we serve with a focus on recruiting diverse members. The board today is 41% people of color ( 19% Latinx, 15% Black and 7% Asian ) and 59% white. In addition, AFC has several board members who are living with HIV and who represent key communities, such as Black gay men and people who are aging and living with HIV. By gender, the board is 70% male-identified and 30% female-identified. The Board is committed to increasing the number of cis and transgender women who are members and is actively recruiting candidates. Visit www.aidschicago.org/page/news/all-news/afc-seeks-board-members-to-help-achieve-our-mission .

14. Have your organization's principals had conversations about the organization's staff's diversity and how well its makeup represents the constituency it serves? Yes. If so, what do you see as the key challenges to achieving such representation? AFC prioritizes diversity, equity and inclusion among staff and strives to achieve racial equity. AFC aims to become an anti-racist organization that rejects white supremacy culture. Ensuring AFC's staff and leaders are representative of the populations we serve is critical to the current and future success of our initiatives to end the HIV epidemic and to end homelessness. AFC is committed to hiring and creating career development opportunities for all our staff and especially Black, Latinx and LGBTQ individuals who might face racist, homophobic or transphobic barriers to advancement in other organizations. Moreover, approximately four years ago, AFC began the process of developing and implementing a talent management framework as part of its strategic plan. In the process of developing this framework, the Human Resources and Talent Management team at AFC developed a new Talent Management Model that incorporates the traditional human resources work along with the talent management work that would support AFC's strategic plan moving forward. Given its importance to the work of AFC, the umbrella of this model is Diversity & Inclusion. The intent of elevating Diversity & inclusion within our model is to ensure that we thoroughly engrain it in our attraction and selection strategies, in how we transition new employees ( how we integrate them into the AFC culture ), in the type of training and development we provide as it relates to diversity and inclusion; and in defining the behaviors we choose to reward as an organization ( i.e., Ensuring that we are not inadvertently rewarding folks that are not aligned to our values around diversity and inclusion ). Since the inception of this framework and model, AFC has developed, implemented, and/or begun a variety of human resource and talent management practices and initiatives that support the organization's goals and stance around diversity and inclusion. AFC has developed and adopted a formal statement to solidify our commitment to diversity and inclusion: AFC embraces diversity and strives toward creating and sustaining an inclusive and welcoming environment where all can thrive and succeed. AFC believes that all individuals must be valued, respected, supported and honored in meaningful and substantive ways. Our unwavering commitment is reflected in how we develop, implement and evaluate programs, services, policies and procedures; and enables our organizational success as measured through our mission, vision and strategic priorities.

15. What policies and procedures does your organization have in place to guard against discrimination on the basis of gender-identity or sexual-orientation? To support and solidify our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, AFC has developed and adopted the following policies and procedures:

—Policies:

—-Equal Employment Opportunity statement and policy:

—-Transgender and Non-Conforming Inclusion policy: This policy outlines guidelines to address the needs of transgender and gender non-conforming employees, and situations where questions may arise about how to protect the rights and safety of such employees. The policy includes a gender transition policy.

—-Inclusive restrooms: AFC has a gender-neutral, single-staff restroom. AFC's other restrooms are labeled "male-identified" and "female-identified."

—-Grievance policy and procedures: This policy encourages employees to bring forth suggestions, concerns or grievances about either the operations of AFC in general or about their own individual situations. AFC believes strongly that these matters should be aired and resolved in an orderly fashion.

—-Whistleblower Protection Policy: The purpose of this policy is to provide a mechanism for employees to raise good faith concerns regarding suspected violations of law on the part of AFC; to cooperate in an inquiry or investigation by a court, agency, law enforcement or other governmental body; to identify potential violations of AFC policy; and to protect employees who take such actions from retaliation.

—Procedures:

—-Development and monitoring of metrics and analysis around our diversity and diversity and inclusion efforts, including gender identity

—-Education and training on diversity and inclusion related topics ( i.e., unconscious bias, performance evaluation rater error/bias, various topics related to gender-identity or sexual orientation )

—-Use of preferred gender pronouns across organizational interactions ( i.e., starting meetings with the sharing of preferred pronouns ) and initiatives ( i.e., gender neutral content ); this includes empowerment of staff to hold each other accountable where needed

—-Development of a job leveling structure with more objective and well-defined factors that more objectively support career pathing and upward mobility across the organization

—-Implementation of leadership and staff development training across the organization to provide opportunities for development and upward mobility across the board

—-Review and revision of our organizational values to ensure they promote inclusion; ensure accountability by tying AFC values into the annual performance evaluation process

—-Development of minimum and preferred qualifications that truly get at the minimum qualifications for a role while expanding our job applicant pool

—-Broadening our visibility as an employer and our potential applicant reach by expanding our job posting platforms both in terms of quantity ( increase the number of boards in which jobs are posted ) and platform type ( i.e., diversity focused media platform )

—-Development of behavior-based structured interview guides as well as structured selection processes for key roles that focus on the assessment of skills and experience needed for the role and minimize the use of other, non-related, factors for making employment decisions

—-Development of a procedure to investigate employee complaints to include complaints regarding harassment and discrimination

—-Formation of a Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council tasked with the development and implementation of an organizational Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy

—-Formation of a Race and Social Justice Committee whose mission is to strengthen AFC's efforts toward eradicating HIV by confronting racism and other systems of oppression

Where possible, gather information and feedback from staff on ongoing and future initiatives

Center on Halsted

1. What is the name of your organization? Center on Halsted

2. How many people are on your board of directors? 21

3. How frequently does board membership for your organization turn over? Board members may serve up to three 3-year terms. Board members are able to join or be renewed at two points per year, once in June and once in December.

4. How frequently does your board meet? Center on Halsted's board meets six times per year. Workgroups ( e.g., Finance, Mission & Strategic Priority, etc. ) meet at different times, sometimes more frequently.

5. How many staff members does your organization employ? As of June 2020, Center on Halsted employs 17 part-time staff and 48 full-time staff, for a total of 65 employees

6. What considerations do you make in persons whom you invite to the board? Do you give weight to a prospective member's sexual orientation or gender identity in making such decisions? Center on Halsted takes many factors into consideration when providing invitations to join the Board of Directors. All factors take into account the individual's ability to help hold the agency accountable and to move the organization forward in meeting its mission. Some of these factors relate the two individual's connection to fundraising support, community recognition and status, and ability to meet logistical and financial requirements required of all board members. Identity-based characteristics also play a key role in ensuring a diverse board with a broad range of lived experiences and perspectives that reflect the diversity within our organization, community, and patrons served. We do take into account factors such as race/ethnicity as well as gender identity and sexual orientation when making decisions regarding board membership invitations.

7. Do any of your board members openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community? If so, how many? Yes, as board members of an LGBTQ community center, open identification as members of the LGBTQ community is important. 17 board members openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community, accounting for 80.9% of board membership.

8. Do any of your board members openly identify as transgender, gender-nonconforming or intersex? If so, how many? Yes, one board member openly identifies as a transgender woman, accounting for 4.8% of the total board membership.

9. Do any of your board members openly identify as bisexual? If so, how many? To our knowledge no board member identifies as bisexual or any other non-monosexual identity ( e.g., pansexual, queer, fluid, etc. ), but we intend to do a comprehensive check in August 2020 to ensure no unintentional erasure has occurred.

10. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community? If so, how many? Yes, 51 staff members openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community.

11. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as transgender, gender-nonconforming or intersex? If so, how many? Yes, 5 staff members openly identify as transgender, gender-nonconforming or intersex.

12. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as bisexual? If so, how many? Yes, 3 staff members openly identify as bisexual. Others identify using terms that may fall under the Bisexual Umbrella ( e.g., queer, pansexual, etc. ) and/or are not monosexual.

13. Has your board had conversations about its diversity and how well its makeup represents the constituency the organization serves? If so, what do you see as the key challenges to achieving such representation? Yes, our COH board has had extensive conversations regarding its diversity and client representation which was further facilitated by an outside DEI consultant, Inca Mohamed, in 2019. Key challenges the organization has observed to achieving better representation include finding a balance of typical board member requirements. These include factors such as: 1 ) time investment required of the role; 2 ) having beneficial resources at hand to best support the agency from fiscal and programmatic frameworks; 3 ) the ability to commit to the role amidst competing commitments. This last factor is of particular importance for attracting Black and Brown board members, as both anecdotal evidence and a wealth of data-driven research shows that these populations are already overextended in all areas of life, including in their professional commitments. The impact of COVID-19 and the renewed focus on racial injustices, inequities, and oppression have clearly intensified these pre-existing barriers. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color ( BIPOC ) community members are already stretched thin managing their own personal, familial, and community-based trauma alongside their own professional obligations. This furthers a self-perpetuating system in which ideal candidates who belong to minoritized groups are faced with the decision of maintain self-care and of promoting structural change in potentially challenging situations.

14. Have your organization's principals had conversations about the organization's staff's diversity and how well its makeup represents the constituency it serves? If so, what do you see as the key challenges to achieving such representation? Yes, our Senior Leadership and Human Resources department consistently strive to monitor and make progress in maintaining a diversified staff and leadership at COH. We manage this by actively recruiting in minority professional circles and strategically partnering with think leaders such as #Hire TransNOW. While COH does have a relatively diverse staff and leadership base already, we recognize the continued importance of improving the organization from not just a diversity perspective but also from an equity and inclusion perspective.

To that end, COH engaged in diversity, equity, and inclusion work within the organization through the development of Equity Leadership Groups ( ELGs ) for both the staff and the board. The staff ELG is led by COH staff in partnership with Senior Team members, providing space for both discursive and material action to occur with the goal of continually improving working conditions and service provision to BIPOC staff and community.

One important result from this work has been the development of new employee recruitment strategies, noted above, that attempt to find underrepresented candidates in new recruitment venues such as those noted above.

Most importantly, we attempt to hire with the following two factors in mind wherever possible: 1 ) hire within community, and 2 ) hire staff that reflect those whom we serve. As an organizations, we at Center on Halsted recognize the importance of having staff that share certain life experiences with our patrons. With our HIV/AIDS & STD Services Department, for example, intentional effort is made to attract and hire qualified candidates whom our clients may share certain commonalities. This includes prioritizing candidates of color.

Despite our best efforts, however, we do occasionally face certain challenges in attracting and maintaining a diverse staff in all areas. Some of these reasons are generalized, such as funding limitations that curtail hiring across the board. Some are endemic to larger systems of oppression that have traditionally led to limited participation of BIPOC in certain professional fields. Due to deep, structural injustices built into our social fabric, many organizations intentionally and unintentionally perpetuate the disinvestment of BIPOC through a variety of means, including offering lower salaries, often determined on the basis of past ( lower ) salaries. To meet the demanding needs of our community, COH has traditionally needed to ensure all open positions are filled quickly, at times leaving overqualified candidates under-compensated. This is true of all similar nonprofit work, regardless of identity, but it has a disproportionate impact on BIPOC.

Others include the image of Center on Halsted as a white institution in a white neighborhood, an image that we have worked diligently to address over the past several years. While COH is located in a predominantly white and affluent neighborhood, our clients come from all over the city and represent many diverse backgrounds. Still, we recognize the need for continued action and improvement in these areas and work toward them daily.

15. What policies and procedures does your organization have in place to guard against discrimination on the basis of gender-identity or sexual-orientation? COH does not allow for any discrimination against an individual because of gender identity, including transgender status, or because of sexual orientation. Discrimination because of sex is in violation of Title VII. Our policies parallel U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission language forbidding discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.

Our Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment policy states clearly that "The Center is committed to maintaining a work environment that is free of all forms of discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment, which are all illegal under the Illinois Human Rights Act ( IHRA ) and Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964." In addition to specific policies regarding sexual harassment, COH outlines a clear "Harassment and Discrimination Investigation Procedure "in our set of policies and procedures, providing a safe and confidential pathway to reporting.

Every program that provides direct services to clients also provides written and/or verbal statements about Center on Halsted's anti-discrimination policies that are inclusive of gender identity and sexual orientation. Both staff and clients are also provided contact information for the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the Illinois Human Rights Commission should external reporting be preferred. These standards are upheld to the fullest degree possible.

Finally, to ensure a safe and confidential process for reporting potential discrimination or harassment, Center on Halsted has an extensive Whistleblower policy that explicitly protects employees of Center on Halsted from retaliation and ensures their confidentiality while reporting. This policy also provides information on procedures that should be taken should a whistleblower believe that they are being retaliated against.

Chicago House & Social Service Agency

1. What is the name of your organization? Chicago House & Social Service Agency

2. How many people are on your board of directors? 16

3. How frequently does board membership for your organization turn over? Trustees serve 3-year terms

4. How frequently does your board meet? The full board of trustees meets 6 times per year.

5. How many staff members does your organization employ? 85

6. What considerations do you make in persons whom you invite to the board? Do you give weight to a prospective member's sexual orientation or gender identity in making such decisions? Yes, both sexual orientation and gender identity are considered when evaluating prospective Board members. Additional considerations are: geography, sexual orientation, gender identity, profession, connection to HIV/AIDS, previous non-profit Board experience

7. Do any of your board members openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community? If so, how many? Yes, 15

8. Do any of your board members openly identify as transgender, gender-nonconforming or intersex? If so, how many? Yes, 1.

9. Do any of your board members openly identify as bisexual? If so, how many? Yes, 1.

10. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community? If so, how many? Yes, the majority of staff identifies as LGBTQ

11. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as transgender, gender-nonconforming or intersex? If so, how many? Yes, many of the staff identify as transgender, gender-nonconforming, or intersex.

12. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as bisexual? If so, how many? Yes

13. Has your board had conversations about its diversity and how well its makeup represents the constituency the organization serves? If so, what do you see as the key challenges to achieving such representation? Yes. The key challenge is balancing the terms served by current members with the need/desire/passion/urgency around expanding the diversity on the board with an emphasis on race and gender. The board of trustees is committed to diversity now and the years ahead.

14. Have your organization's principals had conversations about the organization's staff's diversity and how well its makeup represents the constituency it serves? If so, what do you see as the key challenges to achieving such representation? Yes, the full Chicago House team is diverse and reflects the makeup of our program participants. However, the key area of opportunity is diversity among the leadership team. With 12 members on the leadership team, 2 are people of color, 2 are transgender, and 5 identify as female.

15. What policies and procedures does your organization have in place to guard against discrimination on the basis of gender-identity or sexual-orientation? Chicago House has HR policies in place that guard against discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. The organization also offers trainings on how to work through a trauma-informed lens as well as trainings on harm-reduction.

Equality Illinois/Equality Illinois Institute

1. What is the name of your organization? Equality Illinois ( in responding to this, I have used the board members of Equality Illinois [our 501c4] and Equality Illinois Institute [our 501c3] since they have overlapping boards ).

2. How many people are on your board of directors? 20

3. How frequently does board membership for your organization turn over? Once a year

4. How frequently does your board meet? On average, six times a year

5. How many staff members does your organization employ? Currently 5

6. What considerations do you make in persons whom you invite to the board? Do you give weight to a prospective member 's sexual orientation or gender identity in making such decisions? We look at three factors: 1. Does the person bring an expertise or perspective that is needed? 2. Is the person a #1 or #2 in their organization, field or community? 3. Collectively, when we look at the Board as a whole, does our Board reflect back to our community our full diversity.

7. Do any of your board members openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community? If so, how many? 16

8. Do any of your board members openly identify as transgender, gender-nonconforming or intersex? If so, how many? 2

9. Do any of your board members openly identify as bisexual? If so, how many? We have not tracked this information, but will do so in the future

10. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community? If so, how many? 4

11. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as as transgender, gender-nonconforming or intersex? If so, how many? 1

12. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as bisexual? If so, how many? We have not tracked this information, but will do so in the future

13. Has your board had conversations about its diversity and how well its makeup represents the constituency the organization serves? We do. Our Board charges the CEO with developing a Board prospect pool that has strong representation among women, people of color, TGNC individuals, and people living outside Cook County. From that prospect pool, the Board selects the strongest fits for Board membership.

14. Have your organization 's principals had conversations about the organization's staff 's diversity and how well its makeup represents the constituency it serves? If so, what do you see as the key challenges to achieving such representation? Not Answered

15. What policies and procedures does your organization have in place to guard against discrimination on the basis of gender-identity or sexual-orientation? Not Answered

Gerber/Hart Library and Archives

1. What is the name of your organization? Gerber/Hart Library and Archives

2. How many people are on your board of directors? Currently four.

3. How frequently does board membership for your organization turn over? Members serve three-year terms and can serve two consecutive terms.

4. How frequently does your board meet? Monthly.

5. How many staff members does your organization employ? Three part-timers

6. What considerations do you make in persons whom you invite to the board? Do you give weight to a prospective member's sexual orientation or gender identity in making such decisions? Key considerations are the prospective member's engagement with the mission of the organization, which is an LGBTQ-focused archives/library/cultural center, and their commitment to help keep it afloat financially.

7. Do any of your board members openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community? If so, how many? All four of us do.

8. Do any of your board members openly identify as transgender, gender-nonconforming or intersex? If so, how many? Not currently.

9. Do any of your board members openly identify as bisexual? If so, how many? Not currently.

10. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community? If so, how many? Two out of three for sure, but possibly all three.

11. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as transgender, gender-nonconforming or intersex? If so, how many? I don't think so.

12. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as bisexual? If so, how many? I don't know.

13. Has your board had conversations about its diversity and how well its makeup represents the constituency the organization serves? If so, what do you see as the key challenges to achieving such representation? Gerber/Hart has recently been going through a strategic planning process and the issue of diversity in all aspects—patrons, content of collections and exhibits, board and staff, volunteer pool—was a priority that was affirmed centrally. A key challenge for Gerber/Hart has always been building a strong board that's large enough to address the key needs of the organization. Service on the Gerber/Hart board doesn't bring the high profile and interaction with public figures that service in more highly visible LGBTQ organizations does. Recruiting board members of any identity has long been a challenge for Gerber/Hart.

14. Have your organization's principals had conversations about the organization's staff's diversity and how well its makeup represents the constituency it serves? If so, what do you see as the key challenges to achieving such representation? Until very recently, Gerber/Hart has been entirely volunteer run. [We] hired a first part-time staffer in 2017, I think; a second early in 2019, and a third later in the year. Taken together, their hours do not even equal one full-time employee. Because of the limited hours and pay, our jobs do not attract a lot of candidates.

15. What policies and procedures does your organization have in place to guard against discrimination on the basis of gender-identity or sexual-orientation? A basic non-discrimination policy. As an organization that is, in essence, an LGBTQ organization, discriminating on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation would be absurd. As to the survey as a whole, in my experience at Gerber/Hart, people are not asked about their identity, but rather interviewed on the basis of their interest in, commitment to, and potential contribution toward, the mission of the organization. Also, because the size of the board and staff is so small, the range of diversity within the LGBTQ spectrum is limited. But, our volunteer pool, which is much larger and which contributes a great deal to the organization, is much more mixed in how people identify.

Howard Brown Health

1. What is the name of your organization? Howard Brown Health

2. How many people are on your board of directors? 17

3. How frequently does board membership for your organization turn over? Board members may serve up to three consecutive, three-year terms. Because terms are staggered, an estimated two to four members term off the Board each year.

4. How frequently does your board meet? Monthly

5. How many staff members does your organization employ? 540

6. What considerations do you make in persons whom you invite to the board? Do you give weight to a prospective member 's sexual orientation or gender identity in making such decisions? The Board 's Governance Committee develops a call for candidates each year that articulates the priority skills, experiences, and backgrounds desired among highly rated candidates for that year 's recruitment cycle. Geography, race/ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, skills, and nonprofit experience are among the important criteria considered as part of Board recruitment. As a federally qualified health center, at least 51% of Board members must be patients ( currently 65% are patients ).

7. Do any of your board members openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community? If so, how many? Sixteen of seventeen Board members identify as members of the LGBTQ community

8. Do any of your board members openly identify as transgender, gender-nonconforming or intersex? If so, how many? One of 17 identify as TGNC

9. Do any of your board members openly identify as bisexual? If so, how many? One of 17 identify as bisexual

10. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community? If so, how many? The vast majority of staff identify as members of the LGBTQ community

11. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as as transgender, gender-nonconforming or intersex? If so, how many? Dozens of staff members openly identify as TGNC

12. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as bisexual? If so, how many? We have not polled staff on bisexual identity

13. Has your board had conversations about its diversity and how well its makeup represents the constituency the organization serves? If so, what do you see as the key challenges to achieving such representation? The Board 's Governance Committee develops a call for candidates each year that articulates the priority skills, experiences, and backgrounds desired among highly rated candidates for that year 's recruitment cycle.

14. Have your organization 's principals had conversations about the organization's staff 's diversity and how well its makeup represents the constituency it serves? If so, what do you see as the key challenges to achieving such representation? The proportion of staff who are Black and/or Latinx exceeds the proportion of patients who are Black and/or Latinx. Notwithstanding, diverse representation lags among directors and managers. At senior management, 7% are Latinx as compared to 22% of patients. Black executives comprise 29% of senior management and 23% of patients. Seven percent of senior management identifies as TGNC as compared to 15% of patients.

15. What policies and procedures does your organization have in place to guard against discrimination on the basis of gender-identity or sexual-orientation? LGBTQ liberation and racial equity principles are two of six frameworks adopted by Howard Brown Health as fundamental approaches pursued through all of the agency 's work and practices. Its Code of Conduct, Employee Handbook, and established values bar gender-identity and sexual-orientation discrimination among other forms of oppression as part of a commitment to an equitable and just workplace.

TPAN

1. What is the name of your organization? TPAN

2. How many people are on your board of directors? 9

3. How frequently does board membership for your organization turn over? A term on the Board is two years, but they can continue on if desired.

4. How frequently does your board meet? Quarterly

5. How many staff members does your organization employ? 37

6. What considerations do you make in persons whom you invite to the board? Do you give weight to a prospective member' s sexual orientation or gender identity in making such decisions? I did not have to time to speak to the Board Chair about this.

7. Do any of your board members openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community? If so, how many? 5

8. Do any of your board members openly identify as transgender, gender-nonconforming or intersex? If so, how many? No

9. Do any of your board members openly identify as bisexual? If so, how many? No

10. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community? If so, how many?Yes; 15

11. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as transgender, gender-nonconforming or intersex? If so, how many? None

12. Do any of your staff members/employees openly identify as bisexual? If so, how many? One

13. Has your board had conversations about its diversity and how well its makeup represents the constituency the organization serves? If so, what do you see as the key challenges to achieving such representation? Yes.

14. Have your organization's principals had conversations about the organization's staff's diversity and how well its makeup represents the constituency it serves? If so, what do you see as the key challenges to achieving such representation? For questions 14 and 15: TPAN hired the Morten Group and is in the middle of an agency and board wide DEI Assessment and Training. From that training, a committee will be formed with support from the Morten Group, and areas of bias and areas requiring improvement will be highlighted, as well as a DEI Strategic plan. That started in March of 2020 and will be over in September 2020.

15. What policies and procedures does your organization have in place to guard against discrimination on the basis of gender-identity or sexual-orientation? TPAN prohibits any form of discrimination or harassment because of race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, spiritual beliefs, sex ( with or without sexual conduct ), sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, childbirth, protected activity ( i.e., opposition to prohibited discrimination or participation in the statutory complaint process ) or other characteristics protected under federal, state or local law. Violation of this policy may result in discipline, up to and including discharge. Our goal is to promote diversity within our staff and to foster an organizational culture and workplace environment of respect and acceptance of people's differences. TPAN strives to provide a work environment free from verbal, physical and visual ( signs, posters, pictures or documents ) harassment or behavior which may be offensive to employees. All employees must be sensitive to the individual rights of their co-workers and show them respect.

View full chart:

www.windycitymediagroup.com/pdf/WCT_20200722_INCLUSIONchart.pdf .


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