What All Leaders Can Do

Sharing Diversity Work

In her Inside HigherEd article, Jessica Welburn Paige outlines what faculty members who are not members of underrepresented groups can do to support diversity and inclusion efforts.

For a fuller discussion of the following read the source from which this is modeled - the blog post Male Senior Leaders: The Needle Will Not Move Without Us by Matt Krenz while the original post is positioned relative to male, majority leaders - everyone in a position of power can usefully consider these tips. These points have been modified from the original.

Communicate fairly. Women are interrupted three times as often as men. Leaders need to make sure a range of voices are heard in our meetings (and pre-meeting planning) and that credit is given where it is due.

Model the right behaviors. Do not make assumptions about the goals and ambitions of women (or minorities). Do not exclude anyone from consideration based on what you think they want. Let everyone know about opportunities and let them speak for themselves.

Sponsor high-potential individuals. ... leaders need to actively support and sponsor people who are different from themselves. Sponsorship is more structured than mentorship...and includes things like pushing someone for promotion, leadership training and other forms of development.

Mainstream diversity and equity. Actions count. When leaders—men and women—show up at internal affiliation events or conferences, participants get the message that the cause is important to the whole group. Diversity, equity and inclusion are not 'Others' issues - we are all an integral piece of forming our community.