by Cherilyn Holloway, Pro-Black Pro-Life

Is diversity about more than variety? What value does diversity bring to a pregnancy help organization? Greater diversity on your team will lead to more clients choosing life and will result in your organization targeting actual needs, not perceived needs.

Know Your Demographics

Knowing your demographics is key to fostering the type of diversity needed in an organization. Who’s in your community? Never assume to know who makes up your service area, especially based just on what you see or hear, because this can contribute to a gap between the actual and the perceived. Invest time to find nuanced demographic information that ensures your organization will be made up of an accurate representation of those you are serving. Spend time learning about the different dynamics in your community. 

A diverse community reflects a diversity of thought and experiences. To achieve this, pregnancy help organizations need to examine their culture. This includes how political discussions around the issue of race, political candidates, and other difficult issues are handled. Conversations regarding religious denominations, pastors, and churches can create a negative work environment for someone who aligns with your organization on the value of life but may have a difference of opinion on issues unrelated to the core mission. Ask how your organization is mindful of those who may not be in the dominant culture. Your heart is welcoming, but is your environment?  How could the organization welcome individuals who may not be from the dominant culture? How might it be chasing them away?

Adding Diversity

If you are not seeing a lot of diversity in your staff and volunteers, reach into your community to find out why. Be open to hearing what policies may be deterring guests. Ask how you could change your advertising to better reach a broader demographic. This dialogue is not always fun when you’re addressing and reconciling these issues. Sometimes these conversations reveal staff or volunteers who are not in alignment with the idea of diversification.  

What Will Change?

What will change as these steps are taken? We will create spaces that are more inviting to the clients we serve and that foster deeper connections with them. Our connection with the community will improve as we diversity in our team. These longer-term, improved connections in the community lead to more clients choosing life and help create an organization equipped to meet the actual needs around us.

Practical Tip: Take a look at your staff and volunteer list and a demographic report on your organization's service area. Does your team reflect the community or does your organization need to diversify?

Cherilyn Holloway will be presenting a workshop at the 2022 Heartbeat International Annual Conference called Why Diversify? If you want to learn more about this topic, join us in Jacksonville March 30-April 1, 2022!