Lake Victoria Rights Programme (LVRP)

iGovernance, Social media and Policy Advocacy Retreat

On 31st March – 4th April 2014, Machakos County, Republic of Kenya

Venue: The Lukenya Getaway

THEME: Strength in our Magnified Differences

Ephesians 4:11-13

TRANSFORMATIONAL DIVERSITY ON BOARDS

Diversity Understood

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work-Eccle: 4:9. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken- Eccl: 4:12 b)

Diversity is a range of many people or things that are very different from each other (Oxford advanced learners dictionary)

The idea of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It is the understanding that each individual is unique and recognizing our individual

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differences.

What do you observe from this diagram?

The differences can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, religious beliefs, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, political beliefs or other ideologies.

Exploring these differences in a safe, positive and nurturing environment can enable us embrace the rich dimensions of diversity contained in each individual.

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Example; it is perceived Tanzanians are very respectful, Ugandans are very celebratory and Kenyans are always in a hurry. A board comprising of these three different dimensions can benefit as follows:

1. Being respected because it treats stakeholders with respect,2. Good reputation because it involves all its stakeholders in celebrating

achievements,3. Efficient because it delivers on its mission - (services) on time.

Customer focused.

The Case for Diversity

1. How did the local leaders of old use to induct the youth in our society? Show the Masjid Musa Youth you tube video.

2. What seems to be the problem as shown in the video? 3. How would you deal with the problem as a leader?

Consider the population statistics in the below table: adapted from index mundi.

Population Comparison              Estimated July 2013 Population Male % Female %

youth-15-54 yrs %

Kenya 44,037,656 21,965,375 50 22,072,281 50 22,577,157 53

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Tanzania 48,261,942 24,030,438 50 24,231,504 50 23,540,034 49

Uganda 34,758,809 17,264,460 50 17,494,349 50 16,230,271 47

1. Diversity is a fact of life in our operating environment. If we just consider the work environment for a moment, you will find that it is a melting pot of diverse opinions, perspectives, levels of maturity, skills, complexions, attitudes, dress codes, aspirations, cultures, age groups, ethnic backgrounds, religious beliefs and the list goes on.

2. This brings huge opportunities as well as challenges. The problems we face today from environment, poverty, health, human rights – are complex. The leadership needed to address these problems require creativity, and skill to reach across barriers of religion, geography, ethnic and ideology to include wide and increasingly diverse groups of people.

3. Organisations will need a diversity of approaches, perspectives and ideas to come up with sustainable solutions.

Diversity has been acknowledged as an essential component of organizational strength and survival from the many perspectives including performance, creativity and stakeholder satisfaction. In this regard, organizations in public, private and non-profit sectors are beginning to embrace diversity at all levels including board of directors.

In Kenya, the constitution of Kenya 2010 under articles, 54, 56 and 197 provides for inclusion of People with disabilities, minorities, Youth and Women in decision making bodies in the public sector.

The benefits of diversity for nonprofit boards include factors such as:

being more responsive to the community and clients, making creative decisions among others. Including in nonprofit boards, marginalized groups such as women,

youth, people living with disabilities, minorities among others improves on the reputation of the organization,

as well as it elicits interest of funding organizations, enhanced accountability of the organization.

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Increased funding enables the organization to design interventions to meet the needs of its diverse constituents. It also has the potential to increase confidence of the constituents in the organization, making it easy to implement programmes.

Thus, nonprofit boards that includes diversity of members to make them functional have the effect of improving board performance in the areas of internal resource mobilization for sustainability, funding, efficient and effective delivery of results for beneficiaries and bring change in the lives of its constituents.

including members of diverse traditions, communities marginalized achieves a high level of relational connection. The organization is perceived favourably by a cross section of stakeholders. People feel good about the organization making it a relevant player in development.

Are you convinced that there is merit in diversifying board membership of your organization?

If yes, have you made any move to increase diversity of board membership? Are you willing to share with the group in what areas you have achieved this diversity?

If No, why and what is the challenge?

Building a Diverse Board.

In starting the journey to become diverse board, the following steps may be considered

Step 1 Internal Communication and Self Awareness

In considering building a diverse board the following should be taken into account:

Have an open and thoughtful discussion on how it, the organization, community and constituents might benefit from diversity within the board,

The opportunities that might be missed if the board remains homogeneous,

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How the board will react and potentially resolve challenges that arise due to different opinions, approaches and attitudes.

This is because, discussing issues of ethnicity, age, religious beliefs, gender, culture, generation and minorities in the boardroom creates personal awareness and for some discomfort. People develop prejudices and stereotypes from friends and family at a very early age. An objective consideration of diversity requires intellect, integrity and time. The board should consider if its individual members and as a group are ready to identify, confront and work to eliminate their personal biases, blind spots and prejudices as well as those embedded in the board and organisation’s culture.

Step 2 Develop diversity Policy

The Bafope – Case in Kisumu where members of the group influenced election of one of their own to the Local council to influence policy in favour their interest.

Once the board has determined to embrace diversity, it should proceed to develop and articulate a diversity policy. The actions of an entity and people working within it are guided by the policies the organization has adopted. These serve as guidelines governing behavior. Also, they outline what the organization is trying to achieve and how it will go about it. The process of policy development should cover a wide spectrum of participation within the organisation to ensure buy-in and successful change. Also, it should have strong support and commitment from key leadership to ensure success.

A diversity policy should have a concrete statement of objectives, resource allocation and an implementation strategy outlining in order of priority the steps to be taken to achieve the goal.

Step 3 Establish Baseline and Track Progress

In order to plan a comprehensive strategy to address the diversity in governance , it is necessary to understand the starting point. This will include:

1. Establishing the demographic composition of the community6

2. How that composition is reflected in the governance of the organisation

3. Understanding the board nomination and appointments policies and procedures

4. How these policies and procedures create barriers to the participation of diverse communities.

Step 4 Create a Diversity Committee

It is important to have a committee that will plan and monitor the process of creating change within the board and its committees. The composition of the committee should include individuals from the wider organisation and if possible external members- the staff, board and members to ensure different perspectives are represented.

Step 5 Provide Induction and Continuous Training

It is important to conduct training for everyone involved in the board nomination and appointment process and induction of new board members. This emphasizes the commitment to diversity. Also, it provides tools necessary to make that commitment real. It demonstrates that the board is willing to dedicate time and resources to build the organisation’s skills to achieve the goal of diversity. The training should be an ongoing process to underscore the commitment to diversity and reinforce the skills for realizing it.

Step 6 Put in Place an Open and Transparent Board Recruitment Process

Inclusive recruitment method should aim at increasing the number of qualified applicants as a whole. This will help create an applicant pool the best reflects the diversity of the population served by the organisation.

The selection criteria for board positions should be clear and publicly available through board and vacancy profiles.

Step 7 Support Diverse Board Members

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In order to realize the value of improving diversity, it is necessary to ensure that boards provide an enabling environment for all members by accommodating their needs. Venues for meetings are accessible and meeting schedules are such that they accommodate all members.

Step 8 Embed Diversity in Board Policies and Practices

All organizational policies and practices should be examined to ensure removal of those that are discriminatory and that the values contribute to an inclusive and welcoming organizational culture. A diversity lens is applied to all board policies and practices to systematically evaluate whether all existing policies and practices comply with the identified diversity principles.

Step 9 Monitor and measure Results

To remain focused on the goal, monitor progress on quarterly or semi-annually. Track the retention rate of diverse members, conduct interviews for exiting members and identify areas of improvement. Administer board assessments that include questions related to diversity strategies and goals. Conduct a survey of staff, constituents and stakeholders about their perceptions of the organisation’s culture of inclusiveness.

Conclusion

Meaningful change in board composition, dynamics and culture will not occur in the short term. It takes time and commitment. Ongoing communication and engagement of the board in the process will help sustain the effort.

On the whole, a board that practices inclusive governance is one that:

1. Seeks information from multiple sources2. Demonstrates an awareness of the community and constituents who

benefit and contribute to the organisation’s services and3. Establishes policies and structures to foster stakeholder contributions.

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