As an environmental educator, you might work in a variety of settings. Wherever you are, and whatever your position within that organization, you can help your employer tackle equity and inclusion. These conversations can be difficult, but they are neccesary, so use whatever opportunities you have to get your colleagues and the leadership of the organization on board.
As a starting point, the JEDI Council at IslandWood recommends the publication Awake to Woke to Work: Building a Race Equity Culture by Equity in the Center. The "How to Get Started" section of Awake to Woke to Work includes the following recommendations:
- Establish a shared vocabulary.
- Identify race equity champions at the board and senior leadership levels.
- Name race equity work as a strategic imperative for your organization.
- Open a continuous dialogue about race equity work.
- Disaggregate data.
As noted earlier in this learning module, the work of Green 2.0 has highlighted important issues for the environmental movement which apply to the field of environmental education. Two of their reports tackle the recruitment (Diversity Derailed) and retention (Leaking Talent) of a diverse team, especially with respect to senior leadership. The infograpic highlights the issues many people of color face in jobs in the environmental field and actions organizations can take to address them.
Source: Leaking Talent, Green 2.0, https://www.diversegreen.org/