2011: Diversity and Cultural Inclusion Committee

Program Goal

Using AJLI’s “Building Blocks for Diversity & Inclusion” as a guide, The Junior League of Baton Rouge formed a Diversity and Cultural Inclusion Committee (DCIC) to implement a concrete process for making diversity a priority for the League.

Program Description

The program began with a self-assessment to help understand in a clear, no- nonsense way where the League stood in terms of inclusion.  Working with a consultant, DCIC created a plan and introduced the basics of cultural competence at GMMs, area and training meetings.  After consulting with members from diverse backgrounds, DCIC created an “insider” view of the state of diversity within JLBR and presented its findings to the Board.

To date, nearly all Provisional and Active members have been introduced to the program and many have engaged in training exercises designed to build cultural competency skills through training, dialogue and coaching. The DCIC also reviewed JLBR’s Policies and Procedures to make sure that cultural competency leadership traits impact member recruitment, community programs and overall League functioning. For example, placement advisors were provided training for their role using fictional diversity vignettes.

Results/Outcomes

The chief outcome was the increased importance of diversity and inclusion within the League. A large cross section of nearly 450 members participated directly in trainings or discussions. Presentations were made at GMMs and over 150 new members were introduced to cultural competence training.  The plan is building a culturally competent leadership throughout JLBR. It is building member awareness and communicating the message that the League is committed to being a pacesetter in cultural competence. The plan also resulted in actions to ensure cultural competence in member recruitment, community programming and overall operations.  AJLI’s Building Blocks provided a blue print for strategy and an action plan allowed the effort to make diversity and inclusion an important and prevalent value.

Evaluation

JLBR uses member feedback to make adjustments to the training to ensure it continues to offer members meaningful exposure to issues of diversity and inclusion.