“We’re Only Hearing From the People Who Made It.”

More than 45 people have indicated they’re planning to attend our hastily convened conversation about professionalism next Friday, June 18. You can join them, here. It’s held under Chatham House Rules which means we won’t be sharing a recording. That said, we do want to make sure the gist of what we talk about gets shared. We’ll be doing that. Meanwhile I’ve realized “professionalism” is actually a trojan horse for talking about inclusion.
 
Some thoughts:
 
1. Building a career in the nonprofit space is Darwinian, and that undermines the goals we’ve set for ourselves more than anything. I heard yesterday that 80 percent of the value in an investment portfolio is delivered not by which stocks you invest in, but the underlying conditions. The same is true of impact in the social justice space. It’s about the conditions. And when it comes to maximizing the potential of our talent pool we’re trying to do it while pouring bleach into the water. 🏊🏻‍♂️
 
2. Because I’m a white guy, I’ve been offered more money to work in the private sector 1,804 times. Whoopie doo for me, right? Quel martyrdom.  The only reason I’ve resisted is because I can afford to take the hit financially and because I care about the issues I work on. But partly, too, people are willing to pay me more to work in the sector because of the way I look. Here’s a piece my friend Sarah shared on LinkedIn called “20 subtle ways white supremacy manifests itself in nonprofit and philanthropy”. And it is food for thought.  🍔🧠
 
3. Many professions exclude people based on how they’re structured. Adjunct professor pay, for example, is so low at most institutions that you’re basically volunteering. Add in paying for childcare and it’s no coincidence most of the people gaining tenure look like I do. Anne Helen Pedersen’s “Culture Study” newsletter delves into the subject this week with its apt headline, “Just because your early career was hell doesn’t mean others have to be.” It focuses on some of the assumptions we all make about how we foster the workforce for the future. 📈
 
Hoping you can join us on the 18^th.
 
#Culture
#NewProfessionalism
#Inclusion