responding to my organization's DEI committee
My organization's volunteer DEIA committee was formed in 2020. It started off with strong participation and interest but it's lost steam in recent years. They sent out a survey to all of us asking why we've dropped off and what they can do to get us back. Here's my response.
"I want to start off by saying I wholeheartedly believe in the values, ideals, and principles behind DEIA. And given the current political climate, I understand how important it is to continue pushing for DEIA since it's openly under extreme threat.
But if I'm honest, over the years, I've become weary of simple 'awareness' campaigns that don't seem to result in much action, and I'm guessing I'm not the only one who feels that way. I don't volunteer for the DEIA committee because I believe the DEIA work I do in my day-to-day job has more positive impact than what I could contribute to a committee. I'm guessing that most people in [our organization] are in the same boat, both 1) aware of the importance of DEIA and 2) incorporating it into their work. So the question for the DEIA committee should really be, what can this committee do and offer beyond awareness and helping people learn how to carry out the basics in their day-to-day roles?
One area that's a hot topic right now is digital accessibility, which affects all of us. If the DEIA committee continues, maybe they could form an [organization-wide] Digital Accessibility group that meets once a month (some of us already do this in our own areas!). Or, the committee could take the lead in developing digital accessibility best practices and guidelines that everyone at [the organization] should follow. There's a lot of actionable work to be done in this space with federal mandates looming in April 2026, so that's an area where the committee could be really helpful in organizing and leading the change."