Council ActionCommittee on Public Health and Human Services
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WHEREAS, Studies of all types of organizations of varying size and purpose have repeatedly shown strong associations between diversity and mission success; and
WHEREAS, In response to increasing concerns that their homogeneity will be pointed out to them, and mindful of the benefits of diversity on their bottom lines, firms have made efforts to recruit and retain more diverse workforces, boards and leadership teams; and
WHEREAS, Despite their purported efforts, analyses have shown that many organizations' levels of inherent and acquired diversity have barely increased in decades, if at all; and
WHEREAS, Earlier this month, BoardSource, which has analyzed trends in nonprofit board leadership since 1994, released its latest report
Leading With Intent: 2017 National Index of Nonprofit Board Practices
, which found that despite being dissatisfied with current board demographics, boards are not prioritizing diversity in their recruitment practices, thereby remaining no more diverse than in prior years; and
WHEREAS, The BoardSource report also found that nonprofit board diversity remains largely unchanged over more than two decades, that currently 90% of chief executives and 84% of board members identify as Caucasian, that 27% of boards are comprised entirely of white people, and that ethnic minorities and people of color have never represented more than 18% of board membership; and
WHEREAS, Last year, the Philadelphia African American Leadership Forum ("PAALF") co-produced a study examining the differences between African American-led and white-led nonprofits that articulated the unique and critical value of African American leadership along with the particular challenges that African American-led organizations face; and
WHEREAS, Encouraging efforts are underway to train leaders of color for board service and thus improve the diversity of nonprofit boards in Philadelphia, notably the Board Governance Program, a partnership between DiverseForce and the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That council does hereby authorize the Committee on Public Health & Human Services to hold hearings regarding board and leadership diversity among foundations and nonprofit organizations in Philadelphia.
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