Over the years, increasing diversity has become a greater priority for businesses, government agencies, institutions, and non-profit organizations. However, many organizations have fallen into the trap of adding people of color to their staff pages as the endpoint rather than a starting point. When reviewing retention rates, organizations are sometimes frustrated to find that the gains they have made in hiring have been lost through attrition. In addition to diversifying, organizations must also cultivate new practices that create a culture of equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice. Only then can organizations step forward in their journeys to becoming healthy, productive, and thriving workplaces for staff of color.

Increasing diversity is often treated as the first step in this journey, and the data shows that many organizations in the environmental field are taking this step. According to Green 2.0, a research organization that tracks diversity in environmental organizations, the number of staff who are people of color has increased by about 10% from 2017 to 2021. Despite this, over 60% of full-time staff at the organizations surveyed in 2021 identified as white (Green 2.0, 2021 NGO & Foundation Transparency Report Card).

However, testimonies of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) in the workplace demonstrate that while diversity may be increasing, practices around equity, inclusion and belonging, and justice are lagging behind. For example, in ruth tyson’s An Open Letter to the Union of Concerned Scientists: On Black Death, Black Silencing, and Black Fugitivity, tyson specifically calls out a culture of overwork, bullying, surveillance that she and other colleagues of color experienced. When tyson and other women of color pushed back, they were gaslit, reprimanded, and, in some cases, dismissed from their positions (tyson, An Open Letter to the Union of Concerned Scientists).

In tyson’s open letter, she calls out specific anti-black practices that are prevalent in the environmental non-profit sector and makes calls for increasing efforts around equity, inclusion, and justice. This is not the first time that large environmental NGOs have been “called in” with demands for improving their practices around equity and inclusion. The “SWOP letter”, sent in March 1990 to the 10 largest conservation groups of the time, details “racist and exclusionary practices” at these organizations (SouthWest Organizing Project Letter). In the intervening 30 years, progress has come at a slow pace, as demonstrated by the Green 2.0 research referenced previously.

Diversity initiatives must be paired with institution-wide programs for equity, inclusion and belonging, and justice in the workplace. Without intentional anti-racist reforms, pre-existing harmful internal practices will drive out BIPOC staff. Implementing these practices requires persistent and enduring commitments from all staff, including and especially from leadership. Only then can the work of developing the anti-racist policies and practices that will pave the way for equity, inclusion and belonging, and justice begin.

A DEI/JEDI/DEBI journey goes beyond the work anyone does and how they show up in the office. Rather, this is a holistic journey to learn, unlearn, and unsettle white supremacy in a person’s entire life. This guide will cover the basics of white supremacy culture, decolonization, and what it means to advance justice, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace and beyond. While designed to flow logically from one section to the next, readers are welcomed to move from section to section in the chronology that best suits their interests. This guide is also intended to present information in digestible sections; readers are encouraged to take their time in each section, clicking on the links to articles, watching the videos that are embedded in each section, listening to the podcast recommendations, and reviewing the supplementary content provided with each section.

There are many different models and frameworks for this work: JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion), DEBI (Diversity, Equity, Belonging, and Inclusion), REDI (Race, Ethnicity, Diversity, Inclusion). There is no “right” or “wrong” framework, rather organizations should select the framework that best aligns with their organizational needs and goals. This guide uses the JEDI framework for simplicity and consistency. Definitions of the various frameworks are provided in Section 6: Justice and Equity Frameworks.

Finally, this toolkit was developed with a specific audience in mind: large, predominantly white-led environmental non-profits, however, the lessons provided will benefit any organization or individual who is interested in growing their JEDI practices. This guide starts with an overview of racism, decolonization, environmental justice, and the Just Transition Framework. We then shift to core concepts of JEDI with an overview of justice and equity frameworks and guidance on developing self-awareness around privilege. Next, this toolkit will provide example areas for JEDI policy in the workplace, specifically: equity centered hiring models, pay equity, healing justice, and rest. While not exhaustive, these areas are intended to provide inspiration and entry points. Finally, we close this guide with recommendations for long-term planning.

This is messy, heart-forward, and nonlinear work. In addition to the information and resources in this toolkit, we highly recommend retaining coach(es) or consultant(s) to support individuals and organizations in their JEDI journey.

In the table below, you will find links to additional pages to support your learning. If you have feedback for us, please submit it here.

Linked Resources

•  Patterson, Jacqueline. “Diversity Is Not Enough and, Done Alone, It Can Be Counterproductive.” HuffPost, 8 Feb. 2017, www.huffpost.com/entry/diversity-is-not-enough-and-done-alone-it-can-be_b_5875bf71e4b065be69099065  
• “2021 NGO & Foundation Transparency Report Card.” Green 2.0, 23 May 2022, diversegreen.org/transparency-cards/2021-green-2-0-ngo-foundation-transparency-report-card/. 
• tyson, ruth. An Open Letter to UCS: On Black Death, Black Silencing, and Black Fugitivity, docs.google.com/document/d/132Ow3_FYcTQdc73pyAe0V_IIoIzq4nktYpZ-V4MZRTY/edit.
• Moore, Richard. Southwest Organizing Project Letter to Big 10 Environmental Groups, www.ejnet.org/ej/swop.pdf.

Supplemental Resources

• KENDI, IBRAM X. Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. BOLD TYPE BOOKS, 2023. 
• Smith, Clint. How the Word Is Passed. Little, Brown and Company, 2021. 

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