diversity, equity, and inclusion

As an organization, the JES is committed to the following practices to ensure diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces in the nonprofit sector: 

Planning & Policies 

• Our organization pledges to prioritize DEI in our planning processes by identifying specific DEI goals, along with timelines for accomplishing goals and key performance indicators used to measure, monitor, and evaluate progress toward goals. 

• Our organization pledges to make a public commitment to DEI by adding a DEI component to our mission, vision, and values statements, or by publishing a separate DEI statement. 

• Our organization pledges to identify staff, volunteers, and/or Board members to focus on DEI work within the organization and empower them to communicate recommendations, challenge assumptions, and champion DEI health. 

• Our organization pledges to commit financial resources to DEI work. 

• Our organization pledges to ensure that all of our policies, procedures, and practices are consistent with our DEI statements and strategy. 

Board Operations & Governance 

• Our organization pledges to collect and analyze demographic information on Board members in order to monitor Board diversity relative to the community and nation. 

• Our organization pledges to create and uphold formal policies to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in Board recruitment and operations. 

• Our organization pledges to have regular Board-level conversations around DEI and the organization’s successes and failures in this realm. 

Programs & Services 

• Our organization pledges to ensure that diverse communities’ perspectives and needs are considered in the planning, development, implementation, delivery, and evaluation of programs and services. 

• Our organization pledges to collect and analyze demographic information on clients/constituents and to use this information to inform our activities. 

• Our organization pledges to accurately represent our diverse clients/constituents on our website, in printed collateral, and elsewhere. 

Organizational Culture & Human Resources 

• Our organization pledges to offer DEI training to staff, leadership, Board members, key volunteers, and key partners, at least once per year. 

• Our organization pledges to create an environment in which is it possible to have difficult conversations about DEI topics by sharing clear expectations and rules of engagement for such conversations. 

• Our organization pledges to collect and analyze demographic information on employees in order to monitor staff diversity relative to the community and nation. 

• Our organization pledges to adhere to equitable hiring practices, including: publishing salary ranges in job listings for transparency; refraining from requesting salary histories from job applicants; and refraining from including degree requirements for open positions unless a given degree is materially important to the day-to-day responsibilities of the role. 

• Our organization pledges to routinely assess compensation, comparing employee salaries to industry, community, and organizational benchmarks. 

• Our organization pledges to ensure that all employees are given equitable access to professional development opportunities. 

• Our organization pledges to ensure that a formal annual review takes place for each and every staff and leadership position; that a standardized rubric is used to evaluate performance, determining promotions and merit-based raises; and that this process results in a written report that is stored in the employee’s personnel file, along with a customized professional development plan based on the employee’s goals and aptitudes.