Evaluators of color speak out about experiences with foundations and evaluation firms
Philanthropy is increasingly committed to social change, yet many foundations and evaluation firms still have much work to do to address internal issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The norm in many of these organizations is for leadership to be primarily or exclusively white, while people of color are typically in assistant or associate-level positions tasked with collecting data from and interfacing with communities.
With support from The James Irvine Foundation, Engage R+D hosted a series of listening sessions with evaluators of color based in California who work with philanthropic clients to better understand their experiences working in the field and what professional development supports they would value. These conversations shed light on what employers in these fields can do to shift the status quo. Firms’ and foundations’ opportunities for action go beyond a focus on hiring, covering the full career life cycle, from broadening recruitment efforts, to strongly supporting retention, to making ongoing DEI improvements into the future.
