It was gratifying to get the messages of how folks had looked forward to the DEI workshop that had been scheduled with new author, Kimberlee Yolanda Williams and best-selling author, Debby Irving, for April 21st. Unforeseen circumstances required that the workshop be postponed. However, both authors are eagerly looking forward to the rescheduled workshop come this Fall.
In the meantime, look for forthcoming advertisement for a DEI Drop-In Meeting, planned for Thursday, May12th at 5:30pm, via zoom. As a reminder, DEI Drop-In Meetings are informal, unrecorded gathering of our NYS League members held for them to discuss with each other, and any available members of the LWVNYS DEI Task Force, their DEI challenges, and successes. If questions are minimal, there is always a point of discussion or inquiry that will be presented for attendee consideration. The purpose of the Drop-In Meeting is to create a “brave space” to hold the DEI discussions you may have difficulties holding elsewhere, and to foster continual growth and understanding.
One of the messages I provided at the Regional Trainings, that I had some further inquiry about afterward, was the advisement to look at Four P’s when trying to assess your league chapter for what needs to change to bring down barriers to diversity and inclusion. Along with applying a DEI Lens and looking at each part of your operation… membership, voter services, advocacy, governance, etc., the Four P’s can give you yet another tool to help drill down to determine what change can make a difference for your league.
What are the Four P’s?! Once you have targeted the area to concentrate on, check each of these for how they are applied to support inclusivity, or to exist as barriers: People, Policies, Procedures, and Practices. This is a filtering process that will get you deeper into your analysis of the opportunities to make meaningful change. DEI literature is not actually uniformly nor consistent with which Four P’s to use… there are others … but after reviewing the frequency of citations along with my own experience in management and leadership, I confidently settled on these P’s as effect options. Let me know how it works for you as a local league as I try to also apply them at the State Board level. Questions? Email Regina Tillman at rmt370@gmail.com. Thank you!
