Read at Nexus Media.
Environmental groups are more racially diverse than they were five years ago, but they are still whiter than the national population, and far whiter than the communities harmed most by pollution and the impacts of climate change, the latest Green 2.0 report finds. Of full-time staff at environmental organizations, 36.5% identified people of color. Of senior staff, 34% identified as people of color, and 31% of groups were led by a person of color.
“NGOs and staff are becoming more diverse, but the higher you go, diversity declines,” Johanna Chao Kreilick, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, told E&E. Released Tuesday, the annual survey includes data from 68 non-profits (64 of the 80 from which data was requested and four that volunteered) and 20 foundations (of the 40 from which data was requested).
“It’s really important that as environmental groups, we’re not just looking at communities of color and saying, ‘This is what they need,’” said Green 2.0 executive director Andres Jimenez. “We really need to make sure that our organizations are as diverse as possible so that we’re bringing their voices to the table to speak about how climate change is impacting their communities.”