2023 NGO & Foundation Transparency Report
For the seventh consecutive year, Green 2.0 presents data on the diversity of staff and inclusivity practices of non-profit organizations (“NGOs”) and foundations in the environmental sector. After the murder of George Floyd and calls for racial and social justice in 2020, many sector organizations publicly committed to centering racial equity in internal staffing, organizational policies, and external programming. Three years later, this report serves as a key mechanism to hold organizations accountable for those promises.
Background
This report card reflects data collected from NGOs and foundations on the racial and ethnic identities, gender identities, and disability statuses represented on their staffs. NGOs also reported their diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice practices (DEIJ), while foundations reported on their demographic data practices related to grantmaking. Understanding the critical importance of evaluating and obtaining more data relevant to progress across intersectional identities, Green 2.0 has gathered information on gender identity for staff of color and disability status for the first time this year.
NGO Results
| NO | YES | |
|---|---|---|
| Have you committed financial resources to your diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) efforts? | 0 | 100% |
| Does your organization externally list salaries in job descriptions for potential job applicants? | 4.1% | 95.9% |
| Do you have diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) goals written into your strategic plan? | 5.5% | 94.5% |
| Do you have a process for addressing racial discrimination, harassment, and microaggressions? | 5.5% | 94.5% |
| Have you evaluated your recruitment and hiring processes to address bias? | 9.6% | 90.4% |
| Does staff have the opportunity to provide feedback on DEIJ initiatives? | 11% | 89% |
| Do you have a performance evaluation process for staff that is conducted at the same time across the organization? | 13.7% | 86.3% |
| Does staff have the opportunity to provide feedback on their supervisors and senior leadership through evaluations or other methods? | 15.1% | 84.9% |
| Is measurable feedback on DEIJ progress used to adjust and modify efforts? | 17.8% | 82.2% |
| Do you conduct anonymous employee satisfaction and feedback surveys? | 19.2% | 80.8% |
| Does your organization pay all interns who work with you? | 20.5% | 79.5% |
| Do you have a diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) committee? | 24.7% | 75.3% |
| Have you evaluated your board’s recruiting process for bias and inclusivity? | 37% | 63% |
| Do you have a transparent salary pay scale for all positions within the organization that is available for staff to view? | 39.7% | 60.3% |
| Do you have employee resource groups or affinity groups? | 41.1% | 58.9% |
| Do you have a transparent promotion process with guidelines for staff and supervisors? | 45.2% | 54.8% |
| Do you have unconscious or implicit bias training that all employees are required to complete? | 47.9% | 52.1% |
| Are DEIJ metrics included in performance reviews for executive and senior leadership? | 50.7% | 49.3% |
| Do you train managers on how to provide culturally appropriate feedback to staff? | 52.1% | 47.9% |
| Do you have formal mentoring programs for staff? | 83.6% | 16.4% |
| Do you ask for previous salary history when hiring staff? | 98.6% | 1.4% |
Participating NGOs reported that they provide eight weeks of paid parental leave on average, which is the same as in 2022. The paid leave benefit ranged from zero to 24 weeks, with the most reported figure being eight weeks. This is an improvement for at least one organization, as last year the maximum reported paid parental leave was 20 weeks. Expanding paid parental leave should be a top priority for NGOs if they wish to retain and support their workforce, and we consider zero paid parental leave unacceptable if equitable staff support is the goal. Rather, we recommend that organizations take the time for a deliberate review and consideration of whether current paid leave policies provide enough time off to allow for the equitable, safe, and healthy support of staff and families.
Foundation Results
Of the foundations surveyed, 64% collected demographic data on their grantees. This is a crucial step foundations should take to ensure that their funds are going to groups that are led by and support communities of color most impacted by environmental issues. Most environmental funding has historically flowed to predominantly White organizations, and foundations will have to be proactive in their efforts to address this glaring inequity.
| NO | YES | |
|---|---|---|
| Do you collect demographic data on grantees? | 36% | 64% |
Have a question?
Is your organization interested in participating in our next transparency report? Do you have questions about the data?
Contact us at Reportcard[at]diversegreen.org.