Diversity Discussion Notes: Meeting May 13-15, 1999

Following is a summary of ideas about possible explorations and actions on the subject of diversity, as discussed at the Mid-Year Sector Conference last May (1999) in Keystone, Colorado. This summary covers comments from plenary and small group discussions and includes as an appendix a further contribution prepared by Diane Lynch over the summer.

Diversity has, of course, been a major subject of discussion at SPIDR meetings for some years, and Gail Bingham is moving ahead with the important proposal on the Fellowship Program for SPIDR Board consideration. The ideas discussed at Keystone supplement that broader effort which so many SPIDR members and sectors have participated in.

The Fellowship Program would be a major step forward for SPIDR, and the richness of ideas about potential action embrace many additional dimensions. The overarching concept developed at Keystone is that the Fellowship Program should be considered one element of a multi-part strategy, still to be defined, that involves the actions of individual members as well as the organization as a whole.

The Sector discussion in Baltimore will offer an opportunity for members to volunteer to work on the development of a Sector strategy and/or specific aspects of the diversity issue.

Last May, participants in the Sector discussion about diversity tended to approach the issue in different ways, and their comments and ideas are grouped below under a few headings that reflect a basic orientation. Some participants pointed out that because diversity is part of the bigger problems of race and power, it is easy to get overwhelmed and trapped in inactivity. A non-diverse or largely White professional organization like SPIDR wants to do something, but will worry that its gestures may seem hollow or presumptuous or condescending or worse. Most people emphasized in their comments that despite the potential for mistakes, we all need to work hard to make diversity a reality. Whatever SPIDR does as an organization is not, the participants said in many ways, a substitute for the individual actions that practitioners must also take.

Redefining the Field

Many participants in the discussions pointed out that the "field" as we refer to it can be redefined to include all the many community and governmental dispute resolvers of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds who are already active in the country and the world. Defining the field as "us" with our dominant culture slant and asking what keeps "them" from joining is, in this view, a typically "dominant" way of looking at things. "We" define the rules of membership and allow "them" to join if they pass muster. It is important to look at the full diversity of the field. NCPCR has worked hard at sponsoring a conference that honors diversity programmatically, in its leadership, as well as by participation. Some noted that SPIDR-member participation at NCPCR may be lacking as demonstrated by how few sector members plan on attending, and that the NCPCR seminars aren't as relevant for their areas of interest as those offered by SPIDR. The contrast of the two conferences and the fact that they seem to appeal to different constituencies point out how difficult the task of redefining the field may be.

The first task for SPIDR, according to this viewpoint, is to reach out to the organizations and cultures that already have dealt successfully with this issue and to minority communities directly. We need to learn how their conceptions of the field differ from ours and how we may be able to form alliances with groups for mutual benefit. What, after all, do we have to offer to each other that would provide real benefit? Some participants pointed out that the membership of the SPIDR sector includes a large group of professionals who are working hard to market services to major public institutions and to secure contracts for work. If we are talking about making access to such benefits more widely available to people of color – that would be an honest starting point. On the other hand, White professionals can't pretend to be effective mediators in many communities of color engaged in environmental disputes. So there is a basis in that relationship for mutual gain. In other words, it is a sound business decision to form alliances of this type.

Barriers to Participation

Several participants focused on the barriers to participation in the environmental and public policy dispute resolution field, as it is presently practiced in most governmental institutions.

Some expressed the view that professionals in this field can be expected to reflect the same kind of ethnic imbalance that most other (relatively) high-paying professions do. American society makes it easier for Whites than for people of color to get more education and move more quickly up the professional ladder. That is no cause for complacency, but it is also a sign that changing that situation is not going to be easy. Several participants asked: if access to education is a barrier, what have the academic programs in conflict management done to enhance recruitment of people of color? This is something we can learn from, since universities have been in the spotlight on this issue for so long.

There is cultural bias in the conflict resolution models that we have been using. Reference is often made to the "North American model" – a euphemism for cultural norms growing out of European-American experience. SPIDR and/or its members can continue working to identify the cultural biases inherent in "negotiation", "power", "conflict", "interest", "agreement" and other basic concepts of our work.

People of color who do perform dispute resolution are often not recognized as "real" professionals by the majority institutions. The teaching, medical, and other professions have made efforts to broaden the basis for certification and financing of such professionals – what can we learn from their experience?

Some participants noted that the experiences and priorities of communities of color are often different from those defined by governmental institutions, industry or White environmental organizations. Dispute resolution may not meet the interests of communities of color, and professionals from these communities may not choose ADR as the best career to advance their interests.

Practical Action by SPIDR

Participants saw several areas for action by SPIDR:

Address the issue of the cost of attending SPIDR conferences
Work on helping reduce and/or finding scholarship money to meet the cost of education and training in the field of dispute resolution
Integrate the principles of diversity into the core organizational values of SPIDR (already being worked on?)
Create and maintain resources for learning about diversity in the context of this field, starting with lists of programs, writings, practices, models, etc.
Consult with and integrate policies of National Environmental Justice Advisory Council
Revise Fellowship proposal and pursue that concept
Start dialogues with NCPCR and other organizations that have made progress on diversity
Emphasize action – we can't just offer ideals without walking the talk.
The $5 million plan – raise money to fund 100 social change agents, each paid $50,000 per year
Learn about and recognize as an organization the various forms of practice in different ethnic settings
Hold sector meetings in locations accessible to all
Actively reach out to people/communities for members, partners – it's not enough to advertise and wait for responses.
Make changes to "conference culture" to create an inviting and supportive atmosphere for all
Reach out to universities and other professional organizations (especially American Planning Association) that have been through this before and found ways to do it right
The sector could create a fund to finance different kinds of interventions
Reach out to kids in conflict resolution programs – invite youth to sector meetings
Profile/ publicize those we can learn from who are not sector members
SPIDR can survey members, find out what they are doing, can do, and what support they need
SPIDR Contact Person to help get into field

a. Provide information on courses, trainings, internships, fellowships, research sites/resources, networks, etc.
b. Pro-active in seeking out minorities and provide information

Organize focus groups with people of color who are really skeptical about what we do – learn what they see in our practice
Change the sector name to reflect a broader understanding of what is covered by environment and public policy

Practical Action by Individuals/Organizations

Some people felt that SPIDR should not be the main focus of change. Individuals have to make personal commitments.

Partnering with and/or mentoring people of color is a sound, indeed necessary, business practice. Environmental issues are so closely interwoven with communities of color today that anyone working in the field has probably already taken steps to achieve a more diverse practice.
Individual practitioners need to work on the problem of relating social justice to the concept of the neutral intervenor. (This can also be an area for SPIDR research.)
Individuals need to look at the big picture context of institutional racism and sexism – learn more about the full meaning of diversity in this society.
Avoid the idea that you have "given at the office" by supporting a SPIDR organizational initiative. Each person needs to ask: What have I done today to make my practice reflect the principles of diversity?
"Cultural competence" is not just a matter of considering skin color but requires a deep examination of what people in different communities value and why, etc.
Build mentoring of community people into contracts for facilitation/mediation
Make a personal commitment to set up learning opportunities for oneself and others
Get involved in the community of color issues in your town – respectfully, without arrogance, with attitude that you are learning from their leadership

Defining Success

We will be able to effectively address most significant public policy issues:

Distribution of money
Violence
Community, family breakdown, etc.
Profession that is broadened to include people of all ethnic/ affinity groups
We won't have to ask this question anymore
Mentor one person to help diversify field – each one mentor one – will be common practice
Diverse peoples wanting to be part of sector
Membership that includes folks from variety of class, education and other backgrounds
Interns/fellows will be sector leadership
There will be more staff in ADR organizations from different ethnic/racial background
More members of the sector will be helping on racial, ethnic problems/conflicts
We would know what is going on out there even if "we" weren't doing it.
There would not be a need for a Black SPIDR, a Hispanic SPIDR, etc.
Remove networking barriers – go to historically black colleges/ community colleges
We will be reaching out to advocacy groups – could be training or just working with them in other ways
We would have a commitment to address issues that don't have stable, normal funding
This room would look different
We will all have more cross cultural skills
We would still be having this conversation
We would still be an umbrella organization even if those were caucuses.

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