Diversity In the Non-Profit world.. Where is it? I can't SEE it...

When I found out the topic was Diversity this week, I was excited to write this blog. Now, as I start to write it, I wonder if I am going to share anything new with the readers -- or if what you will read are things you already know...

I think the most obvious observation to make about diversity related to non-profits is that the field is dominated by white women, many white men in positions of leadership, and limited folks of colour in any position. Research indicates that folks of colour are around 20%, depending on the issue area, with environmental based organizations are lowest. And only 8% of Executive Directors were "racially diverse". It doesn't stop there, it stated that 80% of Board Members are white, and a majority of volunteers are white (http://communitywealth.com/the-state-of-diversity-in-the-nonprofit-sector/).

Why is this happening? Well, culture and cycles continue to reproduce themselves...and this is no different. See image below of the self-reinforcing cycle of majority white staff.



It's a tough balance to strike, because we know that women are minorities in leadership roles, but do dominate "helper" fields. The challenge I have experienced, more than 5 times, is having a "Women's Leadership Conference" or "Speaker Series" - and that being dominated by white women.

I also don't think I need to explain why diversity is important - but I will. When are diverse as an ecosystem, we become more productive and can generate innovative ideas when we bring people of various backgrounds together, it aids perspective building, we can understand and break down the complexities in the world, it can create real acceptance - not just tolerance, it supports a richer life experience, and it enhances our social development and understanding of the world around us (ie. global citizenship).

And yes, it IS getting better, and we do have more diversity of folks involved in the non-profit sector - but I think we are moving too slowly. What can we do to differently? Any ideas?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts...

- The Educator, Artist, and the Activist 

The trend of enterprising non-profits...

Hi folks! I'm back!

I know it's been a while since my last post, but I'm back in school. I'm currently taking a few courses at Algonquin College, which include Introduction to Non-Profit Management. I’m really enjoying the course – the content is quite engaging and I am learning a lot.

One of my first assignments is address an important or challenging issue facing non-profit organizations today. The issue that I would like to have a discussion about is the concept of “enterprising non-profits”. I believe that there is added pressure for non-profit organizations to a) address the core of their social issue that they are working towards, b) create ways of either generating income, or employment and c) finding alternative ways of funding themselves (as one of the biggest worries for a non-profit organization is funding).

So, what is a social enterprise? What makes it different than a non-profit organization?

In a few words, a social enterprise “makes money, and does good for the world”. A social enterprise can refer to a for-profit business entity with a social mission, or it can also be a non-profit if there is some type of product or service offered. Social enterprises can broadly be defined as “any organization or business that uses the market- oriented production and sale of goods and/or services to pursue a public benefit mission.” Now, social enterprises are not new concepts – they have been around for centuries. Take for example, a museum or art gallery – their social enterprise? A gift shop! A way to generate revenue to support the exhibit. Simple, isn’t it? Brilliant business model, for a non-profit, don’t you think? So why are talking about social enterprises more? As I mentioned above, I believe that this generation really wants to address the core of a social issue. Ie. They are less interested in funding a food bank, but rather, curbing food insecurity as a whole. Non-profit organizations have been stereotyped has operating with their heart, and not having a “business mind”. They also have a tendency to focus on charity, and not change within the system. While having a good heart is the crux of a non-profit, is that changing in 2018? I think it is. 
Does that have to change? I’m really not sure….

So, what is the future of non-profits?

I work with many highly engaged students (we call Student Leaders) at Algonquin College, and many of them want to address some sort of social issue, or give back to their community. I have met with over 20 students in the last year who are either Business (as their Major) students who want to start a social enterprise, or non-Business (Major) students who want to start a non-profit organization or a social enterprise. When these students are getting ready to start something, they want to make it “socially-minded” – that is what I have noticed. Many students are nervous about starting their own non-profit organization, because they are worried about money, or "core funding". It is more appealing to start a business, using a social enterprise model. People feel good about creating change, and making money. With the power of Crowdfunding, it is also a lot easier to start, and fund a great initiative. 

The reality is, good, or bad, social enterprises are becoming the “new norm” for many non-profits who feel the pressure to change the way they operate, for whatever reason that might be. Take a look at Operation Come Home, for example, a long-standing non-profit in Ottawa, which now has over 5 social enterprises. I see this happening more and more.

So, where do we go from here? How does one manage this trend?

I think that I would like to wrap up by saying, whether you are managing a non-profit or a social enterprise, it’s your responsibility to make sure that your organization is sustainable, and creating lasting impact in your local or global community. There are some amazing social enterprises, that are creating brilliant impact. However, there are some social enterprises that are using the term, to gain supporters – yet all the while, not creating any social good, or creating more problems in communities. As a famous Ivan Illich speech once said “The road to hell is paved with good intensions”.

Here is an example, for a social enterprise - TOMS Shoes. Below are four articles that outline some major challenges with their social enterprise.

Link 1: https://www.triplepundit.com/2012/04/problem-charity-model-toms-shoes/

Link 2: https://www.racked.com/2015/7/27/9046207/toms-shoes-charity-poverty

Link 3: https://www.vox.com/2015/7/23/9025975/toms-shoes-poverty-giving

Link 4: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/one-one-business-model-social-impact-avoiding-unintended-consequences/

“You’re pretty smart, but poor people know more about their needs than you do”

So, what do you think? 

Are you thinking of enterprising your non-profit organization? Is there room in Canadian society of non-profit organizations and social enterprises? Where will we be 10 years from now? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts...



In solidarity,

- The Educator, Artist, and the Activist 

So I have this idea...

Greetings Readers! 

Ever had a great idea? Like, a really really really great idea? How about a good idea, with good intentions... but something just... didn't sit right? It didn't end well? Well, good or bad... many ideas come to life! By the magic of marketing, and media, some ideas become an overnight sensation. As technology continues to aid globalization, the online world has become increasingly diligent about these "good ideas" and shedding some light on them after their initial praise. 

Here are some recent and quite well known videos and ideas, that received some controversy. Even with the "bad" some "good" did follow.

Dove's Real Beauty Campaign - Let's start off with the most controversial campaign happening right now. Dove's new "Real Beauty Campaign" has come up with another video, to follow their incredible Dove Evolution video. The concept? Many women meeting other women. They then describe themselves to a sketch artist. The other women they meet with then describe them to the sketch artist. Both sketches are shown to the person. They are much different. What's the problem? Firstly, it features primarily white, attractive women. The real "take away" from this video is that women SHOULD care whether a stranger thinks she is beautiful or not. And finally, it defines beauty as thin and young.

What's the other problem? It has just become the most watched internet commercial of all time. Unilever, which owns Dove, also owns Slimfast and Axe. Axe known for is incredibly sexist marketing campaigns.

So, what happened? Lots and lots of backlash! Lots! For every glowing and positive comment for the video on youtube, there is an equally negative and thought provoking comment.

Fitch The Homeless - An incredibly controversial campaign that is currently happening right now. CEO Mike Jefferies of Abercromie and Fitch made some comments essentially stating that he only wants thin, cool and beautiful people shopping at his stores. The response was "Fitch the Homeless" - a video where Greg Karber hands out of a bunch of Abercrombie clothing to homeless people. Appears good in nature, right? Sadly, his video makes the point that homeless people are "not cool" or "beautiful" - the antithesis of Abercrombie culture.

The response? Mixed. People are in support of #fitchthehomeless (twitter rally), and literally going to donate all of their Abercrombie clothing to homeless people - while some criticize it through various platforms including blogs and counter videos.

BIC Pen for Women - A pen created just for women, and it's "the only choice"! This sleek pen, bedazzled with jewels, comes in bright colours - specifically pink and purple. Frankly, it's condescending and relies on outdated concepts of what it is to be "a girl".

The response? Comedian Ellen's famous parody, with over 2 million views ignites the flame. Thousands reply with comments on amazon.com (where you can buy the product) which include "Someone has answered my gentle prayers and FINALLY designed a pen that I can use all month long! I use it when I'm swimming, riding a horse, walking on the beach and doing yoga... Since I've begun using these pens, men have found me more attractive and approachable. It has given me soft skin and manageable hair and it has really given me the self-esteem I needed to start a book club and flirt with the bag-boy at my local market... Those smart men in marketing have come up with a pen that my lady parts can really identify with." "I see this comes in a sleek design. But as a "full-figured" woman, do these pens come in "curvy and carefree?" and finally, my favourite "I can't find a switch to turn it on, and it didn't come with batteries. This is not the "for her" product I was expecting. At all." Bad news - it's still on shelves. For now.

Hero T-Shirts  - Essentially stating that young girls need a hero, and young men should be a hero. They also imply heteronormativity by implying that only women "kiss heroes".

The good news? A huge petition and twitter rally, which resulted in the Disney Store removing ONE of the shirts ("I need a hero"). This is a big step, as it shows us that Disney IS listening. When we come together, with a great idea, we have the power to make changes!

As mentioned before in previous posts, this blog has focused on the concept of the 21st Century Learner, as stated by the Alberta Government. 

So why were these ideas great? Or at least initially considered great? Well, they were all extremely creative in their own way. They used their digital literacy skills to communicate a their message. The use of twitter, youtube, and facebook (to name a few) allowed for mass communication (millions and millions of people) with very little cost. Finally, each attempted to spread a message of social responsibility by taking (primarily first world) resources and using them for "good" - solely because they could. Each of these videos showed engagement in the cause, a sense of ethics (not fully thought through) and an entrepreneurial spirit.

This is the wheel that I've been living by for the last 6 weeks. That I've been thinking about every day! I quite like it. This post is really meant to encompass ALL aspects of this concept. An IDEA navigates through all competencies of a 21st Century Learner. All students have IDEAS. What's the big picture - An idea needs to be ethical, and thought provoking while ultimately promoting the ideas of entrepreneurialship. When working through an idea, no matter how big or small, each one of the competencies will come into play at some point or another. Is it possible for students to come up with incredibly creative, collaborative, socially responsibly and critically thought out messages and communicate that with the outside world? Can they be ethical citizens, engaged thinkers while still having an entrepreneurial spirit? The answer is yes! Check out these incredible ideas...with incredible results! (Feel free to show these to your students).

Love Letter - A young woman dealing depression, writes through it. She begins to write love letters to strangers. Then strangers start requesting her to write letters. It continues...

Project Unbreakable - A blog created in 2011, Grace Brown works with survivors of sexual assault. She  photographs them holding a poster with a quote from their attacker. Over 400 people have participated (and over 1000 people have submitted a request). Liberation. Awareness. Good idea.

Goldie Box - Semi controversial, but I will stick up for it. Debbie Sterling was taught that "engineering" was for boys. She learned later on that only 11% of engineers are women, and girls start to lose interest in science as young as age 8! She started a KickStarter campaign for GoldieBlox - to inspire girls to develop an early interest and skill in engineering.

Post Secret - An ongoing community art project, where in which people mail a anonymous homemade postcard with their biggest, deepest, darkest secrets. Check out this inspiring TED Talk by Frank Warren, the founder of Post Secret. He also mentions someone who started I found your Camera, which is equally as awesome!

Ball Pit Love - Sit in a ball pit and meet a stranger.

Clouds - The most viral video going on RIGHT NOW. Zach Sobiech learned he was dying of bone cancer. All he wanted to do was write songs and record them, as a way to say goodbye to the world. He passed away on May 20th 2013. Here are his Zach's final words. You might ask why I included this? Well, Zach was a student who initiated every single aspect of a 21st Century Learner. It's not how he died that made him famous, it's how he chose to live.

Do your students have great ideas? How do you channel them?

Well, send them to any of these following websites for a start!

Do SOMETHING!

Creative Funding Start Up!

Fund Your Ideas!

Young Entrepreneur!

Make Change

TEACHERS! Students will have always have ideas. How they work through these ideas is guided (facilitated or activated) by YOU. You must be able to also be a 21st Century Learner and teacher in order to move this philosophy through your students. I'm sure teachers have shown Fitch The Homeless or Dove's Real Beauty Campaign videos in classrooms. 

What do you have to say? Ever had any great ideas that weren't so great? How do you encourage students to become critical thinkers? Can you show any of these videos in your classroom to begin a dialogue about what media is really trying to tell us? Would you catch the problematic nature of the ideas? The hardest part of this wheel, is truly putting these competencies into action. The other thing (as mentioned in previous posts) is how do we evaluate these competencies? Do you have any other resources for students? All dialogue is welcomed!

Much love,

The Artist, The Educator and The Activist

*Follow me on twitter @roxcarter 

References

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/sexist-avengers-t-shirts-_n_3063942.html

He Said... She Said... Who Else Said?

Greetings Readers! I hope you enjoyed the first post that I wrote... and I sincerely hope you enjoy my second post! Referring back to the 21st Century Learner, this post will focus on the ideas of critical thinking, communication, social responsibility and cultural awareness. These competencies are constantly overlapping, and are inexplicably linked!

You know when someone is making a joke, and you know it's a joke... but you don't get it? And you laugh anyways? Well, that happened to me when I was 16 years old at Improv Camp, in the deep woods of Regina, Saskatchewan. I met a someone named Alex, and everyone (including "himself") called this person "Al Gender".  Al had piece of paper that "he" would carry in his pocket, and there was a self-drawn cartoon image of "him" in a blue sweater, with spiky brown hair and a puzzled look on his face. There was a caption above which said "Gender can't decide". I didn't get it... but I laughed along with "him" and everyone else! Do you get it? It's really not a trick question... I promise. To put you at ease (and myself after 10 years), the answer is easy - he couldn't decide his gender. Logical answer right???? Wait a minute... you might be asking yourself... you can decide your gender? I'm here to tell you, in the words of Barack Obama... 

YES WE CAN. 

                                                        

  

I was introduced to basic sociological and critical theories when I was in my fourth year critical theory and performance course with Dr. David Fancy at Brock University. Dr. Fancy challenged and changed the way I see the world I live in, and how I act in that world. Among the millions of things I learned, I learned about binary systems or binary oppositions. Binaries are pairings that are completely opposite in meanings, such as "on" or "off",  "man" or "woman", and "gay" and "straight". But what about anything in-between? Nope, of course not! Up until that point, I had been taught that the world we lived in operated in binaries, and that if you weren't one thing - you were the other. If the light was not on, it was off. If you were not a boy, you were a girl. If you were not straight, you were gay. Now I was learning that that was not entirely accurate? Simultaneously, I learned about Judith Butler and performativity, sex and gender. Her theories weren't that hard to grasp. We perform our gender roles, and re-inforce them. However, the reality is pink is not a "girl's colour" and boys aren't the only kids who can play with toy trucks - however, society has constructed us to think that and reproduce these types of ideas. It was also in this course and understanding through Butler that I learned that sex and gender are totally different things! Sex refers to ones biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women. Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes of a human being. Male and Female are sex categories while Masculine and Feminine are gender categories. QUE PASA???? Really??  Still feeling shaky? Don't worry... I was too! Take a look at this chart! It also introduces a few more things that I will be talking about, so pay attention!

Wait? What? Didn't get that... Watch this video to get a complete and incredibly simple understanding. People that are the "norm" - straight, and identify with their prescribed gender never really have to question their place on the gender continuum. See where you fall in this What's your identity spectrum, you might be surprised! So where do we go from here? “In understanding gender as distinct from sex, the goal is at least in part to recast the dyad of male/masculine and female/feminine as a non-binary opposition” (Nel & Paul, 2011)  We must challenge binaries of gender! 

I've bombarded you with so much and you have handled it with such grace (that is, if you are still reading). I assume you have heard of abbreviation of LGBTQ, but have you heard of LGBTQQIAAP? Below, I will provide you with some basic definitions so we can move forward. 

Lesbian - Women that are only attracted to women.

Gay - Men that are only attracted to men. Gay can also be used to describe homosexual men and women.

Bisexual - A person that is attracted to both sexes.

Transgendered - A person that has/is transitioning to the opposite sex, as they were born as the wrong sex/in the wrong body. (Female to male. Male to female).

Queer - A person that does not want to label themselves as, e.g. Lesbian, so they call themselves queer instead.

Questioning - Someone that is questioning their sexual orientation, unsure which gender/s they are attracted to.

Intersex - Someone who was born with genitals that do not allow them to be distinctly identified as male or female sex. This is also seen as "genital ambiguity". 

Asexual - A person that isn't sexually attracted to either gender or sex.

Allies - A straight person that supports the LGBT(QQIAAP) community.

Pansexual - A person that is attracted to a person because of their personality. They do not care what gender they date, they care about what is on the inside.

Still want a little more? Check out John Corvino's Alphabet Soup. Here he discusses all things that are important to understand about sexual orientation and gender identity. I also highly suggest you watch more of his videos!

So, where are we now?? Right, some people don't fit into the prescribed gender boxes that society asks them to fill out. Some people identify as both, one, or none! Some people don't identifiy with "he" or "she" because they operate outside of the gender binary. This article The realm between "He" and "She" does a really good job in explaining how some individuals prefer to be called "they" "ze" "per" or "hir".  

So after ALL THIS... what's my point? My point is don't assume. Don't assume gender, and don't assume sexual orientation. Just don't do it! Don't make comments that reinforce gender, or sexual preferences to fit the norm. For example "Look at Tommy sitting with all of the girls. What a ladies man!" You just assumed that every girl sitting with Tommy is a) in fact a "girl" and b) all the girls are straight and are attracted to Tommy. You also assumed that c) Tommy is straight and is attracted to all of the "girls" and d) Tommy is in fact a "boy". This goes for your students, and anybody else you encounter. If you meet someone and you assume the default norm (straight and performing their assigned gender), that means that you are seeing someone who does not identify as that as someone else - as "other". “Genuine and thorough comprehension of Otherness is possible only if the self can somehow negate or at least severely bracket the values, assumptions, and ideology of his culture” (Counsell & Wolf, 2011). How does one do that? Well, to understand someone else,  you must not only "walk a mile in their shoes" but also realize that people can wear different shoes and your shoes are not the "right" or "regular" or "normal" kind - even if they might be the dominant shoe. To be even more cliché, they also say if the shoe fits - wear it (I'm going for the whole "be yourself" bit here). If you want to know how to describe a student, simply ask "What is your preferred gender pronoun". You can provide options or fill in the blank!

Here are some a variety of amazing resources to check out that can aid LGBTQQIAAP Students and Educators:

R U Coming Out? - Inspires, supports and unites those who are living their lives "in the closet". 

Equalize Youth - Read support stories from all around the world!

Egale - Canada's only national charity promoting LGBTQ human rights through research, education and community engagement.

The Pirate Tree - Social Justice through Children's Literature.

Turn The Page - Make a group, get together, and discuss some of these articles!

Readers... your time to shine! What are your thoughts on this topic? Did you have a few learning moments, or was this all old news to you?! Have you encountered any students who don't fall into the gender binaries? It's great to share stories, but it is even better to share some solutions or problems we are still encountering.  How do we solve the gender or sex box dilemma? Take a look at these resources, are they helpful? Can you use them in your classroom? What are some strengths and limitations? Any dialogue is welcomed!

Stay tuned next week for my blog about another emerging topic in education!

Much love,

The Artist, The Educator and The Activist

*Follow me on twitter @roxcarter 

References

›Counsell, C. & Wolf, L. (2001) Performance Analysis. Routledge. 

Nel, P. & Paul. L. (2011) Keywords for Children’s Literature.

http://www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/genderandsex/modules/butlerperformativity.html

http://rancom.wordpress.com/2012/07/14/telephone/ (Image)

http://verganza-de-sasuke.deviantart.com/art/Identity-Spectrum-Template-210947294