Several months ago the INA Board of Directors commissioned a Diversity Task Force:
To strengthen the diversity and representation of all people within our organization.
To develop ways in which nannies, au pairs, agency owners and staff from all diverse populations can be adequately represented, and to provide opportunities for connection and representation for people who would otherwise be overlooked.
To forge new relationships and provide support by bringing together people of different backgrounds, particularly of those cultures that are missing from our community currently.
This initially temporary task force was made an official INA Committee at the May Board of Directors Meeting. Their first objective was to create a survey by which to gather further information about the industry and how to best achieve the above-mentioned goals. This survey process was hindered by the COVID pandemic but was moving forward and in the final stages.
However, based on current world events around the topic of race, the committee decided to adjust their objectives for the next few months in order to provide some immediate education, discussion, and assistance on this important topic. The committee will be working on several projects over the next few months and then revisit the survey to gather even more feedback from our industry.
The first project is to inform and educate not just the INA Board of Directors and Staff on diversity and bias issues but to share that education and training with the entire industry. We will be providing free webinars to the industry, through the generous sponsorship of Adventure Nannies, which will help to continue conversations about race and diversity in our industry, with our children, and the world in general. Our hope is that this will lead to greater support for nannies when talking to their families about these issues and information for businesses who want to provide a more diverse and welcoming work environment. Our first webinar in this series, The Vocabulary of Anti Racism, taught by Judy Blair, will be Thursday, July 16, 2020, at 8 PM EST // 5 PM PST. Webinars in this Diversity Series will be open to everyone but registration is required. REGISTER HERE for The Vocabulary of Anti Racism. They will also be recorded and made available on INA’s YouTube Channel following the event.
The next project the Diversity Committee will be working on is to build and promote a digital library of resources for everyone. This will include articles, videos, books, and training suggestions to teach about implicit bias and anti-racism. They will assist individuals and businesses and even help teach children about these topics. We have been using our social media platform to share some of these resources already, and in addition to sharing other organizations’ information, we will also be creating some original blog posts on these topics. We welcome submissions from our community for our blog through this form.
Laura Schroeder, Board President, states, “I am so grateful that the INA is taking these important steps to address diversity within the industry. The Diversity Committee has been working hard and has the full support of the Board of Directors. I also want to personally thank Adventure Nannies for their generous support of our diversity education program.”
Finally, the INA Diversity Committee will be developing some internal diversity policies. These policies will help the Board and staff when planning conferences and working within our committees and will factor in the need for more inclusion in all we do.