---
title: "The Board’s DEI Role"
id: "52893"
type: "post"
slug: "the-boards-dei-role"
published_at: "2021-07-26T11:45:41+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-03-17T13:00:16+00:00"
url: "https://associationsnow.com/2021/07/26/the-boards-dei-role/"
markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2021/07/26/the-boards-dei-role.md"
excerpt: "Chief diversity officers aren’t the only ones that have an impact on an organization’s ability to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. Board members matter, too."
taxonomy_category:
  - "Governance"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "AssociationsNow"
  - "C-suite"
  - "DEI"
  - "Governance"
  - "Leadership"
  - "organizational policies"
taxonomy_content_format:
  - "Article"
taxonomy_role:
  - "Association CEO / Executive Director"
  - "C-Level"
  - "Executive Team"
taxonomy_persona:
  - "Executive Leadership"
---

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 » The Board’s DEI Role

“One common denominator for all of this is the C-suite and board skills development in diversity, equity, and inclusion,” says Yolanda Chase, chief diversity officer for the Washington Technology Industry Association. “We need to help them to prioritize DEI at the level of strategic priority.”

Chase adds that if boards are not trained properly, they often are not responsive when DEI advocates within the organization seek to make changes. “It’s not about putting [advocates] in front of the board and letting them make their business case,” Chase says. “It’s about preparing the board for acceptance of that competency.”

New research from the ASAE Research Foundation looks at ways association boards approach DEI issues, both as they relate to the board itself and the organization as a whole. In a survey, board members rated the following organizational strategies and practices as most successful in advancing DEI:

### Overall DEI

**27 percent** Regular reporting to the board

**25 percent** Formal diversity statement

**25 percent** Regular reporting to the association or public

### Diversity

**36 percent** Diversity goals tied to compensation

**36 percent** Hired outside consultant

### Equity

**33 percent** Agree about definitions and vocabulary

**33 percent** Assessment on degree of equity present

### Inclusion

**45 percent** Use small group discussions to avoid groupthink

**42 percent** Formalized onboarding of new members

**41 percent** Voting via methods that include all members

[Rasheeda Childress](https://associationsnow.com/author/rasheeda-childress/)

Rasheeda Childress is a former senior editor at Associations Now.

[More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/rasheeda-childress/)

Tags: [#C-suite](https://associationsnow.com/tag/c-suite/)
 [#DEI](https://associationsnow.com/tag/dei/)
 [#Governance](https://associationsnow.com/tag/governance/)
 [#Leadership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/leadership/)
 [#organizational policies](https://associationsnow.com/tag/organizational-policies/)

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