The Burden of Bias in the Bay State: The Nonprofit Racial Leadership Gap in Massachusetts

The Building Movement Project has released The Burden of Bias in the Bay State: The Nonprofit Racial Leadership Gap in Massachusetts. This report offers findings from the subset of 2019 respondents who work in Massachusetts. It builds upon the findings of the 2019 Race to Lead Revisited report, as well as a previous report on the Massachusetts nonprofit sector from the 2016 Race to Lead survey data. The report explores how the burden of implementing DEI initiatives in historically white-dominated organizations continues to fall to people of color, despite some progress in awareness of white privilege and strides towards diversifying leadership in the local sector.

In particular, this Massachusetts report offers insights on:

• Data reported by Massachusetts nonprofit sector employees regarding both their aspirations to lead and the barriers they face to professional advancement;

• Respondent experiences of and views on the engagement of Massachusetts nonprofits with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and the challenges faced by staff and CEOs of color related to DEI efforts in the state;

• Recommendations and opportunities for change for the Massachusetts nonprofit sector.

To learn more, download the full report and check it out on our Race to Lead website: https://racetolead.org/ma-2019