Looking
Forward: JLPA•MP Board of Directors Passes Inclusion Statement
This fall, the JLPA•MP Board of Directors approved the
League’s first formal Inclusion Statement. We went behind the scenes to learn
about the process that brought this statement to life and what it means for our
League. What follows are excerpts from a conversation between Communications
Committee Member Chiara Sani and
Board Member-At-Large Michelle Rodriguez Flores, who chairs the ad-hoc Diversity
and Inclusion Committee and is a Diversity and Inclusion Program Manager at
VMware.
What was the genesis of the
Inclusion Statement?
The Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) has
been empowering Leagues to become more inclusive and has provided great
resources and guidance to our League. The inclusion message sent by AJLI really
resonated with JLPA•MP President Sara
Hollister, who reached out to me because of my professional work in this
field. Sara is a leader with a vision and she is very passionate about
inclusion. Within our League there has been a lot interest in and many
conversations on the subject.
What were the next steps?
Last year
the JLPA•MP Board decided to create an ad-hoc committee to work on inclusion
strategy. Because of my passion for the subject and my years of professional
experience, the Board invited me to work on the inclusion strategy for the
JLPA•MP.
Can you tell us more about why this
process is important now?
The JLPA•MP is a very welcoming group, but we are still
faced with the stereotype of what a woman in the League does or looks like.
Rolling out a JLPA•MP inclusion strategy is an important step toward reflecting
the reality of our League, retaining great members, as well as, recruiting new
members who can feel they are part of an organization that values their roots,
background and experiences.
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In other words, diversity is making sure we have the best
mix of members that reflects our broader community and inclusion is making sure
that the diversity mix works. We have to make sure that our environment is as
inclusive as possible so that any woman who wants to contribute to our League
can bring her full self, talents and leadership to make our League the best it
can be.
Now that the Board has passed the
Inclusion Statement, what are the next steps?
The strategy and the new Inclusion Statement were presented
at the January General Membership Meeting. The Diversity and Inclusion
Committee will now leverage other groups within the League, to facilitate a
strategic roll out. The goal will be making inclusion an integral part of what
the League promotes, values and reflects, in all its aspects. The Board of
Directors and the ad-hoc Diversity and Inclusion Committee have a clear vision
of how inclusion will improve how our League reflects and mirrors the
demographics of our community.
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