Imagine a country where every child starts out with an equal chance in life, no matter his or her race, ethnicity, or gender.
Now, picture a country where a bright child born to Latino parents is half as likely to graduate from college; where the average, hard-working African-American household holds only 14% of the assets of the average white household; and where a competently-trained woman can expect to make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes doing the same job.
Today, we live in the second country described, though we long for – and work for – the first.
The America we live in today still struggles to overcome deep and persistent historical inequalities for women and people of color. While we have made monumental strides in redressing these ills, our society still does not offer equal opportunity to all.
Fortunately, many people in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors are working to change this. Some have launched programs to encourage girls to choose math or science careers. Others have created tutoring programs to help kids from underrepresented communities graduate from high school. Colleges and universities are reaching across barriers to persuade more Latino and African-American students to choose higher education.
Some of these programs fall under the label of “affirmative action.” Affirmative action programs do not give unfair advantage to people simply because of race or gender. Instead, they level the playing field to account for historical inequities. Such programs do not advance quotas, nor do they indicate that people should be hired or retained without the necessary qualifications for a job.
Many of today’s business, political, and community leaders have benefited from affirmative action. This does not mean, by any stretch of the imagination, that these individuals are not or were not qualified for their leadership roles. It means, simply, that the colleges and employers to which they applied needed encouragement to consider non-traditional candidates.
At The Denver Foundation, we work with the nonprofit sector – organizations and people with missions to improve life in our communities. Research conducted through our Inclusiveness Project indicates that people of color are significantly underrepresented in the nonprofit sector, particularly in leadership positions and on boards of directors. Our research also indicates that programs and activities supporting people of color have successfully removed barriers to their participation in the sector.
Through the years, we have seen organizations struggle to become more diverse and inclusive. This takes persistence and time. Groups with every good intention and desire need some help to change how they have traditionally operated in terms of hiring, staff development, board recruitment, and program delivery. As they have taken intentional, holistic, affirmative steps in the direction of inclusiveness, they report that they are more efficient and effective at delivering their programs, better at developing positive work environments, and that they have improved recruitment and retention of staff.
Some people would have you believe that this long-term, concentrated work isn’t necessary that we can snap our fingers and become the country described in our opening sentence.
We know that the country envisioned in our Constitution is the country in which the people of Colorado hope to live. However, this country of equal opportunity for all will not be built through hope alone. Many people are working diligently to address unfairness and build the country of our ideals through action. They are considering how their hiring, educational, and recruitment practices might perpetuate a lack of opportunity. And they are working to make equal opportunity a reality for all. We are making progress, but we are not yet there.
Boulder attorney Rich Lopez is chair of the board of trustees of The Denver Foundation, and David Miller is the foundation’s president.
This online-only column was not edited.
