A Letter from BSA’s Chief Diversity Officer & Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion

[Navybone]

1 minute ago, tnmule20 said:

Maybe not yet.  Give it some time.

So you do not think that it is worth giving BSA the opportunity to develop and implement a worthwhile DEI program not based on CRT? 

[tnmule20]

3 minutes ago, Navybone said:

So you do not think that it is worth giving BSA the opportunity to develop and implement a worthwhile DEI program not based on CRT? 

Didn't say that at all.  What I said is that when and/or if any component of CRT is included in the training or merit badge I'M NOT TOUCHING IT WITH A TEN FOOT POLE.  

Are you saying that you would like CRT incorporated with DEI?

[Navybone]

37 minutes ago, tnmule20 said:

Didn't say that at all.  What I said is that when and/or if any component of CRT is included in the training or merit badge I'M NOT TOUCHING IT WITH A TEN FOOT POLE.  

Are you saying that you would like CRT incorporated with DEI?

I am not saying that i want CRT incorporated into BSA's DEI effort.  I do not believe that DEI equals CRT.  And it is very capable to have a DEI effort not corrupted by CRT>  They training itself was good in that respect. 

My comment was in response to your "Maybe not yet.  Give it some time", which implies that you think CRT will be incorporated in BSA's DEI. 

[RememberSchiff]

5 hours ago, tnmule20 said:

 

Elizabeth Ramirez-Washka,

• Expanding and further supporting our five Workforce Resource Groups for employees – for members of the affinity and their allies– APACK for our Asian Pacific workforce, BSA View for our LGBTQ+ workforce, LISTOS for our Latino workforce, RISE for our women’s workforce, and The Village for our Black workforce. Each Workforce Resource Group aims to cultivate an environment where employees can seek support, mentorship, networking, and opportunities to educate, generate awareness, and foster a culture where everyone has a sense of belonging.

Some questions

Can an employee be a member of more than one Workforce Resource Group?

Can employees form a new workforce group, say

          Indigenous Peoples of BSA workforce

          Underpaid PE's workforce Union

          I Don't Have a Sense of Belonging Either workforce group

[tnmule20]

5 minutes ago, Navybone said:

My comment was in response to your "Maybe not yet.  Give it some time", which implies that you think CRT will be incorporated in BSA's DEI. 

Only time will tell.  I hope not.

[tnmule20]

 

38 minutes ago, RememberSchiff said:

Some questions

Can an employee be a member of more than one Workforce Resource Group?

Can employees form a new workforce group, say

          Indigenous Peoples of BSA workforce

          Underpaid PE's workforce Union

          I Don't Have a Sense of Belonging Either workforce group

https://www.scouting.org/about/diversity-equity-inclusion/

[FormerCubmaster]

5 hours ago, RememberSchiff said:

Some questions

Can an employee be a member of more than one Workforce Resource Group?

Can employees form a new workforce group, say

          Indigenous Peoples of BSA workforce

          Underpaid PE's workforce Union

          I Don't Have a Sense of Belonging Either workforce group

Or a “People who wouldn’t touch the clowns and grifters in National Leadership with a ten foot pole” group?

Edited October 22, 2021 by FormerCubmaster

[scoutldr]

The Scout Oath, Scout Law, Motto, Slogan, Obligation, Admonition, 10 Commandments, the Great Commandment.  How about we just do those?

[Eagle1993]

I break this up into two separate issues.  One is what they plan to do for their employees and the other for scouts & scouters.

Most larger companies have affinity groups.  From what I have been told, they help those who may feel out of place in large organizations with a clear majority of primarily one group (typically white males).  My wife worked in the fossil fuel industry out of college.  The vast majority of the workers were white older males.  There were times where meetings were held at Hooters and she told them she wasn't comfortable meeting at that location.  Their response - no issue, you don't need to come.  The affinity groups helped make her feel welcome.

The baby boomers are retiring in droves.  I'm currently working on hiring over 100 employees (primarily engineers & technicians) across three global locations.  Demand for labor is high everywhere and competition is tough.  There are simply not enough workers coming in right now to replacing those who are leaving the workforce.  If you want to compete for labor, you better be willing to pay and offer a welcoming workplace.  Plus, you simply cannot just recruit one gender/race.  If affinity groups help make your workplace more inviting to a more diverse group, I don't see a major downside.  

Ideally, over time, they can go away as your workforce and leadership becomes more diverse.   However, based on the experience of some of my friends (various non majority races/religions), wife, and recruiting efforts - they have been useful.

Now, in terms of the DEI training & merit badge ... I tend to agree it could and should have been integrated in existing merit badges.  I would also like to avoid another cyber chip type situation.  For the most part, DEI is applying the oath & law to all groups.  Personally, I think the bigger issue is that BSA's membership does not reflect the diversity of the youth in the USA.  I'm not sure if DEI will help address that, but I think it is more important to understand why we fail to appeal to a broader base of youth/parents is more important than DEI training/merit badges.

Edited October 22, 2021 by Eagle1993
typo

[qwazse]

If DE&I works for our youth, the net result will be

• scouts intentionally befriending and recruiting youth from outside their peer circle(s) or starting units in undeserved neighborhoods, and
• scouts prepared to work anywhere in this country, live in any neighborhood, and/or start their small business with the best partners -- not necessarily the ones who share a common background.

Now, that is completely different than BSA's immediate needs. They need executives who will work for very little in exchange for feeling as though they are part of a "family" that nurtures them and provides professional growth. That family includes us scouters. And I have seen scouters in my area come along-side minority DE's and help their personal growth -- not just because that's what we'd do for any young DE, but because we could tell that they felt "out of the loop" and needed to know we cared. So, I sort of get where BSA's going with this.

But let's not fool ourselves. It's not all sentimental. There's real money to be had by having a minority community adopt your program, and there's lots of real money to lose if staff or volunteers treat minority employees badly. A lot of the board members have shored up their businesses by savvy HR decisions that sometimes included getting the word out regarding their DE&I policies to everyone involved with their corporation -- employees, contractors, and clients.

Maybe there's a CRT gremlin to chase down here and there, but much of DE&I is straight-up capitalism.

Edited October 22, 2021 by qwazse

[Jameson76]

On 10/21/2021 at 9:58 AM, tnmule20 said:

 

 

• Appointing DEI leads for each of our 16 National Service Territories to partner with the leaders and troops within their territories to implement and advance our commitment to DEI. As part of this effort, we are also implementing new programs to increase recruitment and retention of diverse employees. 

• Expanding and further supporting our five Workforce Resource Groups for employees – for members of the affinity and their allies– APACK for our Asian Pacific workforce, BSA View for our LGBTQ+ workforce, LISTOS for our Latino workforce, RISE for our women’s workforce, and The Village for our Black workforce. Each Workforce Resource Group aims to cultivate an environment where employees can seek support, mentorship, networking, and opportunities to educate, generate awareness, and foster a culture where everyone has a sense of belonging.

Some observations (Similar to what others have noted)

- BSA National laid off tons of staff and continues to eliminate actual program facing staff, but they are going to add staff for DEI.  Assuming basic expected pay and benefits this will be likely over $3 MM annually in expenses

- Note that there are 5 workforce resource groups.  I guess if you are disabled, indigenous persons, or white you are pretty much not welcomed.  Interesting that the DEI head would support exclusionary and segregated groups within the workforce.  I guess my definition of inclusion must be different

[Navybone]

3 hours ago, Jameson76 said:

- Note that there are 5 workforce resource groups.  I guess if you are disabled, indigenous persons, or white you are pretty much not welcomed.  Interesting that the DEI head would support exclusionary and segregated groups within the workforce.  I guess my definition of inclusion must be different

I can't speak to disabled or Indigenous persons, but I find it laughable that you think that there needs to be a white Workforce Resource Group.  The efforts of the Workforce Resource Group are distinctly NOT about exclusionary or segregated groups within the workforce.  In fact, they are the opposite, about providing support for minorities who may not have a resource to help them integrate into a company or corporate culture.  When a majority of the workforce is white, then the structure is already supportive there integration. 

[mrjohns2]

6 hours ago, Jameson76 said:

BSA National laid off tons of staff and continues to eliminate actual program facing staff, but they are going to add staff for DEI.  Assuming basic expected pay and benefits this will be likely over $3 MM annually in expenses

Aren’t NST leads volunteers? So, no costs. 
 

Regardless, reason to spend on this vs other areas is to recognize that the BSA must become more diverse. If the BSA remains mostly white, it will continue to become increasingly irrelevant. 

[yknot]

1 hour ago, mrjohns2 said:

Aren’t NST leads volunteers? So, no costs. 
 

Regardless, reason to spend on this vs other areas is to recognize that the BSA must become more diverse. If the BSA remains mostly white, it will continue to become increasingly irrelevant. 

I would say diversity is almost as important as youth protection when it comes to irrelevancy and other issues, but not more. 

[ThenNow]

I’m not sure if this is widely known. Thoughts?

https://13wham.com/news/local/transgender-teen-kicked-out-of-boy-scout-troop