PMC Joins Coalition of International Development Organizations Committed to Racial & Ethnic Equity
Population Media Center (PMC), the global sustainability nonprofit and broadcast production partner, is now a member of the Coalition for Racial & Ethnic Equity in Development (CREED). Membership indicates an organizational commitment to building racial and ethnic equity (REE) in the international development and humanitarian sector.
“CREED seems to be at the nexus of this movement and the general diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts many companies and organizations are trying to implement in their spaces and teams,” shared PMC Program Manager Sandy Joseph who led PMC’s interest in CREED. “As a young Black female working in development, this is the first time I have seen a group crafted to specifically address a lack of DEI in the field—it is long overdue.”
To join CREED, PMC’s President and Founder Bill Ryerson endorsed, signed, and supported the membership pledge.
“We’re committed to continual learning on inclusiveness, diversity, equity, and accessibility issues at PMC, so joining CREED and endorsing the pledge was a natural step toward that commitment,” shared Ryerson.
The 21-page pledge includes five key components organizations must include to build a culture of racial and ethnic equity and transform the international development sector.
- Component 1: Policy and Systems – Commitment and accountability to REE in US-based organizational policies and systems.
- Component 2: People, Leadership, and Organizational Structure – Racial and ethnic diversity across the organization regarding roles, responsibilities, and compensation parity.
- Component 3: Organizational Culture – All staff feel respected and valued, and experience physical and psychological safety in the workplace.
- Component 4: Accountability – Demonstrated implementation of REE commitments, measurement of progress in concrete ways, and regular reporting both internal and externally.
- Component 5: Communications and Transparency – Leaders speak credibly and openly about REE goals, progress, and outcomes internally and externally.
The pledge also includes several commitment statements for organizational leaders and staff, including: “building awareness of and address systemic racism, institutional discrimination, western white centeredness, and white privilege in the international development and humanitarian assistance sector writ large.”
“For all of our staff in both the U.S. and overseas, there is a lot to be learned about implicit bias, and these learnings can also inform our social change communications programs,” said Ryerson. “We intend to both learn from our peers in other organizations through CREED and share our experiences with them.”
Already in the works at PMC is its IDEA Committee, focused on creating an organizational roadmap to address inclusiveness, diversity, equity, and accessibility. The small working group has already succeeded on several initiatives: listing salary ranges on job postings, hosting workshops on micro aggressions, committing to a remote workforce to broaden candidate searches, and integrating IDEA resources and policies into onboarding.
“Since I am part of the IDEA Committee, I thought of how great it could be for us to network with other organizations working towards racial and ethnic equity in development,” says Joseph.
CREED member organizations have full access to its online Learning Hub where members share resources, best practices, and achievements – allowing the entire sector to grow. The group of almost 100 member organizations also have access to virtual learning events led by industry leaders.
“CREED’s Learning Hub and the overall network of like-minded professions will be great resources for PMC as we move forward with dialogue and ideas about what a comprehensive REE strategy could look like at PMC,” says Joseph.
More About CREED
The Coalition for Racial & Ethnic Equity in Development (CREED) is a collective of international development and humanitarian assistance organizations based in the United States committed to building racial and ethnic equity (REE). We pledge to advance racial and ethnic diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging within our own organizations’ policies, systems and culture in keeping with attainable and measurable goals; and work to instill REE in international development.