Diversity in Coalitions

Diversity is a critical part of a coalition's strength and its ability to build public argument. To draw on the strength that diversity brings, advocates must be prepared to commit the time, outreach efforts, and flexibility that building diversity requires.

Here are a few lessons on building diverse coalitions, drawn from the Advocacy & Leadership Center's work:

• Think creatively, non-traditionally, “outside the box.” Reach beyond people who are just like you, that is, those who already share the same perspective on the issue, those with similar expertise, experience, or personal backgrounds, or who represent similar types of groups or communities. In doing so, you may identify “unlikely allies” - those who you would not think of immediately , but who indeed share a common interest.
• Make time to build new relationships. Seek understanding about different perspectives. Ask questions. Listen. Ask for recommendations for whom else to recruit. Recognize that you are not going to resolve all differences, but that it is important to maintain an awareness of and respect for them.
• Build diversity before the first formal meeting. The more diverse the perspectives are around the table, the better your strategy development, analysis, and action planning will be.
• Leave space for a shared agenda to be created or revised once others join the coalition, rather than expecting others to simply sign on to your existing agenda. This is critical for building group cohesion and ownership within the coalition. If there are areas of “no compromise” that are not open to revision, be open about them when recruiting coalition members.
• Remember that “diversity” means difference. Don't expect people who are different than you to think the same way and make the same decisions you do. Leave time to discuss and understand each other's perspectives, and to form compromises.

Because creating a broad coalition takes a real investment in time and energy, we find that many advocates think strategically about how diversity can best strengthen their coalitions. Also, given the special challenges of speaking across widely different cultures and values, we note some specific actions for building multicultural coalitions.

Members of diverse coalitions may have a special need to be aware of and balance coalition-related tensions that are even stronger when such varying viewpoints come together. Our tip sheet, Balancing the Tensions in Coalitions shares other knowledge compiled from the experiences of our program participants. In it you may recognize your own experience, or find ideas you can adapt to your particular coalition's context.

Diversity in a coalition is an investment, and there need to be clear, strategic reasons for that investment. When strategizing about broadening your coalition's membership, before asking “who,” ask “why.” In fact, there are many dimensions of diversity to consider beyond race, class, or ethnicity, and the types of diversity your coalition needs will ultimately be determined by the whole of your strategy - especially the key audiences you identify. Think about:

• For each key audience - especially the decision makers - what or who influences them? Who needs to be involved to give your coalition credibility and legitimacy?
• Whose expertise or information is needed to create an effective strategy?
• Who has the resources needed to carry out an action plan?
• Remembering your strategy can help you build the right kind of diversity into your coalition, and can even help you remain united during the inevitable moments of conflict that arise. You can return to your common stake together by seeing each member as someone who brings a critical contribution to the team.

When considering diversifying your coalition, we suggest you look at some of these types of diversity

In an era of transnational neighborhoods and globalized economies, diversity across cultural lines is increasingly important for coalition-building. Multicultural coalitions can bring great legitimacy, creativity, and effectiveness to their causes. At the same time, even committed advocates can find it deeply challenging to unite their varied customs, values, and working styles in service of the common goals that they share.

Beth Rosenthal, who works with the awardees of the Leadership for a Changing World program through the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University, has also written extensively about building effective coalitions. According to Beth, “cultivating multicultural coalitions entails changing the way people think, perceive and communicate. Coalition structure, leadership and activities must reflect multiple perspectives, styles and priorities.”

Beth sets forth specific actions for building effective multicultural coalitions:

• Articulating a vision,
• Conducting strategic outreach and membership development,
• Establishing a structure and operating procedures that reinforce equity,
• Practicing new modes of communication,
• Creating leadership opportunities for everyone, especially women and people of the non-dominant culture, and
• Engaging in activities that are culturally sensitive or which directly fight oppression.

How can we create a coalition that reflects the concerns and issues of those in diverse cultures?

If possible, include diverse groups at the coalition's inception, rather than later. This can ensure that your coalition's development reflects many perspectives from the very beginning. It can also minimize real or perceived tokenism, paternalism and inequality among the people who join later.

How can we recognize and deal respectfully with some of the difficult positions that members of the non-dominant groups may be placed in during our coalition work? (These might include being stereotyped, ignored, or put on the spot to teach others about their differences or explain their oppression.)

• Cultivate a multicultural atmosphere. Have appropriate resources and educational materials available, and encourage people to use them.
• How can we build unity and trust among our groups, in the face of possible past antagonism or oppression among us?
• Become aware of what dimensions of cultural diversity exist in your coalition.
• Provide a nurturing environment where it is safe for members to talk about differences, rather than ignore them.
• Promote tolerance and respect and encourage concern for fairness.
• Deal with people's history of mutual mistrust and lack of familiarity in working together; build on positive past alliances.

How can we conduct our outreach to different groups in a way that builds trust and ensures equal participation and impact?

• Demonstrate genuine interest in the people you are recruiting. Learn about their history, culture, accomplishments, involvement in the community and important issues of concern.
• Provide incentives and trade-offs to recruit diverse participants. Be prepared to operate in new ways, to share control and build trust. Make an ongoing commitment of coalition resources to issues of importance to the diverse group members.
• How can we prepare our coalition members for the changes to our goals, strategies, and ways of working that will necessarily come as part of being multicultural?
• Recognize that changing the appearance of your membership - seeing variety - is only the first step toward attaining an understanding of and respect for people of other cultures.
• Encourage or help people to develop qualities such as patience, empathy, trust, tolerance, and being non-judgmental

How can we structure our coalition's working relationships to reinforce our working together as equals?

• Create a decision-making structure in which all cultural groups and genders have a recognized voice, and regularly participate in high level decision-making.
• Find ways to involve everyone. Use different kinds of meetings, committees, dialogue by phone or mail as means of including everyone in as active a role, or as informed a position as they want. Give people multiple opportunities to participate.
• Allow for differential types and levels of commitment, and structure in ways to balance different kinds of contributions made by diverse participants.
• Make sure that your commitment to multiculturalism translates into the public image of the coalition. When running meetings or presentations, be sure the presenters represent diverse groups - not just as tokens but as substantial participants and leaders.

Practicing new modes of communication

How can we pay attention to communication differences so that people are free to express themselves in a way that is comfortable for them, without appearing discourteous or insulting to others?

• Learn and apply the cultural etiquette of your members.
• Learn to read different nonverbal behaviors, and interpret them as part of the dialogue.
• Make sure that everyone understands words and references that are used. Do not assume common understanding, or a knowledge of unwritten rules of culture. Spell things out and answer questions so that everyone is up to speed.

How can we work with language differences so that members can understand information or participate equally in coalition discussions or decision-making?

• Accommodating language differences may be time-consuming but it is absolutely essential. Multi-lingual coalitions should line up bilingual translators or volunteers to help with this.
• Determine whether meetings will be bilingual, or how to use translation.
• If at least half of the group speaks another language, it is helpful to have total translation of each statement.
• You may want to break up into small groups, each conducted in a different language, to ensure understanding and participation. The report-back and summary can be translated.
• If only a few people do not speak the dominant language, someone who is bilingual can sit near them and translate or answer their questions as the meeting progresses.
• Encourage participants to raise questions or make statements in their primary language (you can provide translation for the rest of the group).
• If a large contingent speaks another language, they may want to hold their own separate meetings.
• Make sure that the same agenda and issues are used in the parallel meetings.
• Request some deliverables - e.g. answers to specific questions, lists of ideas - from both groups, that will connect their separate discussions and move the coalition ahead.
• Make sure that all coalition written materials are produced, read and used in all languages that the group speaks.

How can we operate our coalition as a model of shared power, making special efforts to include all groups and perspectives in the decision-making body?

• Develop a variety of leadership positions and a mechanism for leaders to work together, such as a steering committee composed of different committee chairpersons. This enables many people to function as leaders and also encourages an interchange of leadership styles.
• Help to cultivate leadership capacity of others, particularly people in the non-dominant culture.
• Help people to gain competence in new areas. Structure in opportunities for shared tasks, mentoring, pairing up leaders with less experienced people so that skills are transferred and confidence increased.

How can we structure both our actions and our social and cultural perspectives to include members or supporters by taking their preferences and customs into account?

• Consciously develop projects that people from different cultural backgrounds can work on together. Create mixed teams or small groups, so that people gain more experience in working together.
• Sanction the periodic use of monocultural caucuses or teams as a way of valuing the need for each group to solidify its position and fortify its own approach to working with the coalition.
• Hold events and meetings in varying locations; don't be afraid to leave home.
• Take responsibility for making your coalition's activities and programs address multicultural concerns. Begin with a needs assessment and review of your coalition's track record on cultural sensitivity.
• Conduct prejudice reduction work such as diversity training or multicultural awareness training to change assumptions and attitudes among your membership or community.
• Network and collaborate with other groups committed to multiculturalism, or those fighting oppression or in other ways promoting social justice.

Beth Rosenthal's article can be found in full in From the Ground Up! A Workbook on Coalition Building & Community Development, edited by Gillian Kaye and Tom Wolff and published by AHEC/Community Partners.

Information on this page came from Advocacy for Social Justice: A Global Action and Reflection Guide, now available in English and Spanish from Kumarian Press.