Leading the Way or Following Along? Exploring How Human Service Nonprofit Boards Navigate Diversity and Inclusion

The nonprofit literature appropriately emphasizes the role boards should play in integrating diversity and inclusion into their organizations, but we have little evidence of how boards approach this responsibility. Given their critical leadership role, we were curious to hear directly from nonprofit board members about their views on the opportunities and responsibilities of diversity and inclusion, and what motivates the approach they take to advance these in their nonprofit organizations. This paper reports on an interview study with board members from 35 human service nonprofits. The findings are insightful about how boards fulfill their governance function regarding diversity and inclusion. They also offer insights into what may hinder and support boards in integrating diversity and inclusion as a value imperative for human service nonprofits.