Instagram Live with Sandra Muchekeza and Kathleen Elhatton-Lake
This Social Distance Learning is a conversation all about integrating diverse perspectives on Boards. We were joined by not one but two amazing guests! Sandra Muchekeza and Kathleen Elhatton-Lake are incredible female leaders who share their thoughts and strategies about increasing Diversity on Boards.
Sandra has been a board member of YWCA Edmonton since 2020. She is currently the Executive Director at the Council of Canadians of African and Caribbean Heritage (CCACH), an organization which supports activities that enhance the social, economic and educational life of African and Caribbean heritage communities in Edmonton.
Kathleen Elhatton-Lake is a partner at Shores Jardine LLP and practices in the areas of municipal and administrative law. She is a Board Member and Chair of the HR & Nominating Committee of the YWCA of Edmonton.
Here are our top three takeaways from our latest Social Distance Learning Friday.
Foster an inclusive environment
Sandra and Kathleen provided useful tips for integrating diverse perspectives on a board. Kathleen says, “really listen to people and value their experience, it’s not enough to just have people there, you need to make sure they can fully show up”. Sandra added, “Ask them directly, ‘what do you think, we value your opinion’, go out of your way to make sure they’re comfortable, listen to what they have to say, and involve them in projects that they’re interested in”.
Set diversity goals and be specific
When discussing strategies to increase diverse representation on boards, Sandra says, “boards need to set diversity goals in addition to setting intentional, deliberate and calculated targets, do the same for race and ethnicity, make it a mission to make sure people of color are sitting on the board” she also suggested to “tap into the power of sponsorship, put people of color in a way you’re sponsoring them for board service, mentor them, get to know women of color that are sponsored by other leaders”. Kathleen spoke about the way YWCA recruits for their board, “previously we had listed skills, so I think there’s the hard board skills people think of which are like finance, audit, but included in our skills matrix is also experience with immigrant communities, experience with racialized communities, LGBTQ+ communities, so those are also skills and perspectives that we value having on our board”.
Diverse boards are stronger
Kathleen says, “when you increase women on boards, they get better representation, and I think that holds true as you increase people from different racial backgrounds, people from different walks of life, those different experiences help boards understand their decisions and make better decisions”. Sandra added, “we need to have more diverse people have a seat at the table, the more diverse boards are the more diverse opinions we are all bound to see. People of colour are better able to vocalize issues that have long been ignored because they have the lived experience, they have experienced living those issues. Just having people represent just brings this really beautiful tapestry of opinions and we are all better for it”.
A warm thank you to Sandra Muchekeza and Kathleen Elhatton-Lake for sharing their amazing perspectives on integrating diverse perspectives on Boards.
Make sure to follow us on Instagram @directhernetwork and join us live for more powerful conversations on our latest Social Distance Learning instalment.