Digital White Papers

I L T A ' S 2 0 2 0 D I V E R S I T Y, E Q U I T Y, A N D I N C L U S I O N C L I M A T E S U R V E Y R E S U L T S 10 As previously mentioned, recommendations were made related to recruiting and engaging new members, but many comments related to these areas mentioned the challenges to these efforts. One of the most common concerns is related to how difficult it is to recruit active members for volunteering, or serving as mentors and presenters, when they are disengaged. For some firms or legal departments, focusing on new ways to engage non-leadership members or newcomers could help increase the diversity of our membership, while providing opportunities for those newly engaged members to grow professionally. An important component of engaging members is the need to ensure all members feel welcomed and have equal opportunities to participate in ILTA. One challenge facing the desire to increase diversity at ILTA is the history of the industry. The legal and technology industries have a history of exclusiveness. This history has created ingrained practices and behaviors, including hiring practices that perpetuate homogenous environments and cultures. Changing the culture within ILTA and the industry is going to take a lot of effort and time. Finally, to end on a high note, one that we are all quite proud of is the theme, "ILTA should serve as a model for member and partner organizations." The task force was pleased to read the positive comments related to the value that ILTA provides to the membership through programming and services. We were further delighted to read that some believe that as ILTA continually improves in the area of DEI, the organization will be able to serve as a model for other organizations. As suggested in the comments provided, in order to improve, ILTA needs to develop specific DEI policies, plans, a commitment statement, and a mission. Even more importantly than creating the documentation, the task force needs to help the organization communicate the mission, policies, plans, and develop a common understanding and commitment to focus on continuously improve in this area. It is one thing to create a mission or a plan, but it is another to enact the plan and then measure the success of the plan. The comments included in the survey responses suggest we can measure our success through future surveys, anecdotal evidence provided by diverse members, metrics related to the participation in ILTA events, and general membership statistics. As we see positive feedback, growth in membership, growth in attendance, and diverse membership, we will know we are on the right path. So what does success look like for DEI at ILTA? Some say that we know we are successful when we have zero complaints. Others say we will have success when DEI is no longer needed as a focus and instead just becomes second nature or just how we do business. A key piece of these is working toward making ILTA a safe space for everyone. Executive Summary

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