To promote gender equity and inclusion as core values of Bay Area economic development, the Bay Area Council must integrate these practices into our own business model. Workplace culture and diverse talent are investments to guide the success of Bay Area Council initiatives.

The Bay Area Council engaged FutureState, a consulting management firm, to help evolve organizational structure and culture. The report encouraged methods of improving organizational diversity and inclusion by building on our current procedures and policies that ensure equity in recruitment, hiring, and advancement.

This organizational shift would hold leadership accountable for the recruitment and development of diverse talent that reflects the audiences the Council serves through it’s work. This shift promotes elevating more women to leadership roles, as well as engaging men in internal gender equity projects. Conversations surrounding race and gender in the workplace are encouraged under this new organizational model.

The Bay Area Council is leading by example through transforming their internal hiring and recruitment practices. We have identified and recruited diverse talent to our staff, as well as, developed women leaders for executive positions within the organization. Core institutional changes also included changing our mission statement to include the word “diverse” as well as formally recognizing “inclusivity” as a core value of the Council.

Naomi Palmer