Happy International Women’s Day from IMI, where we are delighted to announce several new measures aimed at improving diversity and inclusion. Whether it’s the GPC North America reports indicating that greater provider diversity is desired by users, the 2016 IMI Bienniel Survey showing that women mediator respondants earn less than their male counterparts, or even the IMI social media groups where women are over-represented but under-engaged, we are dedicated to understanding and improving the access of women and minority groups to the mediation profession. Here are some of the steps we are taking, and we welcome your feedback and ideas.
Diversity and inclusion is important not just as a matter of principle. It simply changes the dynamic of an organization, driving people to be more generous, considerate and thoughtful.
Pierrick Le Goff, IMI Board Member
- IMI are launching a qualitative research project, interviewing women mediators at different stages of their careers, to better understand roadblocks and opportunities (to get involved as an interviewee, send us an email).
- We have enabled the addition of ‘diversity data’ on all IMI profiles, including age, gender, and identification as a minority or First Nations individual. To add any of this data to your profile, login and edit your profile as usual. In future, search filters will be added to the mediator directory, so that people looking specifically for mediators of a particular gender or minority status are able to locate them more easily.
- We have appointed three new women Board members, as we work towards 50/50 representation.
- We have Board roles of ‘Chair’, ‘Secretary’, and ‘Treasurer’, and to that we are adding a formal Board role of Diversity and Inclusion Lead, to assist us in prioritising these issues in future and signifying our commitment.
Listening to diverse voices is not only normatively desirable, but it produces better data—and better data enables better solutions, whether for an organisation, or during a mediation process.
Laura Skillen, IMI Executive Director
Would you and the International Mediation Institute be willing to sponsor ‘First Annual Women’s Middle-East Peace Conference’ to be set for later this year in Jerusalem?
Dear Rodger, that sounds very interesting. Here’s IMI’s policy on supporting events:
Can IMI support our event?
Greetings Laura: Thank you so very much for your quick and crystal clear reply. I will keep you posted on the progress of the project in as timely a manner as i can. Just taking a survey and getting feedback can be a chore. For too long, male ego’s have been getting in the way of real world peace progress and it is time for a change. In any event, thank you again for your time and consideration in this matter. RBM