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After Jennifer Pace Robinson took over as president and CEO in 2021, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis convened an internal DEAI task force made up of staff and volunteers at all levels and backgrounds. Working with consultant Demetria Miles-McDonald, the CEO of Decide Diversity, museum officials made nearly two dozen policy changes, with a focus on five areas. They raised the base hiring rate to $16 an hour, provided part-time staff with access to health care benefits, decided to offer paid parental leave (effective this year), added paid time off for part-time and seasonal staff in addition to paid parental leave, and implemented paid internships.
Some of the results: Part-time turnover is the lowest it’s been in 10 years, and full-time turnover has dropped, too, Allen said. The formerly all-white executive team is now 22% non-white, and the leadership team will soon be all female. Vice President of Human Resources and Organizational Development Katy Allen said that, by making these changes, the museum opens its jobs to a more diverse talent pool.
“We look at diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion together,” she said. “We feel like it’s about changing how we work so that it is accessible and inclusive and equitable to all. That changes the racial and ethnic diversity of our staff and volunteers—and that’s the intention.”
Added Shanna Martin, director of training and professional development: “Some of this is recognition that people of color tend to be at the bottom or in those positions that [were] only making $7 to $10 an hour. So, by increasing our base rate for those lower positions, we are, in fact, impacting people of color and hopefully attracting more diversity in terms of hiring people—letting them get their foot in the door and grow here. That was also the thinking with internships.”
In addition, the museum has increased DEAI training to create a more inclusive work environment, including teaching supervisors how to hire more equitably. Museum leaders have established individual DEAI goals that align with the museum’s overall mission and vision. And the museum is now measuring ethnicity, LGBTQIA+ status, and ability status of new hires as well as current staff and volunteers.•
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