Challenges for Community Organizations Approaching Anti-Oppression
Even with the best intentions of creating open and accessible organizations, it can happen that the power dynamics of our structurally unequal society are unintentionally reproduced within our organizations. Sometimes a policy issue, sometimes a communications issue, sometimes a training issue, and sometimes an issue of finding ways to create an open workplace culture, it is clear is that a commitment to Anti-Oppression should be built in at every level of our organizations, and understood as an ongoing learning process.
This document comes out of the workshops that COCo conducted for our 2012-2013 “Portes Ouvertes” project on Anti-Oppression practices in community organizations.
Strategies for Organizations Striving for Inclusivity
It is not meant to be a comprehensive list of strategies, or a “quick fix”- rather, it provides ideas that participating groups devised regarding challenges to implementing Anti-Oppressive practices within their own organizations in Québec, as well as Strategies and Solutions that they have implemented to make their organizations more open to fostering equality and diversity. The goal of this document is to help start a dialogue on how we build organizations and workplaces where all experiences and voices are welcome, valued and fully able to participate.
We would love to hear what you think! What are some of the challenges that your nonprofit organization has faced in implementing Anti-Oppression? What strategies does your community organization employ?
