Expand your group

In order to meet our commitments regarding diversity and inclusion, we need to ensure that we attract and retain a diverse range of community members.

People with different backgrounds and experiences will bring a broader range of perspectives, which could lead to developing new ideas and projects, or reinvigorating existing ones.

First, consider your goals. You may be focused on increasing gender diversity, or improving diversity from a specific region, so your approach should be relevant to what you are aiming to achieve. It will help to identify the barriers that may be in place for particular groups that are currently underrepresented.

Key aspects to consider include:

Financial

Is the cost of traveling to and attending events unaffordable for some, for example younger people?

Communication

Are people in certain regions more likely to lack the language skills to participate fully?

Perception

Do people associate ICANN with a particular demographic or sector of society, and as a result feel like they might not fit in or be welcomed?

Skillset

Might some people worry that they lack the necessary skills and experience to add value from the start?

Time

Do some people feel that the demands on their time could become a burden, particularly if they have caring responsibilities?

Accessibility

Are there any practical barriers that people with disabilities might encounter, with regard to traveling or accessing information?

If a certain group is commonly disadvantaged or underserved because of a particular barrier, aim to prioritize how you can increase access for them.

Use this downloadable chart to determine the barriers that are currently in place and what you can do to minimize the impact.

Select here to download

Outreach and visibility

Another barrier that may exist for certain groups is a lack of awareness about ICANN: what we do, how we operate, and what opportunities are available for people to get involved in. You may need to actively approach new networks to share more about what you do to increase the diversity of your membership base. Potential newcomers need to know how they can participate.

Here are some tips for developing a pipeline of diverse and skilled new members:

Make your diversity goals explicit, state that you particularly welcome newcomers from underrepresented groups
Make it easy for people to approach you; make information freely available, accessible, attractive, and easy to understand
Make sure that diversity is visually represented so that individuals can identify with your community group
Actively target the social or demographic group you want to attract and provide additional information that is tailored to their priorities and concerns
Encourage existing members to refer their friends and colleagues
Position promotional materials in the online forums that members of underserved groups are most likely to access
Hold virtual events for prospective new members to learn more about ICANN and how they could get involved
Highlight the benefits: what impact individuals can have on the future of the Internet, what skills they could develop, how they can grow their own network and enhance their resume. Make these specific to the groups you want to target.
Identify individuals from newcomer programs (i.e. ICANN Fellowship and NextGen@ICANN participants), and offer capacity development to equip them to participate more broadly*

For example: offer Fellows mentorship opportunities within your group, identify appropriate training, invite them to a focus group meeting, encourage them to join the diversity task force or become diversity advocates, ask them to present at a meeting

Reach out to your Policy Development Support team to discuss ways to highlight activities on social media
Share positive stories and profiles of individual community members, and showcase achievements
Reach out to newcomers directly and ask if they are interested in becoming more involved
Engage representatives to hold regular “open days” or virtual “meet and greets” that are aimed at people from specific demographics
Have a dedicated contact point for newcomer support, to make the process more personable and consistent
Give specific guidance to help people to identify the specific skills they can offer and how those skills would be put to use
Clarify the expectations about what you require from members: How much time will they need to commit? Can they get involved in several groups? What support and training will they receive?
Set up a hashtag for each event you hold and encourage participants to share pictures and insights on social media

TIP: Consider drafting and publishing a policy statement on diversity and inclusion that pertains to your specific community group and that outlines the goals you are aiming to achieve and the action you are proposing. You could also invite prospective group members to comment on your statement and offer their feedback.