Creating an inclusive Board and Committee culture means celebrating differences and making it easy for people to talk about any accommodations they need, beginning with recruitment and selection.
Reflect On Your Commitment
- How important is it that people with lived experience help shape our organization?
- Are there barriers that prevent full participation for some Members?
- Are we willing to change how Boards and Committees are structured and how meetings run to support everyone’s participation?
- How will we actively avoid tokenism?
Take Intentional Action
- Ensure meaningful support for people with lived experience, such as support staff or a Board Mentor. This support should be available before and during meetings. If a support staff or Board Mentor is not assigned, then there should be someone available to ensure accommodations and support are available.
- Identify champions on Boards and Committees who are committed to including and integrating people with disabilities in governance.
- Complete the Board and Committee Diversity Self-Assessment. (See Resource B).
- Commit to inclusive practices, not just statements.
- Promote clear goals and targets for inclusion of people with lived experience in the organization’s strategic plan, including Board and Committee roles.
- Monitor the progress towards achieving the goals for inclusion and targets for inclusion.
- Acknowledge the risk of tokenism if Boards and Committees do not take authentic action.
- Recognize unconscious bias and commit to challenging it.
- Support community‑building activities so all Members can get to know each other personally, and ensure everyone is invited and accommodated.
- Commit to having more than one person with lived experience on Boards and Committees.
Recruitment and Onboarding
- Ensure the governance or nominations committee includes outreach to people with disabilities in its recruitment strategy.
- Include, in all Board and Committee orientations and education, a clear commitment to recruiting and welcoming people with disabilities.
- Invite potential Members to discuss any accommodation needs during recruitment and selection.
- Assign each new Member a Board or Committee Mentor.
- Mentors can:
- Help with understanding the Board and Committee process and information
- Greet new Members on arrival
- Sit with them and answer questions
- For more details on Mentor support, see Board or Committee Mentor/Support Staff Agreement (See Resource F) and the Accommodations Checklist (See Resource G).
Preparing for Meetings
- Make sure all Members receive the information, access, and encouragement they need to take part in key decisions.
- Ensure information that all Members need to actively participate is using plain (accessible) language.
- Share agendas and Board and Committee materials at least one week before meetings so Members have time to review, especially items that use technical terms, such as financial statements and the auditor’s reports.
- Respect and follow through on all accommodation requests and supports for all Members.
- Review Preparing for Accessible Meetings (See Resource H).
- Use Plain (Accessible) Language in all Board and Committee communications. (See Resource E).
- Prepare a short guide for people presenting to Boards and Committees so they know how to present in an inclusive way. (See Presenters and Guests)
During Meetings
- Be clear about expectations for any work to be done before or after meetings, including deadlines and who is responsible.
- Be clear about the agenda and timelines. Ensure people have had time to review materials in advance and that agendas allow enough time for questions and discussion.
- Adjust meeting formats to support participation by all Members. Options can include:
- Small group discussions so more people have a chance to speak
- Round‑table check‑ins or structured turns for asking questions and providing feedback
- Use different ways to communicate during meetings, including visual supports. Examples include:
- Visual icons on documents
- Plain (accessible) language agendas (See Listen, Include, Respect Meeting Agenda)
- Cards or signs to indicate votes, questions, or requests to speak (See A Guide to Running Inclusive Meetings – page 22)
- Explain how and when to make a motion. All Members should understand when motions are needed and how to clearly make or second a motion during a meeting.
