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June 19, 2009, 10:45 AM ET
Can Social-Entrepreneur Groups Be More Inclusive?
BusinessWeek declared this week a “bull market” for social entrepreneurs — nonprofit leaders and others who use business tactics to further social causes.
But several people recently have questioned how inclusive social-entrepreneurship groups and the donors that support them are and whether they are seeking the brightest and most enthusiastic employees.
Last month Rod Schwartz triggered a debate on the Social Edge Web site, which is operated by the Skoll Foundation, when he asked why conferences and experts on social entrepreneurship are dominated by people from “Anglo-Saxon countries.”
If “so many voices are Anglo-Saxon (like mine, I should confess), does this not hamper growth? Are we not limiting our access to innovative ideas to only those which might spring forth from an ‘Anglo-Saxon’ mindset?” wonders Mr. Schwartz, who is the chief executive of ClearlySo, a Web site that connects social enterprises with investors and donors.
This week Ashni Mohnot, director of education for Stanford University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute, agreed with Mr. Schwartz and asked why the Skoll World Forum, the pre-eminent event about social entrepreneurship, is held in Oxford, Britain, making it difficult for people from Africa or Asia to attend.
On the Pop Tech Blog, a forum for discussing technology and ideas, she also writes that social-entrepreneur organizations create obstacles that prevent young people from joining their efforts. The groups are “in love with MBA’s,” offer no or little compensation to entry-level positions, and require at least five years of experience for jobs with significant responsibilities, she says.
“The field of social entrepreneurship, as currently structured, is tending to exclude from participation and representation the following: people without finance experience and/or MBA’s, young college students and recent graduates, the poor and disenfranchised, who form the very clientele of social ventures, and people of color and/or practitioners from countries other than the U.S. or the U.K.” Ms. Mohnot concludes. “That’s a pretty long laundry list of folks who could positively impact the field with their unique perspectives and expertise.”
What do you think? How can the social-entrepreneur groups — or other charities — be more inclusive?
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