Rotary is not going back on DEI

Rotary is working very seriously on several issues and challenges associated with DEI (­Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) and has made a lot of progress in the last decade, but is determined to forge ahead to make the organisation inclusive and welcoming of all groups irrespective of “race, colour, religion, class, gender,” says Brian Rusch, a member of RI’s Joint ­Advisory Council on DEI.

In India recently to participate in the South Asia Peace Conference in Bengaluru, in an interview to Rotary News, he said unequivocally that the “biggest resistance to DEI in the Rotary world comes from North America, primarily the US and a little bit Canada. Many people there are very vocal and the directors from that region tend to get a little overwhelmed with people complaining and threatening to leave Rotary, and so on. But Rotary is not going to change its policy; we are not going backward.”

 

Excerpts

When did you join Rotary and why?

My grandfather was a Rotarian, and my first exposure to Rotary was when I was part of a Rotary Youth Exchange programme in Brazil as a 16-year-old in 1988. Soon after that I started several internet companies, including one to bring out an online magazine for teenage girls. I thought Rotary would be a good way to tap into the local Hollywood community, so I joined RC Hollywood California at the age of 25. It was a great opportunity to get to know people. In 2016 I helped charter the first LGBTQ+ club — RC San Francisco Castro.

 

How difficult was it to do that?

Well, it took us a while to get the permission from RI because we had to specifically add the phrase LGBTQ+ Cultured Club at that time. Now the tag ‘cultured’ is not required as those rules have changed. But because it was the first LGBTQ+ club, they were a little nervous.

 

 

How many more such clubs were formed?

You have one in Mumbai because I met its former president in ­Mumbai, but I’m not sure it’s anymore in existence. The second one was started in ­Australia, third in San Jose, ­California… and then I helped open one in Brazil, next came Minnesota. So now they’ve become quite common around the world. These clubs inspired people to see there could be different kinds of Rotary clubs, and not all clubs necessarily have to be what we think are normal or traditional clubs.

 

You’re one of the founding members of RI’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Task Force. Why did RI feel the need for one?

We were invited by PRIP Holger Knaack to create this task force and we worked closely with the RI to do so. It came as a direct response to the murder of George Floyd (a black man, in May 2020 when a policeman stepped on his neck for several minutes). After that incident, there was a demand to make Rotary more diverse. We were a 1.4-million-member organisation and needed an honest assessment of where we were. So we ran an independent survey within our membership.

There are different connotations to this term in different regions; what is important in India is different from that in South Korea, so as a global organisation we wanted to create an honest conversation on DEI. There is diversity in race, gender, age, etc.

 

Give me one example of how DEI means different things in the US and India.

It comes down to priorities and challenges; in India you have caste which is not there elsewhere, but you also have class which is common through the world. In North America, a lot of diversity tends to be on race and LGBTQ+ issues. In Japan it is still very much about women and how we get more women into Rotary.

Coming to challenges, one is religion and how do you get people of different faiths involved in your clubs. I’m in India at least once a year, I do a lot of work here and see the amazing Rotary projects being done. The next challenge for clubs here is being inclusive of people of different affinities and incorporating them into your clubs. There are amazing projects for blind people across India but not many blind people in the clubs. So how do we start crossing that bridge is the challenge. The same with LGBTQ+ people; so we need to look at these issues.

In India you have caste which is not there elsewhere, but you also have class which is common through the world. In North America diversity tends to be on race and LGBTQ+ issues. In Japan it is still very much about women.

Two years ago. we redid that survey and found that things have changed. We want to continue having an honest conversation; that’s the only way we can improve.

 

Since the formation of this task force, has progress been made? How diverse was this group of founding members?

There was an African woman, a white man from Europe, (PRID) Valerie Wafer, Rukmini, a Peace Fellow from India and I, were there. We also had a Rotaractor from Australia next, one from Latin America. Realising that in the first task force we didn’t have a person with disability, we added a blind Rotarian from South Africa. The first statement came out from Mark Maloney as President and second from Knaack as RI President. It was stronger and said that Rotary had no place for racism, classism, sexism and discrimination due to gender, sexuality, class, education, religion, marital status etc. We also created a code of conduct. I’m very proud of the work we have done. The Four-Way Test is good, but we needed something stronger for the way people are behaving. It’s on how to treat new people when they come to our meetings and projects.

Consider this: we have a sexual harassment policy, but what do we do when somebody makes a racist comment or behaves in a super offensive way? So we have outlined the steps to take. If you can take the first step and have a conversation that is the best thing because people often say things as they just do not know any better, but don’t mean to be offensive. But if you feel uncomfortable, you should talk to a president or a governor or somebody in a position of leadership.

The second DEI statement was stronger and said that Rotary had no place for racism, classism, sexism and discrimination due to gender, sexuality, class, education, religion, marital status.

If you’re still not comfortable, do send an email to dei.inquiries@rotary.org. These mails go to people who are trained to deal with such situations. If you are in danger, you can contact the police. We’ve also developed some coursework around the DEI policy; a lot of that has been prepared by ­Harvard-educated people and is among the best course work I’ve seen in the world. It’s available at the Learning Center of rotary.org.

 

What next for DEI in Rotary?

In 2023 the RI Board and TRF Trustees decided to make the task force permanent and made it the Joint Advisory Council. Now its purpose is to advise the Board and the Trustees, I continue to be a member, and was invited back for a three years term.

 

Have there been complaints from India on the DEI front?

I don’t see the complaints so can’t tell you. Sometimes more than complaints there are issues, which fortunately are resolved at the club and district-level. Honestly, most people do not have bad intentions. Rotarians are not bad ­people, but there are generational differences. Something that was ­acceptable to say and do 40 years ago is no more so, but sometimes people don’t realise that. I’ve found that having an honest conversation with people often makes a situation better.

 

Your views on the Trump administration going hammer and tongs on DEI. Will it hurt the US?

It is already hurting; we’re already seeing some of the US corporations backing away from it. But those backing away from DEI are also suffering in various ways including financially. For example, we have a big-box retailer who was known for DEI and they decided to do away with their plans and their stock has plummeted. Other companies embracing DEI and continuing with it are actually seeing their retail revenue, stock value, etc, go up.

As for what the general public thinks of DEI, which is important for Rotary, we did a recent survey on DEI, to which over 53,000 people responded — one of the largest ever responses to any RI survey — and they overwhelmingly said they are committed to ensuring that Rotary remains an inclusive organisation. A big challenge is the finding that despite so many learning tools at the Learning Center, a lot of people don’t know about DEI at all. So we have to do more to let people know.

Many people felt that leadership profiles have been narrow through Rotary’s history and people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ and younger people feel excluded from leadership positions. This is really an opportunity for the clubs and districts to start engaging more with people from those groups and get them more involved.

 

Isn’t this easier said than done… even leadership roles for women at high levels are too few…

People often ask me why it took so long for a woman to become RI President. Sylvia Whitlock (first woman to become a Rotarian) is a very close friend of mine, and she was the first female president of a Rotary club. The point is we didn’t have a female Rotarian qualified to be an RI President until fairly recently. Also, the pathway to leadership in our organisation is not open to everyone. So we have to see what we can do to increase those opportunities. We are making an effort.

 

 

The good news is that within three years, we had two women presidents!

Exactly. The amazing thing about Stephanie (Urchick) is that she is the first single person to make it as RI President. And when we talk about diversity, we don’t talk enough about that. Diversity is not only about race, gender and so on, it is also about balance and single people. There has always been a spouse to support the president and this is the first year an RI President doesn’t have that support and she is doing a fantastic job. So, we have to look at those things. Also, many people don’t realise that Sylvia is a black woman!

 

You’ve worked with Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama; your impressions of them and what you’ve learnt from them.

I was the vice chair of the Dalai Lama’s US Foundation; working with his holiness has been one of the greatest honours of my life. The first thing is that he brings immense joy wherever he goes. But the joy is always followed by great wisdom.

The Archbishop and I had a very close relationship. I am the godfather to his grandchildren and I go to South Africa at least twice a year.

 

Do you see a future for DEI in Rotary?

I absolutely do. Some people think we are not going fast enough, but I am seeing change. When I first joined Rotary, in the’90s, I was not comfortable taking my husband Jason to Rotary events. Ours was a pretty progressive club but I always felt he, as also other members in the club, wouldn’t be comfortable enough.

 

Is he a Rotarian?

No, but we have lived part of the time in Spain and a Spanish PDG calls him… the English translation is “Rotary sufferer”! So he gets a lot of Rotary through me. Last year, when I was an RIPR at a Chicago event, he joined me as the RIPR’s spouse. It was a full ­circle moment for a gay couple to represent the RI President at a major Rotary event. If I look at where we were 10 years ago and today, as an organisation, in terms of DEI, we have evolved tremendously. And that evolution will go on; we are not going to stop. It might not be happening at the pace everyone wants, but it is happening.

 

At the Bangalore Peace Conference, where I was an RIPR, it was great to be a part of the DEI Awards; it was inspiring to see so many Indian organisations and groups celebrated for their work in DEI. Despite challenges, so many groups in India are working to make a difference.

I do a lot of work with LGBTQ+ communities across India; we’ve sponsored the Pride Home in Delhi, which gives skills to transgender women to help them get out of prostitution or begging and into more traditional jobs in beauty salons, call centres, baking, cooking etc.