Diversity and Inclusion Policy

New Hampshire Public Broadcasting Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 declared that "it is in the public interest to encourage the development of programming…that addresses the needs of unserved and underserved audiences, particularly children and minorities."

The Act further requires that "any person which desires to be a recipient of such funds (from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting) shall…provide any information which the Corporation may require to satisfy itself that such person is affording equal opportunity in employment…."

It is essential that public television stations strengthen their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in their management, their governing boards and their workforce to better reflect the society we serve.

Public television management believes that promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in our workforce and organizations is a moral imperative that will also improve our programming, our business operations and our service to our communities.

We are committed to building a diverse workforce to best serve our diverse communities.

We are committed to equity in hiring, treatment, promotion and leadership opportunities for all employees.

We are committed to ensuring an inclusive environment where all employees feel welcomed, respected, supported, fully included in our work, invested in our success, and valued for their talents and specific contributions.

We believe that identifying, recognizing, supporting and rewarding the full measure of talent from diverse identities, experiences and perspectives will contribute substantially to the long-term success of our people, our organization, the public television system, and the communities and country we serve.

Specifically, we resolve to treat these diversity, equity and inclusion goals as urgent management priorities and business imperatives, and to implement these commitments as follows:

1. Recruitment: We pledge to build a broader recruitment pipeline that will include active outreach to sources of diverse and underrepresented talent for public broadcasting.
2. Promotion: We pledge to make diversity a priority in promoting station personnel to senior management, production, community engagement and other critical positions.
3. Equity: We pledge to strengthen this commitment to diversity by committing to a policy of equity, through systems, protocols, practices and policies that allow everyone to be treated fairly within an organization. 
4. Inclusion: We pledge to create a working environment in which every employee feels welcome, valued, respected and included, ensuring that all of our employees feel they have a stake in our success and the power to help shape that success.
5. Specific Goals: We pledge to set specific goals by which we expect to be measured in meeting these commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion, including increased outreach to underrepresented populations in our workforce and senior management, and set schedules and useful metrics to assess our progress.
6. Accountability: We pledge to hold ourselves accountable for these commitments to our board of directors, our staff, our community partners, and our public and private donors.

1  Diversity, Inclusion and Equity as used in these goals are defined as:

DIVERSITY

Diversity is the representation of all our varied identities and differences (race, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin and socio-economic status), both collectively and as individuals, in order to proactively engage, understand, and draw on a variety of perspectives.

EQUITY

Equity is the fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all people, while at the same time striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation of some groups. Equity refers to the existence of systems, protocols, practices, and policies that allow everyone to be treated fairly within an organization.

INCLUSION

Inclusion builds a culture of belonging by actively inviting the contribution embraces differences and offers respect in words and actions for all people. Inclusion welcomes the participation of all people, based upon the belief that every person's voice adds value.

Diversity and Inclusion Policy

Vision:

New Hampshire Public Broadcasting (NHPBS) is committed to modeling diversity and inclusion in the workplace and is therefore proactive in positioning its policies, procedures, practices and training to reflect those ideals and initiatives suitable to the New Hampshire community. We will ensure that under-represented groups and those who experience systemic inequity will have equal opportunities to achieve their maximum potential, are treated with respect and dignity, and feel welcome at NHPBS. We recognize the importance of reflecting the diversity of our viewers and communities in our workforce, on our boards and in our programming. NHPBS's leadership has the primary responsibility for assuring that diversity policies are implemented, but all members of the governing board and members of the staff share in the responsibility for assuring that, by their personal actions, the policies are effective and apply uniformly to everyone. In doing so, we create an atmosphere of inclusion and innovation as we uniformly strive to deliver the best programs, services and content to the communities we serve.

Goal:

NHPBS strives to ensure that its staff, boards, work studies, interns and volunteers are representative of New Hampshire's population. NHPBS' leadership has the primary responsibility for ensuring equal opportunity as we strive for inclusion of a more representative workforce and board.

Recruitment:

NHPBS is committed to providing equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals by basing all employment decisions on merit, qualifications and abilities. Our Board of Directors and Community Advisory Boards is representative of different cultural, ethnic, gender and socio-economic backgrounds and experiences - providing an array of knowledge for understanding complex communities and under-represented groups. We recruit from all over the US, Northeast and the local community. We offer internships and work study opportunities to students of diverse groups from local educational institutions providing them the experience to go on to become contributing professionals in their communities. NHPBS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex/gender, disability, age, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, and any other characteristic protected by law.

Practices:

1. NHPBS will annually review its established diversity goals for its workforce, management and boards, make any necessary revisions, and complete and make available an annual report.
2. NHPBS governing board will annually review and codify the diversity goals and any revisions made to them.
3. NHPBS will annually review and update, as deemed appropriate, its diversity statement with senior management and post it to the stations website.

NHPBS will continue to assess the following initiatives:

1. NHPBS will develop and implement formal diversity training programs for management and appropriate staff to raise awareness about diversity while developing management skills;
2. NHPBS will provide diversity training for members of the organization's governing Boards, as deemed appropriate;
3. NHPBS will seek qualified individuals representing diverse groups for internships and work-study programs;
4. NHPBS will seek qualified diverse candidates for appointment to elected governing boards;
5. NHPBS will participate in minority or other diverse job fairs, whenever available.
6. NHPBS will actively seek participation of its staff on community councils, boards and committees that work to promote diversity, equity and inclusion.
7. NHPBS will seek diverse voices in all of its programmatic strands - on-air, online and in our community work.

• NHPBS Diversity Report FY 23 and Goals for FY 24