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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

DEI Vertical at the Center for Nonviolent Communication

The DEI Vertical functions across all domains in our organization.

1.0 Historical Context

  • Marshall’s commitment to power-with relationships, all needs matter, and changing our world.
  • Marshall’s focus on community, social change, and spirituality, in certification
  • Conflict and feedback from IITs
  • Global context, environmental scan, and feedback to CNVC
  • CNVC demographics: ethnicity, age, country of origin, class, gender, sexual orientation and other identities of trainers
  • Conflict within the Board of Directors, Certified Trainers, or Certification Candidates

2.0 Emerging Problems

  • Urgent risk of our organization losing relevance in a changing world due to lack of DEI integration.
  • Patterns of inequity, alienation, oppression and exclusion in CNVC events and global operations
  • Privileging some over others impacts human dignity in life-alienating ways that impact safety and meaning.
  • Addressing DEI issues is completely aligned with safeguarding NVC.
  • CNVC is likely to replicate circumstances of inequity despite personal equity awareness

3.0 Purpose

  • The DEI Vertical supports the organization's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion by providing feedback, facilitating discussions, and helping to shape policies and practices.
  • Cultivate a culture of belonging, safety, and community in all CNVC’s activities
  • Weave DEI-B awareness into structures, policies and practices.
  • Support CNVC leadership to intentionally create more nurturing DEIB spaces 

4.0 DEI-B and Intersectionality

4.1 The DEI-B Framing: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion - Belonging

  • CNVC’s approach to DEI is centered around Belonging, which is a basic human need that everyone experiences in systems and in communities.
  • In an organizational sense, creating a sense of Belonging for everyone includes the following components:
    • Diversity - recognize that we are a non homogenous group with varying identities, backgrounds, experiences, understanding, and context
    • Equity - provide differentiated support based on disparities of access to resources.
    • Inclusion - share power through inclusion in decision making

4.2 DEI-B Framework

4.3 Intersectionality

Intersectionality is the understanding of how different aspects of a person's identity—like gender, race, class, sexuality, neurodivergence, age, disability, and other parameters—combine to create unique experiences of power, privilege, or oppression.  

Far from simply “adding up” advantages and disadvantages, and moving away from transactional compensatory stances, the DEI Vertical’s interventions layered with an intersectional understanding of DEI-B will bring a focus on the bigger picture of how different identities interact within complex systems of power, privilege and oppression​.

The DEI Vertical will integrate Intersectionality in their policies, procedures, advice processes, and other activities, and closely look at how these factors interact and influence each other in different contexts, with a nuanced and context-driven understanding of power and privilege. This can include (but is not limited to):

  • Examining how social categories like race, gender, or class intersect to shape inequalities.
  • Recognizing that inequalities are not fixed; they change over time and in different places.
  • Looking at how structural and political environments shape people's experiences.
  • Exploring how systems of power affect social inequalities.
  • Prioritizing the experiences and needs of the most disadvantaged within a group.
  • Including an understanding of structural, social, economic, and political factors.
  • Considering broader power dynamics and broader social dynamics while understanding individual behaviors.

5.0 Key Activities: Aim, Domain, and Limits of Domain

5.1 Effecting change in governing bodies (policies and activities)

The DEI Vertical will:

  • Write organization-wide DEI goals and policies for the CNVC board to determine how to integrate.

The DEI Vertical has an advice-giving role on the following:

  • Offer feedback, consulting and advice on existing policies and activities
  • Participate in task forces for reviewing or writing policies like trainer agreement, ethics code, etc.
  • Offer feedback, insight, and recommendations to Operations, Board of Directors, Coordinating Circle, Programs Resource Circle (PRC), Assessors Coordinating Circle, and other mandated bodies that are created in the future
  • Offer recommendations and collaborate with Operations on the Annual Survey to gather DEI-B related data
  • Recommend policies across domains
  • Support the creation of new policies, new mandated circles, and new task forces or committees
  • Advise the process for CNVC’s systems - decision making, resource allocation, information flow, feedback and conflict engagement systems in CNVC
  • Support the hiring and firing process to ensure DEI consciousness is integrated.
  • If conflicts arise, the DEI vertical may:
    • Engage the Conflict Engagement System (CES)
    • Raise a Dispute
    • Call a Special Meeting
      (Until the CES is operational, conflicts must be reported to the Board of Directors)
  • The consulting and advice process may take a maximum of 30 days, unless agreed upon by the DEI Vertical and the concerned body.

5.2 Engaging the larger community

DEI Vertical is responsible to:

  • Conduct surveys, review forms, facilitate focus groups, etc.
  • Build a sense of belonging with a focus on connection and community building, not on education or on getting agreement- so that everyone can express their concerns, be heard, ask questions and explore answers, etc.
  • Organize gatherings in the form of an Empathy Café, regular online meetings, facilitated group work, fishbowls, and any other activities they deem supportive for connection across differences.

5.3 Programs for governing bodies (people/awareness)

The DEI Vertical has decision making domain on:

  • Designing and delivering capacity building trainings or gatherings to deepen DEI and systemic awareness for CNVC’s staff, governing body members, Executive Director, and Board of Directors.
  • Allocating the funds given to the DEI Vertical through CNVC’s standard budget allocation process
  • Choosing and hiring facilitators for DEI and systems awareness trainings

Note: DEI Vertical Trainings are different from the Continuing Education Trainings under the PRC, which are geared toward trainers, the NVC community and the public.

Decision-making Domain: DEI Programming;  Allocation of funds by CNVC budget

5.4 Other possible areas of intervention

The DEI Vertical or the Board may propose to add more tasks under the DEI Vertical’s domain. Additional tasks can be added via Board approval, such as
Elections (consulting on a questionnaire to enable candidates to speak to their perspectives)

6.0 Structure and Composition

Please also refer to Section 9.0 Notes on Launching below.

6.1 Membership

  • The DEI Vertical has three members selected by a committee composed of the Executive Director and 2 members of the Board of Directors.
  • It is highly recommended that the selection committee include at least one person of color and DEI expertise. If these qualities are not available in the selection committee, the selection committee may consult with a DEI consultant for the selection process.
  • Selection prioritizes merit, experience, and a balance of race and gender.
  • At least one member is a Certified Trainer with our organization, bringing expertise in Nonviolent Communication principles relevant to DEI work.

6.2 Selection Criteria

  • Proven commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, ideally through previous work, volunteer experience, or personal advocacy in DEI initiatives.
  • Significant experience with DEI principles, including a deep understanding of issues related to race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and other areas of diversity, as well as clear understanding of intersectionality.
  • Personal and professional background and track record that showcases leadership, ethics, and the ability to create inclusive and equitable environments.
  • DEI impact in past roles, projects, or contributions to DEI-focused organizations.
  • All members must have a clear alignment with NVC principles, including empathy, active listening, and conflict resolution.
  • Ability to engage across diverse cultural contexts, with sensitivity and respect for varying perspectives.
  • Strategic thinking and ability to develop, assess, and refine DEI initiatives effectively.
  • Collaboration skills and the ability to work within teams, promoting cooperation and fostering an environment that values everyone’s input.
  • Written and verbal communication skills, especially in sensitive contexts.
  • Ability to facilitate inclusive dialogue.

6.3 Compensation

  • Members will receive a stipend for their contributions.
  • The stipend will be determined by the Executive Director in consultation with the Board Treasurer.

7.0 A note on Relationship with the CNVC Governance System

  • The DEI Vertical is a circle with a special focus that applies vertically - DEI matters across the whole organization. The circle will report to the Coordinating Circle after the first review of this mandate in June 2026 (see section 10.0), and until then they will report to the Board and Executive Director.
  • The Executive Director is responsible for operationalizing the DEI Vertical and managing HR functions.
  • The DEI Vertical supports and partners with different governing bodies as well as Operations and task forces in order to support that the policies, systems, structures, and activities of CNVC are imbued with DEI awareness.
  • However, the DEI Vertical may not make decisions in other bodies’ domains.
  • In extreme cases, the DEI Vertical may recommend that the Board intervenes in case DEI principles are not being upheld.

8.0 Processes

8.1 Decision Making

  • The domain for decision making is defined above.
  • Decisions are made on the DEI Vertical either through the process defined in CNVC’s Governance or through an inclusive process chosen by the DEI Vertical.

8.2 Information Flow

  • In line with system to be designed by Coordinating Circle
  • DEI Vertical will communicate with membership and governing bodies on a regular basis via email and Global Home in order to share their activities
  • Once a year the DEI Vertical will publish a report of their activities and outcomes.

8.3 Feedback

  • DEI Vertical will receive Feedback through our organization's Feedback System.

8.4 Resource Allocation

  • DEI Vertical will be allocated an amount in every financial year to hire consultants, trainers, and other professionals as needed.

8.5 Conflict Engagement

  • In line with the CES which comes under CC (until this is set up, conflicts come to the Executive Director+Board).

9.0 Notes on Launching

  • Job descriptions for the DEI Vertical members to be created and shared by Operations.
  • The Executive Director and Board Treasurer set:
    • Stipend for DEI Vertical Members
    • Funds given to DEI Vertical in the coming year (this needs to be included in the budget here on out)
  • Members of the DEI Vertical are selected by a team of the Executive Director + 2 Board members (see Section 6.0 on Structure and Composition above).
  • DEI Vertical members are not “elected” or “volunteers”, but “selected” and either seen as “consultants” or “employees” who are paid.
  • However, unlike other staff, members may only be removed through a team of the Executive Director + 2 Board members.
  • DEI Vertical will report to both the Board and Executive Director who will hold this in partnership with each other. 

10.0 Mandate Review Timeline

  • The DEI Vertical Mandate is to be reviewed in 1.5 years (the first review process will take place June 2026).
  • The Board is responsible for reviewing the mandate in partnership with the Executive Director and in an advice process with the DEI Vertical.
  • The Board of Directors may do so directly or assemble a Task Force to do so.