Many have mentioned the lack of progress regarding DEI. This continues to be true in 2023. One wonders if there are any concrete efforts to address internal DEI problems. There is a DEI group, but its activities seem to be limited to sending general emails about societal issues and projects. Clearly, this is not a priority for leadership and they are actively trying to limit discussions on this topic. Many promises were made in 2020, but there's little to show for it.
The only time all employees come together to discuss organizational issues is during CEO's bi-monthly (as in, every 2 months) address where employees can finally hear something about their organization. When not dominated by the CEO, the focus of these meetings is on projects, rather than organizational issues/solutions. Leadership style is best described as a totalitarian dictatorship and that is obvious to anyone who "attends" one of these meetings. Transparency is a huge issue. Combined with a lack of any discussion groups, it's inevitable that most employees feel left out.
Young employees (especially women and minorities) are leaving in droves. The only constant is CEO's in-group. Those who are doing the work quit because of lack of support and advancement opportunities. Many with years of experience and the right skills are neglected for promotion, while others are fast-tracked. CEO focuses on pet projects while ignoring most of the programs, which are left to fend for themselves.
Board is 80% white; senior staff - 88% white; full-time staff - 82% white (data from Green 2.0). Encouraging diversity is not a priority. As others have noted, this is not an environment where Black and Brown folks feel welcomed. That is true for most major environmental organizations, but TCF is well on its way to becoming a "leader" in the field. Major decisions are taken by the Board and CEO in-group without much explanation for the rest of us. Vital questions about the future of the organization have been delayed for years with no explanation or accountability. Most employees never hear from the Board, whose members reflect the makeup of the tiny leadership group that is handpicked by the CEO.
There's no transparent salary pay scale and no transparent promotion process (data from Green 2.0), while CEO and CEO in-group salaries and bonuses continue to grow. The numbers are publicly available for everyone to see. This is a common issue for most nonprofits, but TCF blatantly resembles a vehicle for private gain rather than public good, and leadership aren't hiding their ambitions of being a bank (essentially exploiting the organization's nonprofit status) and raising billions.
Climate change and other key issues are regarded as ways to raise money, rather than something the organization is truly fighting for. There are very few discussions on what's going on in the conservation space at large, unless there's an opportunity to exploit a policy or a project that can bring more money. This is fine for those who only care about growing revenue, but it demotivates those who understand what we are up against. This is not a place for people with progressive values. There isn't even the pretense of caring about something other than the next business opportunity.
Perhaps most importantly: there's no overarching vision and no strategic direction. Employees are left wondering and waiting to hear what the Big Plan is. One year it's forests, another year it's culture ... it's not climate change, then all of the sudden it is climate change. Who knows what internal politics determine these diversions? Regular employees certainly have no idea. Every year we get closer and closer to finding out, and then something happens and we have to start over again.
Working for TCF feels like living with a dissociative disorder. One truly feels disconnected from herself and the world around her, but it clearly works for a small number of "executives" who will never see the writing on the wall.