There is has been strong interest in the state of diversity in the environmental field for some time now. Recent studies have shown that gender diversity is progressing at a faster pace than racial diversity. This article reports on data collected from 324 mainstream environmental organizations in 2014. It examines gender and racial diversity in six different types of environmental organizations—general conservation organizations, freshwater organizations, environmental education centers, environmental consulting organizations, environmental policy institutes/think tanks, and professional conservation and trade associations. The study found that though females exceed males on the staff of environmental organizations, women are underrepresented in the top leadership echelons of the institutions. The study also found that minorities are underrepresented in all ranks of the staff and leadership of environmental organizations. The successes women have had in being hired into the environmental workforce and being promoted to leadership positions are not being replicated for minorities. In addition, the study examined a seventh type of organization. It examined 13 environmental justice organizations and found high levels of gender and racial diversity in them. The study identified factors such as cultural insensitivity, reluctance to hire minorities, failure to promote minorities to leadership positions, ineffective recruitment strategies, and poor mentoring as conditions retarding racial diversity efforts.
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