Photo: Board members at MakerDate fundraiser
Photo: Board members at MakerDate fundraiser
In 2023, Assemble committed to ensuring staff wages were reflective of national averages. Assemble engaged local consulting group Compass to conduct a market-based, regional compensation analysis for staff positions, with a goal to provide Assemble staff with a competitive total rewards package including compensation, benefits, and time off that meets or exceeds the livable wage standard as in line with nonprofit industry standards.
Collecting demographic and identity-descriptive data about our staff, board, and Assemblers is one way for our organization to hold ourselves accountable to our values of inclusion and belonging. Examining this data enables us to understand more about the community of learners we serve. It also allows us to move more intentionally towards our goal of recruiting and retaining staff and board members who directly reflect the learners who come through our doors and, more broadly, our community in Pittsburgh
We believe that creating a space and community where all folks feel they can truly belong means that we have to examine the way our biases—conscious or unconscious—may show up. This can include our institutional practices of hiring, recruitment, program design and delivery, fundraising, and program evaluation. We are committed to doing this learning alongside our community because it enables us to build true, authentic, and long-lasting partnerships, and is a core part of our vision and mission.
In 2023, 8% of Assemble’s staff identified as Asian or Asian American, 21% as Black of African American, 8% as Hispanic or Latinx, 17% as Multi-Racial or Multi-Ethnic, and 46% as White or European American.
Chart: Assemble staff by race or ethnicity in 2023
Assemble’s board was disproportionately White or European American (76%) the year prior in 2022 when compared to Assemble staff and to the population of Pittsburgh (63% in 2023, 64% in 2022). In 2023, this percentage decreased, with 54% of Assemble’s board members identifying as White or European American.
Ethnicities without representation on Assemble’s 2022 board and staff included: American Indian or Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and Middle Eastern or North African.
Chart: Assemble Board members by race or ethnicity in 2023
The proportion of people identifying as female on Assemble’s Board of Directors (83%) in 2023 was higher than the national non-profit average from 2021 (53%). The proportion of people identifying as Gender-Nonconforming, Non-Binary, and/or Transgender was 29% on the Assemble staff, and 8% on the Board of Directors. This is significantly higher than the national average for nonprofit board members, with 1% identifying as Non-Binary and/or Transgender as reported by Candid’s “The state of diversity in the U.S. nonprofit sector”.
Chart: Assemble Board members and staff by gender identity in 2023
Chart: Assemble Board members and staff by race or ethnicity compared to benchmarks in 2023