I.D.E.A.
I.D.E.A. is the Inclusion Diversity Equity Accountability committee at WUNC, dedicated to strategically fulfilling the goals of the station's commitment to anti-racism and Black Lives Matter.
We welcome your feedback. Please reach out to us at diversity@wunc.org.
VISION
WUNC's Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accountability (IDEA) Committee works with stakeholders at North Carolina Public Radio to foster awareness and bring accountability to the organization.
The IDEA committee is committed to identifying various levels and forms of systemic racism and inequity inside our organization. Looking through this critical lens, we are committed to building a culture of belonging and building a staff that accurately reflects the demographics of the communities in our state.
As a public service, North Carolina Public Radio, WUNC has a unique responsibility to the audience we serve as well as our staff, our board, our volunteers, our donors and our future audiences. We ask them to hold us responsible for our actions. This is work we all share.
WHERE WE'VE BEEN
In the summer of 2020, Black staff at WUNC sent a letter to WUNC’s General Manager that was signed by 44 other staff members in solidarity. In response to escalating racism and police brutality, the letter outlined goalposts for more intentional antiracist and DEIB work within the station. The initial cohort of the WUNC Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accountability (IDEA) Committee was formed in July 2020 in coordination with outside support from DEIB Consultant Ericka Hines and Every Level Leadership.
Throughout the first year of IDEA Committee in FY21, the committee laid groundwork by:
- Creating committee structure, goals, and mission
- Surveying staff internally
- Creating and presenting an action plan to the WUNC Board
- Creating the initial IDEA webpage, vision, and mission statement
- Collecting resources, including a physical library, for staff development
- Instituting initial DEIB practices in hiring committees, including cultural awareness questions, rubrics, and representation of IDEA Committee among hiring committee membership
- Providing staff trainings in partnership with a variety of consultants including Free Press’s NewsVoices program, Whiteness at Work, the Maynard Institute, Speak UP Ally Training, and more
- Starting staff discussion groups
As the committee moved through FY22 and FY23, it put focus on maintaining foundational activities like staff trainings and discussion groups, as well as hosting a series of community forums. More intentional community partnerships helped WUNC be present at community events and source from Black-owned businesses. Part of the annual review and work planning process incorporated DEIB-related goals for all staff. The committee reviewed internal policies around temp work and pay transparency, making recommendations to senior management.
At the end of FY23 and moving into FY24, the WUNC IDEA Committee began working more closely with Kanarys to conduct annual Inclusion and Belonging assessments as part of a small cohort of public stations; Kanarys also facilitated an organizational equity audit and leadership pulse survey to build a roadmap for DEIB work moving forward.
FY23 has been driven by work with Kanarys and revisiting the original IDEA Charter to better support internal policy work and station-wide strategic planning. Foundational IDEA activities like staff trainings and discussion groups continued while IDEA committee members re-engaged with trainings from Ericka Hines to revisit committee purpose, structure, and place within the organization alongside roadmap building with Kanarys.
Equal Employment Opportunity File Report
Download the PDFs for our EEO File Reports.
We welcome your feedback. Please reach out to us at diversity@wunc.org.
Black lives matter. WUNC believes this because it is true, and truth fuels what we do at North Carolina Public Radio.
