Launching the 2022 Champions for Accountability

On September 15 2022, the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia and the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce launched the “Champions for Accountability,” recognizing more than 50 organizations in the region that have taken the initial steps towards a more diverse and inclusive workforce by diversifying their staff, executives, board, or taken other steps. CFNOVA’s Director of Insight Region® Elizabeth Hughes presented the data findings from the report.

At an event hosted at MITRE in partnership with the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, CFNOVA’s President and CEO Eileen Ellsworth opened by saying, “What we can see from the data is a positive indicator of Northern Virginia becoming more diverse- but there’s a lot more work to do.” This can be demonstrated in several of the report’s key takeaways:

• Women and non-white leaders account for just 47 percent of executives, despite being 74 percent of the Northern Virginia Workforce. This is especially stark for Black and Hispanic women.
• A White man is nearly 5x as likely to occupy an executive role in an organization compared to a similarly qualified woman of Color.
• Over the past 10 years, the demographics of executives have changed in that there is a 36% in the number of White men, and a 56% increase in the number of women and executives of Color
• 53 organizations completed the application and became "champions"
• 69% of the 2022 Champions are nonprofits
• Self-Identification*:
  • 100 percent of Champions ask employees to self-identify race or ethnicity
  • 98 percent ask employees to report sex and gender
  • 56 percent ask about disability status
  • 37 percent ask about LGBTQ+ status
  • *note that 91 percent of total organizations in Northern Virginia ask individuals to self-identify demographic data

MITRE Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Innovation Stephanie E. Turner said during the event “The data is as direct as it needs to be- more diverse organizations last longer, retain their employees for longer, and make more money.” For CFNOVA’s role, as well as that of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, we’re honored to have taken that first step toward a more inclusive and prosperous Northern Virginia that works for everyone.

A full copy of the Champions for Accountability report is available here.

If your organization is interested in becoming a Northern Virginia Champion for Accountability, learn about the badging process and apply here.