A Closer Look at IIE’s People-Driven Affinity Groups
When IIE launched affinity groups for team members in 2020, the aim was to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility by creating safe and welcoming spaces for networking, collaboration, support, and development. The affinity groups are a platform for team members to strengthen their networks, access resources for personal and professional growth, and provide IIE with feedback that will drive change for the better. The initial launch featured four voluntarily created affinity groups: Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage, Black Heritage, LGBTQIA+, and Mental Health and Wellness. In the following years, team members volunteered to create more affinity groups, including Hispanic/Latinx Heritage and IIE’s newest affinity group, Dis/Ability & Accessibility. To celebrate Global Diversity Awareness Month, we spoke with leaders and members of each group to share an update on their group’s evolution over the years.
Leaders of the LGBTQIA+ Affinity Group acknowledged that group members sometimes feel hesitant to share thoughts on their lived identities and experiences in more formal settings. This is why, as co-leads, they strive to create safe, non-judgmental opportunities for team members to openly discuss their experiences, learn from one another, and grow. The Affinity Group’s meetings prioritize genuine connection and community-building, allowing team members to express themselves authentically. Co-lead Shannon comments that welcoming new team members to the affinity group is always a highlight, “I want every team member to show up as their full selves and feel welcomed at IIE.”
IIE’s Mental Health and Wellness Affinity Group launched with the distinction of being the first group with a co-lead from an IIE International Office. The onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic made the group a priority as the world changed quickly and severely. In the words of one originator of the group, “Witnessing what was happening around the world at that time, including dealing with severe anxiety myself, was what prompted me to suggest that we create a support group for colleagues at IIE.” Over the next few years, supporting the mental health of team members only increased in importance, both at IIE and the global workplace in general. The Mental Health and Wellness Affinity Group provides support by way of meetings in both American and international time zones and offers wide-ranging sessions and content. One meeting might feature short films on mental health, while another featured a guest speaker who spoke about how to incorporate relaxation and stressbusters in team member’s daily lives in the workplace. Looking forward, the group will continue to support team members’ efforts to achieve a healthy life-work balance to avoid burnout and ensure they can contribute their fullest to IIE’s work.
The Asian & Pacific Islander (API) Heritage Affinity Group began with an express intent to move the conversation about API identity from focusing solely on cultural or “food” events to also thinking about how we can highlight nuances around Asian American identity and identities of different nationalities that are part of an “Asian” identity to IIE more broadly. Co-lead Athena shares a passion for advocating for API and AAPI communities with friends and co-workers who are also part of the affinity group. A goal of her and her co-leads was to have more events that give AAPI team members a dedicated community and space for professional growth. The group has hosted such events not only in group meetings but also in inviting IIE team members outside of the group to participate in celebrations for the Lunar New Year and AAPI Heritage Month. The API Affinity Group will welcome new co-leads in the immediate future who have already begun to create meeting plans and affinity group activities.
The mission of IIE’s Black Heritage Affinity Group is to create “space for joy, empowerment, and community among Black team members from around the world.” While IIE has long created and managed programs for Black students, scholars, and artists, the launch of the Black Heritage Affinity Group marked the opportunity for team members to gather in community with colleagues. The group reaches out beyond its membership to share stories and context about the international education connections embedded throughout Black history and invites non-members to join the group on various outings. As February began, the Black Heritage Affinity Group invited team members in New York to a screening of the film Origin, Ava DuVernay’s cinematic adaptation of Caste by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson. The film follows Wilkerson’s process of conducting research to write the book, traveling across the globe to examine social stratification in India, Nazi Germany, and the United States. Following the screening, the group hosted a group discussion where participants “shared their personal stories and perspectives, collectively recognizing striking similarities in international contexts and agreeing that everyone can and should play a role in disrupting caste and co-creating a more equitable world.” The Black Heritage Affinity Group will convene more activities and conversations in the coming year.
Shortly after IIE Affinity Groups began holding meetings in 2020, two team members of Hispanic and LatinX Heritage joined forces to create the Hispanic/LatinX Heritage Affinity Group. This group maintained the international aspect of the Mental Health and Wellness Affinity Group, with a co-lead based in IIE Mexico’s office. The group came together to “show representation within IIE and share our cultura.” Meetings covered cultural and historical topics such as recognizing and celebrating influential LatinX figures in U.S. history, creating spaces to discuss Hispanic/LatinX issues, and hosting office-wide activities to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Recently, the group started to host conversation sessions in both Spanish and French, open to anyone interested and featuring group member support. Going forward, the group plans to grow its membership by welcoming new team members and opening its conversation series to IIE team members at large.
The latest affinity group formed at IIE is the Dis/Ability and Accessibility Affinity Group. Already strong at 14 members, the Dis/Ability and Accessibility Affinity Group is a safe place for members to create a voice, support, and advocate for change regarding disability rights. The group has facilitated participation in various disability pride events. Alongside welcoming new co-leads, the group will soon be creating a congruent disability support group to create a more welcoming environment for everyone “regardless of visibility, or invisibility of physical, mental or other health challenge.” From their respective launches to future plans, affinity groups at IIE are well utilized by team members around the world. They serve to deepen relationships within IIE and share identities and traditions with others who may not be familiar with cultures and customs outside their own. Affinity groups create a way for IIE to truly embrace and celebrate the diversity present in this worldwide organization, and we hope you have an outlet to do the same.