One of the knocks on amateur radio is that it’s not very diverse. While that’s not completely true, I do think that we could do a better job of being more inclusive. Being more diverse and inclusive could well be a way to strengthen already good clubs and help failing clubs stave off extinction.
To that end, I recently read an article in the February 2022 issue of Rotary magazine titled “Make everyone welcome: How to create a club that values diversity.” The article features a list of dos and don’ts for Rotary clubs trying to become more diverse. While I don’t see ham clubs doing all of these things—one of the reasons being they take a lot of time—they are things to think about. Here’s the list:
DO
- Educate yourself. The article suggests, “Provide learning opportunities for your club members to expand their perspectives and open up meaningful conversations.”
- Start a committee. Rotary is big on committees. I don’t see ham clubs starting a committee, per se, but discussing how to make your club more diverse with like-minded club members would be a start.
- Be accessible. The article asks, “Is your club’s meeting time convenient? Is the location accessible to people with mobility challenges?” If your meeting location isn’t accessible, then perhaps it’s time to change locations.
- Create a sense of belonging. The article says, “Involved all of your members in club activities….A buddy or club mentor system can help new members feel they belong.” You won’t keep members for very long if they don’t feel like they belong.
- Speak up. The article says, “Hold yourselves and others accountable when a person’s actions don’t reflect Rotary’s ideals or values.” The idea here is to speak up when you see something that makes people feel uncomfortable or is exclusionary.
DON’T
- Cling to traditions. Some traditions, like perhaps starting a meeting with a prayer, are unintentionally exclusionary. You can change those traditions to make them inclusive.
- Speak in “ham radio.” The article says, “Don’t speak in Rotaryisms.” Basically, this means to keep jargon to a minimum. While the majority of current members may understand the jargon, it may go right over the heads of new or prospective members.
- Ignore your biases. The article says, “Whether conscious or unconscious, our biases prevent us from seeing the qualities in a person that might make them an excellent Rotary club member.” The same is true for ham radio club members.
- Be cliquish. Club meetings are social events, and it’s natural to gather with the people you know. You need to make an effort, however, to greet newcomers and make them feel welcome. If you can convince a couple of current members to work with you on this, so much the better.
- Fill a quota. I don’t like the way they’ve worded this item, but the idea here is that your club should work to reflect the diversity in your community. Being a technical hobby, this is perhaps more difficult for amateur radio clubs than it is for Rotary clubs, but making an effort will pay off.
Becoming more diverse and inclusive isn’t going to be easy. David Minster, NA2AA, ARRL CEO, recognizes this in his February 2022 column in QST. He writes:
I respect the wide points of view on the matter of diversity. I am very aware of how these changes will be met with discomfort in the coming years. I hope that you’ll hang in there whenever and wherever they appear in the hobby…”
I’d go a step further and encourage you all not to just hang in there, but to be proactive in moving amateur radio forward.
Shriraj says
Excellet read, not member of any club so far but will look for club with attribute mentioned above.
Don KB2YSI says
Whether you find a club or not, do not overlook the individual who is trying to engage and be welcoming.
I hope you find your tribe where you live.
Ria N2RJ says
Amateur radio is very diverse, at least when it comes to race and ethnicity (not gender or age, it most certainly is not diverse in that regard). Amateur radio in the United States is not diverse at all. There are pockets of diversity in diverse areas like California, New York and New Jersey but even so up here the demographics aren’t in line with the local population from what I’ve seen.
One of the questions I’ve asked the candidates for CEO when they were being interviewed in 2020 was how can they recruit more people like me into amateur radio. The purpose to this was twofold – one to see if they were conscious of the issue, two to see if they had an actual plan. David’s column was pretty nice to see. And in this month’s QST a black woman was spotlighted as member of the month.
But sadly we have a long way to go. I’ve been called “woke” so many times it’s not funny. I’ve been accused of being a Democrat (I’m squarely in the middle and also a bit libertarian) and accused of wanting to ruin ham radio. I’ve had other subtle digs against me for various reasons. Team Lisenco (his fans, not him personally) wanted to sink me so bad they went around whispering things to trigger biases in people. It escalated to the point where K5UR had to tell him to ask them to knock it off.
What you need most are allies. Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML pulled me into NJDXA back in 2006 and immediately advocated on my behalf, and encouraged others to be helpful. This gave me the confidence to pursue DXing as my niche in the hobby.
Glenn K3PP reached out and invited me to join FRC. I got involved in contesting and made a lot of friends and had good mentors.
Our strongest suit in ham radio is community. Therefore I posit that if we strengthen community and outreach we can get more people to view ham radio as an inclusive activity.
We also have to have the courage to tell people to knock it off when they behave badly and ruin it for newcomers. We can’t stand passively by and just let it fester.
Charles says
I appreciate both the main post and your reply, Ria N2RJ. I’m just starting out in ham radio and am taking my technician’s exam next week! I’ve been listening to local repeaters in my area to get familiar with using my new HT, and have been a little unsure about the vibe of the culture and discussions.
I think one thing that is difficult for me is that there is a guideline that “politics” isn’t discussed, but at the same time, I would argue that everything is political in that what we choose to do and say is a reflection of our outlook and perspective. In just a few days of listening, “politics” showed up in how folks discussed current events and other controversial issues, and on more than one occasion, racial comments were made that definitely would have turned off a lot of folks of color, including myself.
I’m not advocating for people to not share what they think, by any means. I’m simply stating that we all need to reflect more on how we create spaces that is welcoming for all. That doesn’t just happen on its own. If we’re not actively trying to be aware of how that happens — if we choose to not talk about equity and inclusion — we run the risk of defaulting into one way of being and thinking, which is unhealthy and exclusive. It takes work, but I know that we can work on it together.
As a millennial and an Asian American, I hope that I can find a home in amateur radio. It gives me hope that discussions like these are happening.
Joe Smith says
The problem as I see it is that this topic cannot be discussed without the racism card being tossed about frequently and forcefully against any and all who would raise concerns about FOCUSING on someone’s skin color in order to promote diversity. Can we agree that some people and even some groups of people have varying levels of interest in different activities? “Diversity” is often just a euphemism for judging someone for the color of their skin and not the content of their character. Sure, there are a lot of older, dare I say it, white males who are interested in amateur radio. The goal of amateur radio groups should be to accommodating and welcoming to new people who have an interest in learning about and participating in amateur radio in a non-political way.. I have been thankful that, at least in the circles I’ve been in, politics and “Diversity, Inclusion and Equity” have not made a lot of inroads into amateur radio and is a harbor, at least for a while longer perhaps, from the relentless takeover of every aspect of our culture and institutions by social justice warriors.
Mike in NJ says
K1OIK just posted a video on YT where Ria said ham radio’s too white. Over at QRZ WM1NB got a thread ban for a week for saying it sounded like ARRL will be doing affirmative action. KD8OSD posted a pic of Ria from when she was a man named Ryan with the same callsign, and KD8OSD said he didn’t like the woke agenda. Some wondered if the Hudson Division knows they elected a man who dresses as a woman and wants to start recruiting others like her/him. Several said they wouldn’t renew and said if ARRL goes woke, they’ll probably go broke. QRZ removed a bunch of comments. Too bad QRZ has such strong censorship, or we could have had a good conversation about the role of the ARRL in changing the face of ham radio.