Tell your story. Concentrate on issues such as race, gender, social class and sexual orientation. Avoid false parallels. Write about specific things you have done to help students from underrepresented backgrounds succeed. Describe specific ways you are willing to contribute.
Talk about unique experiences you have or unique viewpoints. Diversity doesn't necessarily connote physical characteristics or heritage. Talk about how you'd bring different perspectives to the program. Not belonging to a minority group shouldn't automatically preclude someone from writing a bit about their background.
Ideally, you would start with a thesis statement that summarizes your values within DEI (e.g., commitment to building a just society, decentering privileged voices in your discipline, amplifying marginalized voices in your teaching and research) and provide examples throughout the statement to support how you've done ...
Excerpt #1: “I care about diversity, equity, and inclusion in my teaching. I am committed to creating a more equitable learning environment for my students.” Excerpt #2: “In my teaching, I will also strive to remain attentive to the negative impacts of power and privilege.
Give examples of a candidate's past contributions to diversity. Demonstrate an understanding of the particular diversity and equity related issues and needs in a candidate's field, or in higher education more generally. Discuss the candidate's vision for how they might make contributions to diversity in the future.
Provide a Diversity Statement Example: “We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce is essential for fostering creativity and achieving our business goals.”
I believe equal opportunity is extremely important and every student is unique in their own way. I strive to create an open, inclusive, and equal environment in which every student has the opportunity to flourish.
A simple example of a nonprofit DEI statement can look like this one from Girls Who Code: “Girls Who Code is an organization that values diversity, equity, and inclusion as essential to our mission.”