Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

 

At The Opportunity Alliance, we stand against racism and are an actively anti-racist organization. We will be resolute in our efforts to address disparities and injustices that we see in our workplace and in our community.  

We envision an agency where systems are just, fair, and inclusive, enabling all people to participate and reach their full potential. We strive for healthy and prosperous employment and client communities that promote marginalized, oppressed, and underserved groups having equitable access and opportunity. We recognize the role that social service agencies have historically played in perpetuating racism and institutional inequities and we recognize that to achieve our vision, we must lead our social sector in making the changes we want to see in society. At TOA, our charge is to: 

  • Lead, with compassion, for social justice 

  • Support all those who are affected by inequity 

  • Create space for all groups to contribute 

  • Be transparent about our efforts to create a more inclusive, diverse, equitable, and anti-racist workplace and community 

Here’s what we’ve done so far: 

  • Created in Spring of 2021, TOA’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Employee Advisory Committee reports to TOA’s Sr. Leadership on EDI best practices and recommended strategies. The Committee supports the organization’s EDI training, practices, and policies to ensure a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist environment for the staff and clients of TOA. This Committee is composed of staff from various teams across the organization. 

  •  Reviewed client intake forms to ensure they are inclusive of all races, genders, and pronouns. 

  • Increased career outreach to diverse and minority communities.  

  • Developed a process to convert resume experience and education levels from other countries to US/ TOA equivalents.  

  • Embedded TOA’s EDI efforts into the agency’s public policy agenda.


Here's where we still need to improve: 

  • Determine clear, measurable outcomes for the agency’s EDI work. 

  • Create mandatory staff training around issues such as anti-racism, inclusion, and compassion. 

  • Increase the diversity of TOA’s Management and Senior Leadership teams. 

  • Create systems to support and promote BIPOC and LGBTQ+ employees within the agency. 

We still have a lot of work to do. We’re learning, and sometimes stumbling, as we go. But we won’t stop.