Find more information about our work to improve diversity, equity and inclusion:
See our AAPI statement here
See our BLM statement here
See our Transgender Support Statement here
See our DEI Actions & Updates here
See our DEI Resources here
OSLC and ODI Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
We are dedicated to taking intentional, actionable steps to increase our organization’s understanding of and commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This work is vital to our organizational mission of strengthening children, adolescents, families, and communities. We will work to address all forms of discrimination and biases within our organization and within the research community in general. We commit to opening up conversations about the root causes of biases and oppression that have too long sustained systemic barriers to success for marginalized and underrepresented people. We aim to dismantle the barriers we can and provide resources to hurdle the ones beyond our control. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are the path for us to reach these goals.
Diversity
Diversity considers whether the people providing input and influence differ on personal, social, and demographic characteristics. Valuing, learning, and growing from such diversity improves the vitality of organizations. We strive to build an organization composed of individuals of diverse backgrounds. Among other things, this may include those of different races, colors, ethnicities, national origins, ancestry, sexes, gender identities, physical and mental abilities, experience of pregnancy and/or medical conditions, source of income, sexual orientations, marital status, familial status, age, religions, veteran status, and/or lived experiences.
Equity
Equality–being equal–is distinctly different from equity–being fair, impartial, and just. Because we come from unique backgrounds and lived experiences, the tools and support we may need to succeed in life are not the same. We strive to build an organization where everyone has equal opportunity to achieve the same outcomes, with recognition that many groups start at a disadvantage and may deserve differentiated inputs from an organization to achieve a similar outcome. This may mean providing individuals with customized and unique resources to succeed and improve representation and achievement from all people at all levels of our organization.
Inclusion
Creating an inclusive environment where the voices of diverse people are welcomed and heard is perhaps our most lofty goal. It is difficult to measure and requires honest feedback and open dialogue. It is imperative that we invite, respect, and value diverse voices. We strive to provide an inclusive, safe, and respectful environment where minority voices can be safely expressed and more importantly heard, ultimately influencing decision making and future directions.
Taking Action
We acknowledge that fully achieving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is a huge undertaking and that we do not have all of the answers. We nonetheless believe that the time to take further and continuing action should start now, and we commit to do that with our forthcoming Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts. We must be vocal and transparent about our goals and vision for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within our organization, and ultimately hold ourselves accountable. We will surely make mistakes along the way, but we are committed to learn and grow from those mistakes. Together we can build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization and a socially just world.