Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Race impacts all of us. It’s the single biggest predictor of a person’s education, health, and income.
To advance United Way for Greater Austin’s mission to break economic barriers and build opportunity for all, we must stand up for racial justice.
That’s why we commit to:
Looking back to understand how we’ve contributed to racial inequality
Changing unfair systems that prevent our community from reaching its full potential
Embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion as individuals, as an organization, and with our community
United, we can create a community where everyone feels a sense of belonging. Join the journey and Live United!
Austin: A Tale of Two Cities
Race and zip code continue to be some of the biggest predictors of a person’s life outcomes. Zip codes determine what opportunities are available to families, such as parks, jobs, grocery stores, child care, schools, and safe housing.
In Travis County, the poverty rate for Black and Hispanic people is more than double that of non-Hispanic white people.
The highest rates of poverty are among children, especially children of color. Of the approximately 14,197 children under 6 living in poverty, 90% are children of color.
Source: US Census Bureau
Poverty Rates by Race
We’re always learning and unlearning
Since 2018, 38 United Way team members have participated in anti-racism training.
We value the lived experience of parents, and we center the voices of parents in our strategic work.
The Success By 6 Coalition partnered with the City of Austin Equity Office to complete an equity assessment and center diversity, equity, and inclusion in our early childhood work.
Child care workers are disproportionately women of color. We are building pathways for child care workers to achieve higher education degrees and a living wage. We advocate for equitable resources in early childhood and empower child care providers to advocate at the city, county, and state levels.
We center equity in our grantmaking process. Lived experience as a person of color is a critical input, both among our community reviewers and in the leadership of nonprofit applicants.
We prioritize language access. Both our 2-1-1 helpline and ConnectATX – which offer help with food, housing, transportation, and more – are available in more than 200 languages.
Our Journey So Far
Our Year of Conversation
- Invested in our commitment to DEI and hired Rachel Rosen & SPARK as our DEI consultants
- Invited all team members to give anonymous input on specific ways our organization could improve
- Formed a DEI Committee, with representatives from each department and our Leadership Team
[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”2020″ heading_tag=”h4″ el_class=”timelineh4″]
Our First Year of Action
- Created a DEI strategic plan, to serve as a roadmap toward progress
- Increased transparency of and access to information about how decisions are made
- Started a review of organizational policies, and improved several policies to be more equitable
- Intentionally focused on increasing the racial diversity of our Board and team
[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”2021″ heading_tag=”h4″ el_class=”timelineh4″]
Continuing Our Journey
- Continued to improve organizational policies
- Oriented new team members to our anti-racism work and values during the onboarding process
- Offered the opportunity to participate in affinity groups to all team members
- Guided our Leadership Team through a 360-degree review process
[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”2022″ heading_tag=”h4″ el_class=”timelineh4″]
Continuing Our Journey
- Created and administered a demographic survey to our team and Board, to collect baseline demographics so we can measure progress on our DEI goals
- Solicited and incorporated feedback from parent leaders and clients on our anti-racism statement and DEI website page
- Partnered with the Building Spirit Committee to share DEI-related topics and resources with our team
[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”2023″ heading_tag=”h4″ el_class=”timelineh4″]
Our Journey Continues
[/icon_timeline_item][/icon_timeline]
There’s more work to do, and anti-racism work remains a priority for all of us here at United Way. We’re committed to the fight for racial justice as more than just a moment – but a movement.
What we’re reading, watching, and listening to
BOOK:
Caste (The Origins of Our Discontents), Isabel Wilkerson
DOCUMENTARY:
VIDEO:
PODCAST: