ERI’s goal is to create a sustainable, racially just work environment and contribute to building a world rooted in equity. For ERI, to be a racially just organization is to create and work in an environment free of discrimination and inequities, and to be more effective in the impact of our external work on social, economic, and racial equity
Our staff’s commitment to racial justice will be lived out by:
- Actively living our values through our team agreements;
- Using a racial justice lens when we analyze and talk about data, in our ways of communicating, in our onboarding processes, and in our writing;
- Working to address root causes of inequities, which are present in our policies, practices, attitudes, power dynamics, and cultural messages;
- Being mindful of oops, ouches, and conflicts on the journey; and
- Learning to listen, own, and heal from mistakes made.
ERI’s organizational commitment to racial justice will be lived out by:
- Sustaining a racial justice team and an ongoing process of education and cohesiveness in order to create open and supportive work spaces.
- Developing ways to take collective, collaborative action for systemic change in the organization.
- Educating ourselves through race, gender, and other aspects of our identity that are tied to complex histories, and play significant roles in how resources and power are distributed.
- Supporting staff and affiliates in developing their capacity to work effectively across differences with staff, students, faculty, and external partners by growing culture-specific awareness, knowledge, and skills.