Diversity and Inclusion Statement
All Aboard Washington (AAWA) strives to be a diverse, inclusive, and equitable organization where all employees, volunteers, and board members, whatever their gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation or identity, education or disability, feels valued and respected. We are committed to a nondiscriminatory approach and provide equal opportunity for volunteer opportunities, employment, and advancement in all of our programs and worksites. We respect and value diverse life experiences and heritages and ensure that all voices are valued and heard.
We’re committed to reflecting the diversity and inclusiveness of the rail passengers that we represent, and to maintaining an inclusive environment with equitable treatment for all.
To provide informed, authentic leadership for cultural equity, AAWA strives to:
- See diversity, inclusion, and equity as connected to our mission and critical to ensure the well-being of the communities we serve.
- Acknowledge and dismantle any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and regularly update and report organizational progress.
- Explore potential underlying, unquestioned assumptions that interfere with inclusiveness.
- Advocate for and support board-level thinking about how systemic inequities impact our organization’s work, and how best to address that in a way that is consistent with our mission.
- Help to challenge assumptions about what it takes to be a strong leader at our organization, and who is well-positioned to provide leadership.
- Practice and encourage transparent communication in all interactions.
- Commit time and resources to expand more diverse leadership within our board, committees, and advisory bodies.
- Lead with respect and tolerance. We expect all employees and volunteers to embrace this notion and to express it in workplace interactions and through everyday practices.
AAWA abides by the following action items to help promote diversity and inclusion in our workplace:
- As practical, generate and aggregate quantitative and qualitative research related to equity to make incremental, measurable progress toward the visibility of our diversity, inclusion, and equity efforts. Once the content is curated, add it to our website so others can access it.
- Improve our cultural leadership pipeline by creating and supporting policies that foster leadership that reflects the diversity of American society.
- Pool resources and expand offerings for underrepresented constituents by connecting with other organizations committed to diversity and inclusion efforts.
- When applicable, develop a system for being more intentional and conscious of bias during the hiring, promoting, or evaluating process.
- Train our hiring team on equitable practices.
- Advocate for public and private-sector policy that promotes diversity, inclusion, and equity.
- Challenge systems and policies that create inequity, oppression and disparity.