RedRover’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Contents

1. RedRover’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
2. The Need
3. Definitions & Word Choice
4. Accountability
5. Action Plan

RedRover’s Commitment to Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion

RedRover recognizes the deep systemic racism within the animal welfare sector. Our mission is to help animals in crisis and strengthen our relationships with animals – but the lives of animals do not exist in a vacuum. We cannot fully and effectively help animals without looking deeply at ourselves and how we treat one another. Therefore, we see diversity, inclusion, and equity as integral and vital to the success of our mission, as well as to the wellbeing of our staff, volunteers, and the people and communities we serve.

RedRover is committed to examining the way we do our work and accomplish our mission with the goal of increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion. RedRover is committed to working in stronger partnership with the people and communities we serve and actively seeking representation from those communities for our governing Board of Directors and for our staff and volunteers.

More specifically:

• We respect and value diverse life experiences and heritages and ensure that all voices are valued and heard.
• We will engage in ongoing learning and examining our own biases.
• We are committed to nondiscrimination, providing equal opportunity for employment and advancement, and ensuring our internal review and promotion practices are equitable.
• We will create and maintain diverse and equitable work environments with a strong sense of safety and belonging for our staff and volunteers.
• We are committed to modeling diversity, equity, and inclusion for the animal welfare sector and to encouraging those we work closely with to make this commitment with us.

The Need

In our work to build a more empathetic society for all, the intersection between human injustice and animal suffering matters. And this means social justice, including racial justice, is also our cause. Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color are significantly underrepresented in animal welfare organizations at every level, but especially in leadership positions. The systemic racism and underlying bias that plague us as a society impact the policies and practices that govern our nonprofit organizations and have excluded and oppressed people of color. Finding ways to identify bias, celebrate and invite diversity, and develop and embrace inclusive practices can repair the divisions in our society and support equity, as well as help animals. For example, just a 3% increase in the adoption of shelter animals among people of color would lead to 2 million more animals in new loving homes. (For more statistics, visit careawo.org.)

Definition and Word Choice

• Diversity:  The range of human differences, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, social class, physical ability or attributes, religious or ethical values system, national origin, and political beliefs.
• Equity: A state of equity is one of justice and fairness.
• Inclusion: Inclusion recognizes the inherent worth and dignity of all people, and values respect for the talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of living of its members. Inclusive practices lead to a sense of belonging.
• Diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace: A diverse, inclusive, and equitable (DEI) workplace is one where all employees and volunteers, whatever their gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation or identity, education or disability, feel valued, respected, and treated with fairness.
• Bias: An inclination for or against an idea, object, group, or individual. It is often learned and is highly dependent on variables like a person’s socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, educational background, etc. At the individual level, bias can negatively impact someone’s personal and professional relationships; at a societal level, it can lead to unfair persecution of a group.
• Systemic racism: Systems in place that perpetuate racial injustice, bias, and inequities.
• Anti-racism: The ways in which it is possible to identify inequities and dismantle systemic racism. Becoming antiracist requires examining bias, policies, and practices entrenched in established ways of doing things that have excluded and oppressed Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color. Being antiracist requires changing systems and policies to achieve equity.
• Racialized people: People who have been marginalized, discriminated against, and oppressed due to their perceived race, skin tone or other physical characteristics.
• Historically marginalized: People who have been discriminated against throughout our nation’s history, and into its present, due to their perceived race, skin tone, or ethnicity.
• Social justice: Social justice dictates that each human being has equal worth and should have equal opportunity for social integration, economic and social advancement, and conditions that promote optimal health. Economic and social mobility in the United States is now less than in most industrialized and wealthy countries. Significant differences exist between racialized groups and non-racialized groups in access to adequate housing, quality education, career and employment opportunities, safe neighborhoods, protection from environmental hazards, access to government services, and wealth. These discrepancies in access to opportunity have significant effects on health, quality of life, and length of life and are perpetuated through socio-cultural forces at play over generations. Black individuals, by virtue of their unique history, treatment, and past and present experiences in the United States and Canada, have been denied equal access and been disproportionately affected by these discrepancies.
• “All lives matter” vs. “Black Lives Matter” within animal welfare and the animal protection movement: We are glad animals’ lives matter to so many because it is RedRover’s mission to help animals in crisis and bring more awareness to the value of animals in our lives and the powerful bonds we can share. That said, we are sensitive to the context in which the phrase “all lives matter” diminishes the importance and significance of the Black Lives Matter movement, so we do not use this language.

Our Accountability

We are committed to Board-level thinking around examining the structural inequities that have contributed to historically marginalized people being underrepresented and underserved within the animal welfare sector. We are committed to learning and implementing ways RedRover can address these inequities in ways that most impact our mission. The RedRover Board of Directors has approved this policy, as well as the Action Plan below which will be updated quarterly, shared with our supporters, and posted online to show our progress.

RedRover’s Action Plan to Support Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion