At WorldChicago, an equitable workplace is one where all employees, volunteers, and program participants feels valued and respected, where differences are viewed as opportunities to explore creative interactions. We are committed to a nondiscriminatory approach in all our efforts regarding employment, advancement, and program participation. We respect and value diverse life experiences, backgrounds and heritages and strive to ensure that all voices are heard.

WorldChicago is committed to modeling diversity, equity and inclusion within the international nonprofit community.

To provide informed, authentic leadership for cultural equity, WorldChicago will:

· Connect diversity, equity and inclusion to our mission to ensure the well-being of our staff and the international community we serve.

· Understand and dismantle any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and continually update and report organizational progress.

· Challenge potential underlying, unquestioned assumptions that interfere with inclusiveness.

· Advocate for and support board-level thinking about how systematic inequities impact our work, and how best to address that in a way that is consistent with our mission.

· Be a cultural leader by creating and supporting programs and policies that foster equity and equality throughout the organization, from the staff, to homestay hosts, host organizations, to the Board of Directors.

· Lead with respect. We expect all employees to embrace this notion and to express it in workplace interactions and through everyday practices.

WorldChicago abides by the following action items to help promote diversity, equity and inclusion in our workplace:

· Commit time and resources to expand more diverse leadership within our board, staff, committee, and advisory bodies.

· Pursue cultural competency throughout our organization by creating substantive learning opportunities.

· Generate and aggregate quantitative and qualitative research related to equity and equality to make incremental, measurable progress toward the visibility of our diversity, equity and inclusion, and equity efforts. Data will be publicly available on our website.

· Create and support programs and policies that foster equity throughout the organization, from the staff, to homestay hosts and other volunteers, to the Board of Directors, to suppliers, and partners.

· Develop and present sessions on diversity, equity and inclusion to provide information and resources internally, and to partners and participants.

· Develop a system for being more intentional and conscious of bias throughout our people selection process from recruiting to promotion. Train our hiring team on equitable and inclusive practices.

· Advocate for public and private-sector policies that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Challenge systems and policies that create inequity, oppression, and disparity.