At Dispatch, we strive to be a welcoming place that celebrates and actively includes diverse perspectives. This is rooted in our organizational values, specifically in our “People First” value: At Dispatch, people come first, always.
We recognize that the larger systems in which we operate (socially, economically, and culturally) have been carefully and systematically designed to be exclusive, with the intent of keeping out certain voices and disallowing participation and prosperity. Some of those voices include, but are not limited to:
- Our Black communities
- Our Indigenous communities
- Our People of Color communities
- Our Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual communities
- Our Trans and Gender Non-Conforming communities
- Our Religious Minorities communities
- Our Documented and Undocumented Immigrant communities
- Our Disabled communities
- Our Veteran communities
We acknowledge that we are far from perfect as an organization. But we pledge to first listen and actively learn, to look inward to understand what we can do to be better, and to take action to do so.
After seeking to understand ourselves and our communities, we’ll look to how we might be able to work with and help these communities. Next, we’ll strive to actively participate in dismantling, reimagining, and transforming those inequitable and unfair systems that have kept certain communities, for generations, from being able to fully and meaningfully participate in our society, economy, and democracy.
What are we doing about it as an organization? Not enough. But here is where we are starting:
- We’ll facilitate meaningful conversations about inequity and white privilege with the intent to build understanding and then act to change
- Centering our “Understanding and Mitigating Bias” workshop as a cornerstone of our new employee training program, mentorship and internship programs, and new leader training
- Facilitating and empowering an employee-led Equity, Inclusion, & Diversity Council/Steering Group with a responsibility to:
- Help Dispatch understand and implement structural changes to become a place that is more welcoming and inclusive of all historically marginalized people and voices
- Help define, build, and facilitate panels and learning opportunities to broaden our understanding and empower us to act
- Help Dispatch understand how we can assist in our local communities and participate in actively dismantling racist and exclusive systems of power
- Listening to our communities and employees to understand our own systems of exclusion (policies, procedures, and tools), and working to correct them
- Taking on the responsibility of educating ourselves, from senior leaders to front line employees, about systemic racism, injustice, and inequities
- Actively soliciting feedback from all employees to understand how we can make our benefits more inclusive. For example, offering unlimited time off to accommodate the realities of the unique lives, circumstances, and challenges we all face
- Facilitating, organizing, and participating in volunteer events, informed by our employees, and directed wherever we’re needed in our communities
- Facilitating and organizing subject matter expert panels to not only drive understanding about what it’s like to personally face systemic injustices, but to also define what participants can do immediately to actively support our communities and work to eliminate those systemic barriers
- Putting our money where our mouth is by organizing employee-giving campaigns, matched by company dollars, with funds going directly to organizations working on the front lines to drive change in our communities
There is a massive amount of work yet to be done. We’ve got a long road ahead, both as an organization and as a country. We’re working to make as many positive dents as quickly as we can. But we need your help and hope you’ll consider joining us on this journey.
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