At Humanity United, principles and practices aligned with the concepts of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) are fundamental to our work. Whether through our programs seeking to transform the systems contributing to human exploitation and violent conflict, or our operations, which are led by a staff committed to human rights and dignity, HU’s mission and organizational values inherently center social justice.
Our mission, values, and organizational goals all express an intention to advance DEIJ. To achieve this larger organizational purpose, we need to create strategic alignment across all elements of our organization.
How do we carry out this work?
We partner with and learn from leaders in the field
Our first steps began in early 2019, when a core team dedicated to developing a workstream on DEIJ began meeting to discuss how to foster a cross-functional conversation at HU. We reached out to key partners who we believed were further along in this process than ourselves, such as our sister organizations in The Omidyar Group, Democracy Fund and Omidyar Network, in addition to potential allies (e.g., the Libra Foundation, PEAK Grantmaking).
We then contracted with Justice Funders, an Oakland, CA-based non-profit that guides and supports philanthropic institutions in aligning practices with social justice values. Accompanied by Justice Funders, we worked to gather a baseline assessment of DEIJ at HU and uncover opportunities for the organization to more effectively align with DEIJ principles.
We provide safe spaces for discussion, feedback, and collaboration
The DEIJ Action Team is a working group dedicated to overseeing and managing the implementation of respective team DEIJ Action Plans. The Action Team plays a key role in advising other teams on applying a DEIJ lens to their work and surfacing new and emerging org-wide needs arising from staff engagement.
Affinity Groups also help catalyze positive change by providing a supportive space for staff members with shared experiences to come together in whatever way best fits the needs and priorities of the group. These spaces offer an opportunity to enable conversation and gather feedback on HU’s DEIJ initiatives.
We lead recruitment processes with a DEIJ lens
At HU, we strive to create an exceptional candidate experience by taking an equity-focused approach to interviewing. We reduce bias by maintaining consistency across as many interviewing variables as possible. We invite colleagues from multiple teams to interview candidates to gather feedback from multiple perspectives. And, we use behavioral-based assessments and interview questions to assess candidate knowledge, skills, and abilities. We also ensure that a commitment to DEIJ is a must-have requirement for all of our open positions.