We are committed to a nondiscriminatory approach and provide equal opportunity for employment and advancement in our workplace and all of our programs. We respect and value diverse life experiences and heritages and ensure that all voices are valued and heard.
We’re committed to modeling diversity and inclusion for our community and the veteran-serving portion of the nonprofit sector, and to maintaining an inclusive environment with equitable treatment for all.
To provide informed, authentic leadership for cultural equity, Military Veterans in Journalism strives to:
- See diversity, inclusion, and equity as connected to our mission and critical to ensure the well-being of our staff and the community we serve.
- Acknowledge and dismantle any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and continually update and report organization 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, staff, committee, and advisory bodies.
- Lead with respect. We expect all employees to embrace this notion and to express it in workplace interactions and through everyday practices.
Military Veterans in Journalism abides by the following action items to help promote diversity and inclusion in our workplace:
- Pursue cultural competency throughout our organization by creating substantive learning opportunities and formal, transparent policies.
- Improve our cultural leadership pipeline by creating and supporting programs and 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. We have worked and will continue to work with affinity groups such as the Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists, and Native American Journalists Association.
- Develop and present sessions on diversity, inclusion, and equity to provide information and resources internally, and to members, the community, and the media industry.
- 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.
- Include a salary range with all public job descriptions.
Our DEI Goals
Awareness
- Enhance employee understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion issues
- Set up discussions and/or presentations on the importance of addressing these issues
- Develop & participate in training that would enhance employee cultural competency
Recruitment & Hiring
- Discuss with hiring/selection committees where unconscious biases can appear during the recruitment & hiring process. Encourage transparency, fairness and objectivity in selection & hiring decisions
- Develop effective strategies to recruit and attract a more diverse applicant pool for position vacancies
- Develop, improve and/or modify promotional materials so that they are culturally sensitive and accessible to all target groups
- Member Recruitment:
- Develop effective strategies to recruit and attract a more diverse membership
- Reach out to diversity committees in affinity groups to solicit feedback
- Seek out speakers from underrepresented groups for events
- Recruit more diverse mentors for mentorships
Inclusion
- Promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace
- Promote the development and advancement of underrepresented group members in the team through professional development courses and training
- Actively create a productive work environment within the team that is free of harassment and bullying
- Make sure that web pages, documents, forms, etc. are ADA compliant and accessible to all users.
- Assess whether current policies, practices, and procedures are inclusive and sensitive to the various cultures in our workplace and community
- Promote policies, practices, and procedures that are inclusive and sensitive to the various cultures in our workplace and community
