Celebrating What Makes Us Unique
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at San Diego Humane Society
At San Diego Humane Society, we’re united by our mission to create a more humane world for people and animals. Our Culture of Care inspires us to promote and support a diverse and equitable environment of mutual respect where all staff, volunteers and guests feel a sense of inclusion and belonging.
To support an inclusive environment where everyone feels empowered to share their experiences and ideas, we’ve …
Established a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee: Our DEI Committee was established in 2019 to help guide a thoughtful and deliberate approach to ensuring that our values and practices align with the broader equity issues faced by the communities we serve. Our strategic areas of focus are:
- Aligning our organization’s vision, mission and values with the broader equity issues being faced by the communities we serve.
- Championing a thriving organization for our staff, volunteers, guests, donors and board where each of us feels an authentic sense of belonging.
- Continuing to foster a Culture of Care through our internal policies, practices and behaviors.
- Attracting and retaining employees, volunteers, donors and board members of diverse backgrounds who represent the communities we serve.
- Measuring progress toward cultural equity with quantitative and qualitative research related to DEI.
Established DEI Committee Working Groups: To enact change within our organization, we established several DEI working groups. These groups spearhead the development of thoughtful initiatives that promote racial equality, such as community engagement, new recruiting efforts and metrics to foster a working environment where employees, volunteers and guests feel represented, supported and heard. Here are some of the groups in action:
- Recognition and celebration of multicultural events.
- Book club.
- DEI events and speakers series for staff and volunteers.
- Facilitated group discussions.
- Learn Spanish!
Added Inclusion as one of our core values: Inclusion is seen when we elevate our colleagues, when we fill our staff and volunteer corps with people of all backgrounds and experiences, when we interact with our guests with empathy and without judgment, and when we examine how we are meeting the unique needs of our communities. Inclusion is actionable from any individual’s sphere of influence, and it is evident when we look around the room to see who is represented and whose voices are missing.
We know there is much work still to be done. With our motto Inspiring Compassion as our guide, we continue to work toward adding our collective voices to the movement of ensuring the rights and dignity of all our community members, both within and outside of our organization.
