Why are mission statements crucial for DEI Programs? Learn how they establish commitment, provide direction, and foster inclusive cultures.
Crafting a diversity, equity, and inclusion mission statement for DEI programs sets the foundation for your organization. It provides direction and clarity to organizations embarking on a DEI journey and helps DEI leaders develop their DEI strategy. A DEI statement reflects your values and illustrates your commitment to offering an equitable and inclusive workplace.
This statement shouldn’t just be something you put on your website, but an actionable plan for achieving your DEI goals. If your organization doesn’t already have one, it’s time to create it. Every decision should support this mission and create a positive workplace that celebrates diversity.
What is a DEI Program?
A DEI program is an initiative that promotes diversity in the workplace across various aspects, including gender, ethnicity, race, ability, religion, age, and sexual orientation. Teams with different backgrounds and experiences bring unique insights to your team, enhancing creativity, collaboration, and morale.
Some DEI program examples include:
- DEI Training
- Employee Resource Groups
- Mentorship Programs
- Recruitment
Crafting DEI Statements for Successful DEI Programs
Begin this process by examining your company’s values. Decide how you want to express your commitment to DEI. Outline your DEI policy, goals, and steps to achieve a successful DEI program. Emphasize that it is everyone’s responsibility at your workplace to fulfill this commitment. This helps reinforce the idea that creating a positive work culture extends beyond leadership.
Set a tone that shows your organization values diversity and inclusion and looks for ways to continue to grow. Add important data or information about DEI outreach efforts to illustrate that your organization is doing what it claims it is committed to.
How to Use A DEI Statement
Once you’ve created this important statement, you will want to strategize how to display it. You can include it in your ‘About Us’ section, on your homepage, or in employee email signatures. Ensure the statement is accessible and incorporated into inclusive job descriptions. This allows candidates to understand that your organization mirrors their values.
Creating a statement with actionable steps makes it easy to measure success and how well your organization is doing with its DEI programs. Train leadership to incorporate these principles into the work culture and encourage employees to brainstorm better ways to achieve these goals.
Showcase Your DEI Commitment With Your DEI Statement
Sharing what DEI means to your organization demonstrates your pledge and accountability to these standards.
To further support your efforts in creating a diverse and inclusive workplace, consider using our essential DEI tool, the Diversity Calendar. It’s designed to help you learn about and celebrate the diversity of your team with different diversity days, heritage months, awareness months, or other medical awareness days.
FAQs
What should be included in a company mission statement?
First, you want to include your company’s mission how your DEI vision relates to this mission directly, the groups of people you’re focusing on, and some specific examples of things you will undertake. They are sometimes called DEI statements and are brief messages for customers to see how an organization positively impacts their employees.
What is the goal of a mission statement?
A mission statement ideally has a few sentences that explain how your organization is different from your competitors. It should define your principles and values and bring employees together with a common purpose of empowering all people and offering equal opportunities for promotion.
Why are DEI initiatives important?
DEI initiatives are crucial to an organization and have many benefits. They create a fair environment with equitable access to opportunities to advance. They also create inclusion, where employees feel a sense of belonging and are accepted, heard, and respected as they are. Best of all, they allow for new perspectives, which has been proven to lead to better innovation and more revenue.