BCC Commits to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

At the beginning of our EDI journey, we wanted the Board of Child Care to be an organization that not only enriched the lives of the families we served but also uplifted those who are doing this mission-focused work at every level of the organization. With an employee population of 800+, BCC’s stance on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion needed to be prioritized and clearly communicated.

We started with a simple question: As an organization, what does EDI mean to us? This guiding question led us down a path to understanding our staff’s individual visions about the legacy for the agency. Through individual interviews, formal data collection, and commitment from executive leadership, the Board of Child Care released an official EDI statement and updated Core Values in May 2021 to display to our entire community our commitment to ensuring inclusive and equitable experiences for all our stakeholders. This is what we believe…

Our Commitment

The Board of Child Care is committed to honoring differences, acknowledging uniqueness, and amplifying all voices. A culture of inclusivity empowers individuals at every level to enrich communities, one family at a time.

Diversity statements are not to be created by one single person or group. It is important to be as collaborative as possible and use the words, vision, and experiences of others to guide how the statement should sound and come together. Once we created this statement, we literally toured this statement around to various groups (EDI Committee, Executive Leadership, Senior Leadership) to ensure that the statement felt realistic, relevant, and represented all stakeholders in our community.

An Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion statement demonstrates an agency’s commitment to building an inclusive, varied workplace welcoming people of all backgrounds. Much like a mission and values statement, the diversity and inclusion statement are, ideally, more than just a marketing exercise. It should guide your hiring, employee benefits, customer service, and workplace culture. Keep in mind that a good statement is:

• Direct and Concise
• Around 20-75 words,
• Is on an 8th-grade reading level
• Uses positive and inclusive language
• Relates to the agency mission and purpose statement

Creating and publishing an EDI statement was a significant first step in the EDI journey, here at BCC. It provides us with direction and refocuses our vision to incorporating EDI principles, initiatives, and standards into our functionality and strategic planning. With an established commitment to all things Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion the real work begins to bring this statement to life in a real and palpable way.

Let’s talk about bias.

Bias, a tendency, inclination, or prejudice toward or against something or someone, is something we all have. It can be innate or learned, and while some biases are helpful (like avoiding someone who has purposely caused you harm), many are not. Continue reading…