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Equity

Embracing Equity in Racine County

 
After two years of Community Conversations devoted to the subject of race, equity and inclusion, we have developed a better understanding of the challenges our community faces when it comes to racial inequities. These inequities contribute to the disparities we see in the areas of health, education and financial stability and will continue to hold us back unless we address them. Below, you’ll learn about the tactics United Way of Racine County has developed to help unite our community, better understand each other, and move us forward. You'll also learn how you can stay involved.

Declaration of Inclusion 

United Way of Racine County is asking the community to be part of the movement of inclusion—the active, intentional and ongoing engagement with diversity—by signing a “Declaration of Inclusion” pledge. This pledge asks individuals to respect and appreciate all aspects of any person, including race, religion, skin color, nationality, sexual orientation, gender, physical abilities, age, parental status, work and behavioral styles, and the perspectives of each individual as shaped by their nation, culture and experiences. In addition to taking the personal pledge, United Way of Racine County will help individuals build their “equity muscle” through a quarterly newsletter with various resources, events and ways to stay involved. Take the pledge.

Diversity Council 

United Way of Racine County is creating a community-wide Diversity Council. The council is designed to engage business partners around the focus areas of race, equity and inclusion. Research indicates organizations that tie diversity and inclusion to their business strategies increase performance, productivity and customer satisfaction. Through the support of United Way, members will have the opportunity to participate in quarterly meetings focused on five essential components of diversity in the workplace: situation, strategy, structure, skills and knowledge, and sustainability. The goal of the council is to provide business representatives with the training and support to create diversity and inclusion strategies in their own workplace, resulting in more diverse, inclusive workplaces aligned with organizational goals.
 

Community Event 

United Way of Racine County collaborated with Racine County, Higher Expectations for Racine County and Visioning a Greater Racine to host the first community-wide diversity celebration to be held in Racine County, one of the top inequity solutions identified by Community Conversation participants. Participants expressed their desire for an event in which all members of the community could come together to learn about and celebrate cultural differences. OneRacine was the result. It launched on Saturday, October 6, 2018 at Festival Hall. Admission to this event was free and included community resources and live performances. Many multicultural foods and products were available for purchase.
 
 

Read The race, equity and inclusion Community Conversations Report

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Download a PDF version of the report.)