IRC Leadership Board creates a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team

Like many around the world, the IRC was shocked by the murder of George Floyd but also galvanized to transform shared trauma and internal reflection into  actionable steps. In the weeks that followed this tragedy, hundreds of IRC staff engaged in public and private writing and conversations about how to understand and address issues of racial injustice, diversity and discrimination. IRC leadership absorbed this critical feedback and formed a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) team to ensure the equal protection, treatment, and empowerment of all clients, colleagues and partners.

As a global organization with over 14,000 employees, the DEI team represents staff from the regions of Africa, Asia, Middle East, Latin America, the United States and Europe, and also the LGBTQI community. IRC leadership recognizes that many colleagues across the globe have been aware of and are engaged in unpacking the ways in which structural oppression manifests throughout the organization and the humanitarian aid sector as a whole. Injustice and disparities between national and international staff have long been the modus operandi of IRC and organizations like it. By creating the DEI team, the IRC can commit resources to righting the injustices that are occurring within our organization and in areas across the globe.

Over a six month period the DEI team will focus on both the short and long-term steps necessary to make meaningful, lasting change. They will examine every aspect of IRC including global policies, practices and procedures to ensure that IRC is not just diverse, equitable and inclusive, but that IRC is an anti-racist and feminist organization. In recognition that anti-racism work is also a reflective process, the DEI team curated a resource page of learning material around white privilege, structural oppression and how anti-black prejudice can take root in communities of color. As supporters of the IRC, we invite you to be a part of our journey and explore the resources below.

Articles

• 75 Things White People can do for Racial Justice - Medium 
• Moving Beyond Diversity Toward Racial Equity - Harvard Business Review
• The Aid Sector Must Do More to Tackle its White Supremacy Problem - The Guardian 
• You're Too Dark to Play with Us - Pearls for Her
• How Racism Manifests Itself in Africa - A Kitchen in Uganda

Books

• Blindspot: Hidden biases of good people - Mahzarin R. Banaji 
• White Fragility: Why it's so hard for white people to talk about racism - Robin DiAngelo

Podcasts

• Tomorrow's World Podcast Episode 3 - Our own Kate Moger speaks with Stephanie Kimou about decolonizing aid, confronting racism, and moving the sector into the future. 
• Code Switch - NPR-produced podcast by journalists of color talking about race, culture and politics.
• About Race - Featuring key voices from anti-racist activism, this podcast looks at the recent history that lead to the politics of today.
• 1619 - An audio series from the NY Times on how slavery has transformed America.