Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative

Accessibility is the practice of designing products, devices, services, or environments for people who experience disabilities. It’s about removing barriers that might prevent people with disabilities from accessing something. It’s about creating opportunity for everyone to participate in x, y, or z.

Web accessibility is all of this, but on the web. It’s more than just screen readers.

Our intention is to help you begin your accessibility initiative. It’s a great place to start, but—to be clear—it’s just that: a start. It outlines important stuff you need to know, from why you should care (hint: many, many reasons) to how you can have the biggest impact on web accessibility efforts in your role.

Use this guide as it best suits you. Read it from beginning to end, or reference it to refresh your mind on a specific topic. 

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“We have benefited from the tidal wave of post-Weinstein issues to look at the museum world’s sexual harassment in the workplace and gender inequality,” said Joan H Baldwin, co-author of a book called Women in the Museum: Lessons from the Workplace. “It’s a time to celebrate the change of leadership in many museums across the country, who have chosen women.”

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The boards of Denver's arts and culture nonprofits sometimes don't match their audiences. That often proves a stumbling block to equity and inclusion.

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The city's IMAGINE 2020 cultural plan envisions a more inclusive and equitable Denver. Local leaders are taking the mission to heart as the plan advances from drawing board to the city's neighborhoods.

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Funders that care about health equity have come a long way in the last 20 years. They increasingly emphasize social determinants of health, think intentionally about how to work with communities, and want to make sure those relationships are more authentic and driven by community priorities.

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Can the funding field ever be “level”?

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We speak things into existence and use words to reinforce the status quo. We have all heard “Words have power,” the ability to define reality for ourselves and for others. That is exactly what we do through what we say, what we write, or those words we release into the realm of social media. While some words and phrases are obviously harmful like “illegal immigrant” which criminalizes the person instead of the action, other words are more subtle — insidious. They often lack the intent and strategy of language we consider to be “dog whistle” but the damage they cause is likely worse.

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Study on trends in funding for culturally specific organizations.

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The report is the result of interviews with African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA) arts leaders, surveys, IRS 990 analyses and a literature review. 

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Grantmakers in the Arts' board of directors developed a statement of purpose for their work in racial equity in arts philanthropy with a goal to increase arts funding for ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American) artists, arts organizations, children, and adults. Originally published in 2015, this statement continues to be updated as GIA builds its knowledge of practical applications to assist institutional funders in achieving this goal.

As part of NYC's ongoing initiative to work towards a diverse and equitable cultural workforce, they worked with the research firm Ithaka S+R with support from the Mertz Gilmore Foundation and Rockefeller Brothers Fund to conduct a survey of recent grantees. 

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To support a full creative life for all, Americans for the Arts commits to championing policies and practices of cultural equity that empower a just, inclusive, equitable nation.

Practical ways to tackle economic inequality.

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A discussion tool to encourage racial equity in the review and selection process of artists and arts organizations.

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Short, emotional, literary, powerful―Tears We Cannot Stop is the book that all Americans who care about the current and long-burning crisis in race relations will want to read.

More and more, community festivals, performing and visual arts, and cultural events are capturing the public interest, making arts and cultural programming an increasingly important part of the leisure and recreation, hospitality, museum, and tourism industries. As arts and cultural opportunities expand, programmers can look to Arts and Cultural Programming: A Leisure Perspective to acquire skills to build their audiences and position their programs for success.

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For more than a decade, Readings for Diversity and Social Justice has been the trusted, leading anthology to cover the full range of social oppressions from a social justice standpoint. With full sections dedicated to racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, and ableism, as well as transgender oppression, religious oppression, and adult and ageism, this bestselling text goes far beyond the range of traditional readers. New essay selections in each section of this third edition have been carefully chosen to keep topic coverage timely and readings accessible and engaging for students. The interactions among these topics are highlighted throughout to stress the interconnections among oppressions in everyday life.

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In What If?, Robbins provides twenty-six inspiring, lively, and sometimes deeply personal stories illustrating diversity and inclusion concepts. He offers insight and practical advice on how to reconcile unity with diversity and reframe our organizations for competitive advantages. He adds tips and suggestions for putting keylearning into action in your organization, ending each chapter with questions, an activity, and an assignment to inspire you to be more open-minded and inclusive and to discover how the ideas presented in the book might apply to your daily life at work and at home.

Arts organizations once sought patrons primarily from among the wealthy and well educated, but for many decades now they have revised their goals as they seek to broaden their audiences. Today, museums, orchestras, dance companies, theaters, and community cultural centers try to involve a variety of people in the arts. They strive to attract a more racially and ethnically diverse group of people, those from a broader range of economic backgrounds, new immigrants, families, and youth. 

"If you believe that your organization has done everything it can to enhance its diversity, and if you are still frustrated at how little progress you have made, Moving Diversity Forward is for you. It is an instructive read for all of those who wish to live and work in a multi-cultural world where everyone has a fair chance to succeed and contribute."
-- Frank P. Barron, Chief Legal Officer, Morgan Stanley

A provocative meditation on race, Claudia Rankine's long-awaited follow up to her groundbreaking book Don't Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric.

A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time.

Tariana Navas-Nieves of Denver Arts & Venues leads a new effort to build a more inclusive Denver for artists. To begin? Ask lots of questions.

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Denver Arts & Venues, in partnership with the Agency for Human Rights and Community Partnerships and the Office of the Mayor, hosts Denver Talks: an in-depth discussion with author and educator Jennifer Harvey. Harvey, a professor at Drake University, is a writer, educator and public speaker. Her work focuses on the encounter between religion and ethics, race, gender, activism, politics and spirituality in the U.S. Her greatest passions are racial justice and white anti-racism.

With our workforce becoming increasingly diverse, encouraging sensitivity and understanding in the workplace is a top priority for businesses everywhere. The Diversity Training Activity Bookaddresses such fundamental issues as change, communication, gender at work, and conflict resolution. Tested with hundreds of participants to ensure the appropriateness and effectiveness for a variety of diversity training needs, the simple activities in this book will help employees at all levels cope with cultural and gender differences and master new skills for communicating more effectively. 

Boardbound. Find the right woman for your board. Be informed and advocate for women on boards. Prepare to join a community or corporate board.

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The unequal empowerment of student voices illuminates a systematic barrier for youth to be prepared and competitive candidates for art and leadership pipeline opportunities.

The Arts & Business Council of New York is thrilled to offer the Diversity in Arts Leadership (DIAL) internship again in 2018. For 26 years, DIAL has been an investment in building a more equitable arts management field. The program has placed more than 256 students from across the country into over 116 arts nonprofit organizations in NYC to develop leadership in the business of the arts.

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The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) was the second U.S. city to adopt a percent for art program in 1973. As the city has grown and expanded so too has the public art program and the Office itself. One current goal of the public art program is to address historic and current institutional racism, or at the very least the paucity of artists of color working in the public realm. Beyond fixing public education at its most basic level and addressing economic disparity there are steps that a local arts agency can take to train and help the next generation of public artists. 

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