Supporting a Diversity and Inclusion Council and Employee Resource Groups
Challenge
Strengthening employee engagement and a sense of community for every member of our dispersed workforce.
Actions
Fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce is mission-critical at AIR. Our four strategic pillars of diversity and inclusion (D&I) shape AIR’s commitment to fostering workplaces where all staff and stakeholders feel respected and valued.
This commitment comes alive through AIR’s D&I Council, which works to integrate D&I into operations and monitors the effectiveness of our strategy.
The D&I Council supports seven vibrant employee resource groups (ERGs) to promote cultural awareness, professional development, collegial support, and visibility for diversity, equity and inclusion:
- Access AIR for staff and family members with disabilities.
- AIR Asians in Motion for Asian staff.
- AIR BLAAC Diaspora Network (BDN) for Black, Latino, African American, African, and Caribbean staff.
- AIR Collaborative Remote Employee Workforce (CREW) for remote staff.
- AIR Pride for staff who identify along the full spectrum of sexual orientations and allies.
- AIR Stars and Stripes for veterans, military family members, and staff with military affiliations.
- AIR VIVA for Hispanic, Latino/a and Chicano/a staff.
Outcomes
- AIR’s D&I Council developed diversity, equity, and inclusion action plans and is collaborating with organizational leaders to implement them.
- ERGs have strengthened AIR’s culture and generated valuable resources, insights, and solutions: AIR CREW and Access AIR developed AIR Inclusive Meeting Guidelines to foster inclusive in-person and virtual meeting experiences for staff and clients. AIR Pride collaborated with Human Resources on Transition Planning Guidelines, creating a more inclusive environment for transgender employees. AIR BDN created the BLAAC Book, a compilation designed to deepen cultural competence and increase understanding of group complexities and diversity. AIR Asians in Motion, AIR Stars and Stripes, and AIR VIVA hosted learning events on emerging work-related topics and partnered with Human Resources on recruitment events.
Contact
Karen B. Francis, Director, Diversity and Inclusion
Quote
At AIR, diversity, inclusion and equity are essential to our mission and pivotal to our strategic goals. We need teams as diverse as the communities where we work to provide the research, analysis and insights needed to make the world a better place. We recognize that no one person or group is responsible for building a diverse and inclusive environment. It is up to all of us. We seek active participation from everyone at AIR to help create an environment where all our staff can bring their full selves to work every day. Over the years, AIR’s D&I work has reached every member of our staff—through organization-wide training programs, employee resource groups, and more—and we pledge to continue making progress on our D&I journey, in service to our staff, clients, community partners, and AIR’s mission.