Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

At New 42, we aspire to be an organization that embraces, cultivates and sustains diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging as a collective group of individuals and throughout all our projects, programs and spaces. We acknowledge how essential it is for us to re-think and dismantle white-centered practices that have been embedded in our nonprofit for decades, and have caused harm and pain.

As a community of practitioners and learners, our approach has been uniquely communal and our plan to move the work forward involves the participation of everyone in the organization. What follows is a summary of the first steps in this stage of our anti-racism journey and the internal work we’ve done so far, including our internal definitions, our staff learning and decision-making structure, and the areas of focus on which our organizational plan is based.

Progress & Updates

Follow our progress examining and recreating how our work as an organization builds a positive impact as we join community efforts to dismantle systemic oppression in our society at large.

Definitions

At the beginning of 2020, a group of staff from across different departments of the organization drafted definitions of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility for the work of New 42, which we have since adopted.

Diversity

The extent to which an organization has people from diverse backgrounds represented throughout. It is recognition of individual differences. These differences can be along the dimensions of: race, color, ethnicity, nationality, language, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs or socioeconomic background.

Equity

The result of combining diversity and inclusion to ensure a transparent, fair and just environment for all. When meaningful efforts are made to provide each individual with what they need to feel a sense of belonging, agency, and the potential for success, equity is more likely to be achieved.

Inclusion

The active, intentional, and ongoing engagement of an organization’s diverse culture through its formal systems, informal practices and accountability protocols.

Accessibility

The intentional and thoughtful actions it takes to ensure that all people—with apparent or non-apparent disabilities or individuals without disabilities—have equitable and independent access to buildings, programs, services and digital content at New 42. Accessibility also encompasses how to reduce the socioeconomic, racial, physical and historic barriers to create equitable opportunities for all.

Working Groups

Our DEIB efforts include learning, sharing and training through the work of the following three working groups.

Learning and Language

Supports organizational DEIB learning by advising on changes to institutional language, liaising with external partners to support professional development for all staff and managing a DEIB-focused digital resource hub.

Culture

Strives to keep a positive and inclusive work culture at New 42 by supporting key components of positive work culture, providing recommendations for positive cultural changes in the organization and developing suggestions and tools to implement those changes.

Accessibility

Continues the accessibility work of the organization by evaluating the accessibility of New 42’s processes and programs to foster the inclusion of all participants.

Anti-Racism Areas of Focus

Anti-racism is central to our community practice. The work the Board and Staff is embarking on comes from areas of focus developed through input from the entire company, including New Victory Teaching Artists and the young people in the New 42 Youth Corps program. The areas of focus, as follows, are unranked.

  • Provide Anti-Racist, Implicit Bias, Anti-Oppression, and Bystander Training for all Board and Staff
  • Review and revise policies and guidelines on anti-racist practice and share those internally and externally with stakeholders
  • Change staff recruitment procedures to reach more Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) candidates and focus on hiring more BIPOC staff, especially on the senior team
  • Re-invent procurement processes and grow the number of BIPOC-led business and vendor partnerships
  • Increase the number of BIPOC artist-led shows in the New Victory season
  • Use images that accurately reflect our current audiences and constituents, particularly in marketing and fundraising campaigns
  • Establish organizational salary review processes and increase transparency across the organization
  • Increase the diversity of the Board of Directors
  • Create protocols for staff to report concerns related to equity, diversity and inclusion without repercussion