Citizen Relations is committed to embedding equity, diversity, inclusion (EDI) and anti-racism into our culture, operations, and work.
Our values of championing equity, setting the standard and doing what’s right come through in the work we create for clients, and the way we engage with one another.
But we can’t do what’s right without first addressing what’s wrong. That starts with acknowledging the role that the communications industry has played in perpetuating biases, stereotypes, and racism. It’s with the tools and skills of communication we use every day, though, that we can help our industry change course. We have the power to highlight a diversity of stories and shape conversations that matter on EDI and anti-racism in our communities.
Of course, this isn’t an issue that can be solved overnight. Systemic inequities, racism, discrimination, and their effects need resources, time, and a thoughtful approach in order to be properly addressed and start the work on deconstructing them. This isn’t just one moment, either. It will take a continuous effort of learning, unlearning and holding ourselves accountable if we want to change inequitable systems and structures and make a meaningful impact in our society.
Some of the actions we’ve committed to as an agency include:
-Fostering an inclusive, anti-racist culture at our workplace.Everyone should feel a deep sense of belonging at Citizen, and that means celebrating all identities and hearing all voices.
-Supporting and validating employees who come forward to report something wrong. If someone experiences or witnesses racism, appropriate corrective action needs to be taken.
-Increasing representation of equity-deserving communities. To accomplish that, we have to continually address barriers and biases in our recruiting,interviewing, and onboarding processes.
-Continuing to conduct EDI surveys and assessments. We can assist with concerns and help everyone thrive when we understand more about the experiences and challenges of every Citizen.
-Tracking and reporting on supplier diversity. We want to ensure we’re working with companies that share similar values and support businesses owned by equity-deserving communities.
-Examining and making improvements to our internal processes. This means embedding EDI and anti-racism into our work from ideation to
implementation.
-Measuring and tracking our progress to ensure we’re holding ourselves accountable and improving.
-Using our values to guide our business decisions. Responsibility and accountability should be a habit for our agency, employees, and our clients.
-Individually and collectively continuing to learn about the impact of colonization, white-supremacy and different forms of oppression, as well as how to further embed EDI, reconciliation, anti-racism and anti-oppression into our workplace and communities.
