Commitment to Diversity in Creating an Equitable Workplace

YWCA’s commitment to racial justice and civil rights runs deep. We’ve been at the forefront of the biggest issues facing the greater Rochester community for 137 years – from voting rights to civil rights, from affordable housing to pay equity, and from violence prevention to health care reform.

Today, YWCA remains committed to ensuring that everyone is afforded equal protection under the law, and our intersectional mission to eliminate racism and empower women demands that advocate against the oppression that many groups and individuals endure, including through recognizing the interconnected experiences of discrimination and disadvantage that women face from their overlapping identities. Too often, stereotypes, biases, and racial power dynamics are embedded in our laws and public policies. They are also reflected in the use of racial profiling, heightened surveillance tactics, targeted enforcement strategies, and other practices that increase policing of certain racial and ethnic communities and lead to criminalization and often the death of people of color.

At YWCA, we demand a world of equity and human decency. We envision a world of opportunity. We commit ourselves to the work of racial justice. We will get up and continue to do the work until injustice is rooted out, until institutions are transformed, until the world sees women, girls, and people of color the way we do: Equal. Powerful. Unstoppable.

As a partner in equity to our community, we believe our staff and board must reflect the diversity of those we serve. We strive to make our workplace a safe space for all, where differences are celebrated and the fight for equity is at the heart of all we do. We are proud our staff is a reflection of those we serve, but like all organizations, we understand that there is still so much to do. We are on a mission.

YWCA of Rochester & Monroe County Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

As a community of staff, residents and participants, we take a stand to create an environment that celebrates diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.

We believe that diversity is a mission imperative and we all are responsible for creating a culture of inclusion that values each individual while promoting collaboration and fairness.

We believe that it is within each of us to make YWCA a safe and supportive space where we all feel accepted, with a strong sense of purpose and one guided by fairness.

We understand that we cannot grow either as individuals or as a community without a commitment to dismantling a system where race, ethnicity, culture, nationality, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, age, marital status or disability or any other protected class under federal, state or local law is marginalized or repressed.

At the core of YWCA is our mission to eliminate racism and empower women. 

We seek to:

• Create a culture that encourages collaboration, flexibility, and fairness to enable ALL to contribute to their full potential, feel valued and supported using the philosophy of trauma informed care.

We believe that through leadership personal accountability and a commitment to one another to create a place of belonging, YWCA of Rochester & Monroe County will be more responsive, more creative and better equipped to fulfill our mission.

Our reported demographics as of January 1, 2022: