At Polish Professional Women of Silicon Valley a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace is one where all volunteers, whatever their gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation or identity, education or disability, feels valued and respected. We are committed to a nondiscriminatory approach and provide equal opportunity for volunteering  and advancement in all of our projects, programs, and initiatives. We respect and value diverse life experiences and heritages and ensure that all voices are valued and heard. We’re committed to maintaining an inclusive environment with equitable treatment for all.

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To provide informed, authentic leadership for cultural equity, Polish Professional Women of Silicon Valley strives to: 

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• See diversity, inclusion, and equity as connected to our mission and critical to ensure the well-being of our staff and the arts communities we serve. 

• Acknowledge and dismantle any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and continually update and report organization progress. 

• Explore potential underlying, unquestioned assumptions that interfere with inclusiveness. 

• Advocate for and support board-level thinking about how inequities impact our organization’s work, and how best to address that in a way that is consistent with our mission.

• Help to challenge assumptions about what it takes to be a strong leader at our organization, and who is well-positioned to provide leadership.

• Practice and encourage transparent communication in all interactions.

• Commit time and resources to expand more diverse leadership within our board, staff, committee, and advisory bodies.

• Lead with respect and tolerance. We expect all Volunteers to embrace this notion and to express it in workplace interactions and through everyday practices.

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Polish Professional Women of Silicon Valley abides by the following action items to help promote diversity and inclusion: 

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• Pursue cultural competency throughout our organization by creating substantive learning opportunities and formal, transparent policies.

• Develop and present sessions on diversity, inclusion, and equity to provide information and resources internally, to members, and the community. 

• Develop a system for being more intentional and conscious of bias during the hiring of volunteers, promoting tem, or evaluating their volunteering work. 

• Advocate for policy that promotes diversity, inclusion, and equity. Challenge systems and policies that create inequity, oppression and disparity.