Our Commitment to Equity

At T1International, we believe everyone should have access to the insulin, diabetes care, and healthcare they need to live healthy lives.

People with diabetes do not all face the same barriers. Where someone lives, their income, race and ethnicity, disability, gender, language, immigration status, and other factors can all affect their access to care. We are committed to working alongside communities to identify and remove those barriers.

We believe people with lived experience should help shape the decisions that affect them. We strive to build an organization where our staff, volunteers, and community members feel respected, heard, and able to participate fully.

This work is ongoing. We know we won’t always get it right, but we are committed to listening, learning, taking accountability, and continuing to improve as we work toward health equity and justice.

Our Approach to Language

Language matters. The words we use shape how people feel seen, respected, and included. Because language changes over time, we regularly review and update the way we communicate.

As a global organization, we know there is rarely one term that fits everyone. We aim to use language that is respectful, clear, and accessible while recognizing that people and communities may prefer different words to describe themselves. Whenever possible, we follow the preferences of the communities we work alongside.

We also recognize that language and meaning vary across countries, cultures, and languages. We strive to communicate in ways that are inclusive, easy to understand, and accessible to people around the world.

We are always learning. If our language misses the mark or you have suggestions, we’d love to hear from you at [email protected].

Equity Statement

We have developed this equity vision statement as a companion to our values to ensure that equity is an ongoing, deep-rooted part of the organization’s work. This statement makes an explicit commitment to equity and sets our intention to do the work.

To honor T1International’s global vision, we commit to work toward health equity and justice. Our commitment to equity in our aims and actions is ongoing and, as with our values, we know we are not yet fully living up to this vision. We know that it takes time to do this work and it must be revisited on an ongoing basis. Our everyday actions, including our organizational and individual work plans, must reflect our commitment and hold us accountable. We pledge to do this daily work, acknowledge when we make mistakes and work to repair them. We understand that though there are no perfect or simplistic answers, we strive as an organization to prioritize equity.

We want to create an organizational culture where our team – our staff, our volunteers, and our wider community – is comfortable talking about the inequities they experience and feels that they are being heard and responded to. We aim to dismantle hierarchies and believe that sharing power with each other and our community is critical to our work and to justice. We acknowledge that our current team is not fully reflective of the diversity of the diabetes community and thus we are not yet an inclusive space for everyone. We aim to have a team that best reflects our T1International community, and a community that reflects the world.