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 organisation's work. This statement makes an explicit commitment to equity and sets our intention to do the work.
To honour 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 organisational 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 organisation to prioritize equity.
We want to create an organisational 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.
Definitions:
- Diversity: the ways and identities that make people unique and different from each other - whether it is because of the location someone lives, their background and culture, or their life experience and ways of thinking
- Equity: ensuring that policies, practices, and resources are used and implemented in ways that create a space where all people have genuine opportunities to be represented and to succeed, recognizing that more must be allocated to those most in need
- Health Justice: a state where all people - regardless of who they are or where they are - have the resources and the economic, social, and political power to make decisions about their bodies and to take action to stay healthy
- Inclusion: creating an accessible, welcoming space where everyone feels able to participate fully in our community because they are respected, heard, and valued