Everyone who engages with Rotary — no matter who they are, where they are in the world, or how long they have been connected with Rotary — should feel valued, respected, and welcomed. These ideals reflect what current and prospective members want and expect from their Rotary experience: respect, ethical leadership, inclusion, and the opportunity to work together to create more just, open, and welcoming communities for all people. And by “all people” we those who differ in age, ethnicity, race, color, disability, learning style, religion, faith, socioeconomic status, culture, marital status, languages spoken, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity as well as differences in ideas, thoughts, values, and beliefs.

Within the last year District 6900 formed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Taskforce in order to strengthen the organization’s commitment to DEI. DGN André Marria has assembled a group of leaders from several clubs across the district to encourage candid conversation and promote positive progress.

Here are some ideas your Club could put into action:

• Talk about diversity with your club members and create a member diversity and inclusion action plan using the Diversifying Your Club assessment. The Rotary Club of Thomasville launched into this recently and – currently at Step 3 of 5 – is experiencing great feedback from the process.
• Add a Chair position on your Board for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – or choose two members to serve as Co-Chairs
• Host a diversity, equity, and inclusion speaker series at your club to bring forth stories from the community you serve that your members might not otherwise hear. The Midtown Atlanta Rotary Club has started hosting a DEI speaker monthly and it has been very popular.
• Consider a “Book Club” that offers members the opportunity to read together on various DEI topics and stimulates open conversations
• Take the “21-Day Equity Challenge” as a club and take a deeper dive into the discussion of racial equity and healing. The Atlanta West End Rotary Club modified this into a 21-Week event with a separate online discussion group from members in the hopes of elevating consciousness of it members.