Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

We don’t have all the answers, but we are committed to developing them with the help of those with deep-rooted experience in this space.

Key actions:

• We engaged Snowbird Consulting Group, a minority, woman-owned consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. with expertise in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) engagement. With their support, we worked to build a robust DEI strategy, including metrics to evaluate progress toward sustainable change. Consultants engaged directly with Sabin staff and leadership with a direct line of communication to the Board of Trustees.
• We hired a Vice President of Human Resources with experience and a commitment to creating diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces to advance and make sustainable the work that was begun by the consultants. This new position leads Sabin’s DEI initiatives which will help us internalize and further develop this focus to sustain progress in the years to come.

Sabin believes all team members are responsible for making these organizational commitments a reality. Staff are empowered and actively engaged in building a stronger, more diverse, equitable and inclusive organization.

Key actions:

• Engage Sabin staff – at all levels – to solicit feedback and recommendations on actions they would like to see Sabin implement to improve diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and policies.
• Establish a DEI Committee (May of 2021) that is comprised of Sabin staff with various backgrounds, experiences and levels in the organization to reflect the diverse voices and better inform decision-making.
• Provide frequent, transparent and intentional communication to all staff through regularly scheduled staff meetings, town halls, focus groups, internal newsletters, and other accessible internal channels of communication.

We commit to making our Board of Trustees and the Sabin team more diverse and representative of the communities we serve around the world. This means increasing racial and ethnic diversity, as well as representation from low- and middle-income countries.

Key actions:

• Board-level diversity framework and accelerated steps was set to add more diversity to our Trustees.
• Continue to increase staff diversity by diversifying the talent candidate pool. Strategies recommended by the consultant and the Vice President of Human Resources have been incorporated to make recruitment practices more inclusive, building a culturally rich candidate pipeline (e.g., job boards that serve HBCUs, veterans, those with disabilities and Latinx/Hispanic communities) to promote Sabin employment and internship opportunities.
• Effective June 2020, all interns receive compensation for working at Sabin by the organization or an external sponsor to create equity in opportunities in addition to becoming a Federal Work Study employment partner where student participant eligibility is based on financial need.
• The Vice President of Human Resources will continuously audit and assess Sabin’s practices and policies to implement change where needed.

We value and respect every Sabin employee and our goal is to have this felt throughout the organization. To continuously improve Sabin, we will reassess our systems, policies and processes to make Sabin a more equitable and inclusive workplace, and make clear that feedback is encouraged, acknowledged and considered.

Key actions:

• The DEI Committee will bi-annually audit our organizational culture and take a closer look at feedback from staff to make organizational improvements and report findings to the senior management team and the Board of Trustees.
• Working with the Vice President of Human Resources, we will examine our human resources policies and processes to continuously inform changes.

Sabin is committed to continuing education across the organization to increase inclusion efforts and improve our organizational culture. We recognize our limitations and know we need to facilitate more meaningful discussions to unpack the rippling effects of racism, unlearn inherent biases and become more aware of the language and behavior that stems from white privilege and other systems of oppression.

Key actions:

• Executive management participates in coaching on topics such as inherent bias, power dynamics, inclusive leadership and skills for leading difficult conversations and others that are identified by the consultant.
• Supervisors participate in training to better communicate and lead inclusively.
• All Sabin staff participate in training workshops with the intention of creating a more inclusive workplace at all levels.

The list above is not exhaustive but represents our initial steps in moving our commitment into action. We continue to assess how we are measuring up with a monitoring and evaluation plan to ensure we are meeting our commitments. Sabin’s Board of Trustees will hold executive management accountable for taking the steps necessary to live up to these commitments.