Effective 9/15/21

From our founding, justice and equity have been at the heart of FWW/FWA’s campaigns, organization, and worldview. Our early initiatives on water centered on fighting privatization in major cities and across the global south. We’ve battled factory farms that poison rural communities and fought oil and gas drilling and infrastructure that disproportionately impact low-income communities and communities of color. And we’ve supported and elevated grassroots partners across the country.

We know that to win our signature campaigns and overcome the large corporate interests we oppose, we need to build a powerful and diverse movement in key congressional districts (which have unique dynamics and are impacted by our issues differently). We also know that corporate interests want to divide us — to pit poor, working, and middle-class people against each other and exploit differences to maintain power. We must combat these attempts at division and build a unified, powerful movement for progressive change. That means fully embracing our core values of justice, human dignity, fair treatment, and equity. Accordingly, we are committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) within our organization, as well as with our external supporters and partners. This is what DEI means to us:

Diversity includes all the ways in which people differ, encompassing the different characteristics that make one individual or group different from another. While diversity is often used in reference to race, ethnicity, and gender, we embrace a broader definition of diversity that also includes race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or class, education, marital status, language, and physical appearance. Our definition also includes diversity of thought: ideas, perspectives, and values. We also recognize that individuals affiliate with multiple identities.

Equity is the fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all people, while at the same time striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation of some groups. Improving equity involves increasing justice and fairness within the procedures and processes of institutions or systems, as well as in their distribution of resources. Tackling equity issues requires an understanding of the root causes of outcome disparities within our society. Equity sets up a beneficial environment for both the employees and the employer.

Inclusion is the act of creating environments in which any individual or group can be and feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued to fully participate. An inclusive and welcoming climate embraces differences and offers respect in words and actions for all people. It’s important to note that while an inclusive group is, by definition, diverse, a diverse group isn’t always inclusive. Increasingly, recognition of unconscious or implicit bias helps organizations to be deliberate about addressing issues of inclusivity.

While FWW/FWA has always been committed to these principles, a sustained commitment requires continuous learning and concrete steps. To that end, this plan provides specific and measurable goals to support our work, strengthen community partners, and build a stronger organization.

The goals of this plan are interrelated, each with specific initiatives and action steps. Many of these goals have been ongoing for years while others are new; they are all works in progress. By laying them out here, this plan ensures transparency and accountability around the implementation of our DEI goals on an ongoing basis.