Academy for Educational Development

VISION
 

AED is a global organization that mirrors the rich diversity of the world, values and respects the uniqueness of each person, and strives to create an inclusive environment in which all employees can realize, and contribute, to their full potential.

MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY

We define diversity broadly as similarities and differences in cultural values, experiences and behaviors.  Our definition of diversity includes everyone and our diversity initiatives are directed towards ensuring an equitable and inclusive work environment for everyone.

Attention to diversity is an important part of our work of promoting innovative and sustainable solutions to the critical social and economic problems confronting the communities with whom we work in the U.S. and around the world.  Consequently, all employees are expected to participate in AED’s diversity initiatives and to continuously improve their competence to work across differences.

We work to foster an inclusive workplace by promoting the acceptance and understanding of differences based on race, ethnicity, gender, national origin, culture, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, and other forms of diversity among employees, donors, and populations served in all of our work worldwide.  We attend to issues that have a disparate impact on any group of employees in the U.S. and in our offices around the world.

We honor both the spirit and the letter of the U.S. Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity policies and procedures, and are committed to moving beyond them to create a diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects the communities with whom we work in the U.S. and around the world.

We recognize that in the global context in which we operate, the ability to work effectively across cultures is a core competence for all our staff worldwide.  Therefore, we are working on an ongoing basis to build and strengthen our cultural competence in working across all lines of difference.  We provide education, training and resources to employees to enhance their competence in working across diverse cultural and other differences.

Currently, in our work on diversity and inclusion we focus on three broad areas: 

1. Compositional Diversity - working to ensure that as an organization, our employees at all levels mirror the many dimensions of diversity within which we work.
2. Organizational Diversity and Inclusion – proactively creating organizational systems that provide for fair and equitable treatment of all staff, and creating hospitable work environments that allow all employees to contribute to their full potential.
3. Diversity/Cultural Competence - setting the expectation, providing the education, procedures and processes for all employees to have the cultural/fluency competence to be effective in interactions in the workplace and in the communities in which they work.