At POAH, we are committed to creating housing, programs and policies that support diversity, equity and inclusion, both in our workplaces and in our communities.
We are committed to working affirmatively to empower the diverse communities we serve, and to continue to build a staff that reflects that diversity.
These commitments embrace a broad definition of diversity, but as housers we also affirm a special obligation to work to overcome decades of structural racism in US housing policy.
POAH’s DEI Working Group
POAH’s 2017 strategic plan calls for talent management strategies that “actively promote diversity in POAH’s workforce across multiple attributes, and work to ensure the POAH workplace is supportive and inclusive,” and describes specific activities to be undertaken in furtherance of this goal.
In 2018, POAH convened a staff working group to support and oversee the implementation of its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The 11 staff participants on the DEI Working Group (DEIWG) reflected the diversity of the overall staff across such demographic attributes as race/ethnicity, age, gender, and sexual preference; as well as representing the company’s major functional divisions and levels of seniority. Participation in the DEIWG is voluntary.
POAH’s DEI Initiatives
Throughout 2019, the DEIWG and its subgroups developed a list of recommended strategies or actions to be undertaken in order to advance POAH’s DEI goals. The DEIWG’s final list of recommendations was reviewed and strongly endorsed by the POAH Board of Directors at its November 2019 meeting.
Once approved by the Board, the DEIWG’s recommendations became POAH’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan (“DEI Plan”). The DEI Plan outlines more than 40 specific initiatives in six areas:
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Organization Infrastructure
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Hiring and Onboarding
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Development and Advancement
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Promoting Supportive and Inclusive Culture
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Community Impacts
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Performance Tracking & Accountability
Throughout 2020, 2021, and 2022, the DEIWG has worked with relevant staff to implement the initiatives outlined in POAH’s DEI Plan and that work continues in 2023. The DEIWG provides regular status updates to POAH’s staff and Board of Directors.