Racial Justice and Equity: Our Commitments

The issues of racial justice and equity are occupying the collective hearts and minds of citizens of the United States and garnering attention and support across the globe. It is imperative that people and organizations not only confront these issues but act for change.

RTI is committed to being at the forefront of this call to action. To ensure focused and sustained attention, we are establishing a Racial Equity Team. The work of the RTI Racial Equity Team and the RTI D&I Leadership Council, along with feedback from our staff, will inform our path forward as an organization.

As we take this journey together, we are making a number of commitments, both for the internal transformation of RTI and for our work to support racial justice in the broader society in which we live.

We commit that:

• The Executive Leadership Team will participate in ally training, modeling the critical importance of leadership by educating ourselves and strengthening our ability to serve as allies for racial justice.
• We will provide ongoing training for staff on issues of bias and racial justice.
• We will work to diversify our staff and leadership at all levels, including, specifically, the Executive Leadership Team and our Board of Governors.
• We will recalibrate the People & Learning pillar of RTI’s strategy around diversity, equity and inclusion.
• We will examine our business practices and culture to eliminate barriers for the recruitment, advancement and success of Black employees.
• We will conduct a staff survey dedicated to racial justice and equity.
• We will bolster our support for research into systemic and structural racism, focusing on the causes and impacts and working to develop policies and solutions to eliminate them.
• We will support Black-owned businesses through our sourcing and subcontracting efforts.
• We will listen to our staff members by providing ongoing opportunities for dialogue and input.
• We will hold ourselves accountable for sustained action and results by tasking the Racial Equity Team with establishing concrete metrics to measure change.

This is just the beginning of what we will do to commit that RTI will always be the kind of organization where all individuals are respected and provided equal opportunities for professional growth and advancement.