June 16, 2021

Happy pride!

I am proud of the diverse team at Altus. But to us, showing diversity is not just about adding a pride flag to your logo on your social feed – it’s about building a culture that is inclusive all year round.

An inclusive community is one that shows support for every letter, number, and character in LGBTQ2+, including trans, non-binary, gender non-conforming, and 2 spirit colleagues, applicants, and students.

It’s about being supportive of everyone bringing their “full self” to work or school – after all, that is what makes each of us more successful.

It’s not easy building an inclusive culture, nor is it one person’s job or up to HR. It’s up to each and every one of us to make others feel welcomed, respected, and cared for.

How do you bring your authentic self to work or school? You start by being true to yourself. In a great interview for LinkedIn News, RuPaul says about differentiating your inner saboteur from legitimate self-criticism: “Find a quiet place where you can discover your own frequency. But first you have to be willing to take time to clear away the debris.”

Learning more at our Summit

In this year’s Admissions Summit, we devoted an entire day to the theme of diversity and inclusion. We dug deep into all of these these important issues and how they relate to admissions and selection, and making fair and equitable decisions. We had great sessions and panels, including 2 amazing keynotes:

• Author, speaker, and CEO Valerie Alexander shared her TEDx talk on “Unconscious bias in recruitment and admissions“
• Speaker, educator, and curator Evolve Benton, who is currently Equity and Inclusion Program Manager at The University of California San Francisco – School of Medicine, delivered a powerful talk on “Applicant empowerment: The power of holistic review”

Enjoy Pride month. Show your support over social. Open dialogues with friends and colleagues. Buy the annual pride watch brand. Donate to local charities. But don’t stop at the end of the month. Continue the openness and support throughout the year.