Guide

Diversity Statement Template

A diversity statement is public, short, and read most carefully by the people deciding whether to apply or to complain. Its whole job is to be specific enough to be believed, which means it should be uncomfortable to publish if the organization has not done the work.

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Everything on this page is yours to copy and adapt. The courses cover the decisions behind it: what to charge, what to promise, and what to put in writing.

What yours needs to cover

✓ An opening that says what the organization is trying to be, in its own words
✓ One or two specifics that could be checked by an outsider
✓ What the organization does about it, in the present tense
✓ A line on where a candidate or employee can ask for an adjustment
✓ A contact route for someone who thinks the statement is not being honoured
✓ Guidance on where the statement should and should not appear

How to use it

Write the specifics first. A statement made only of values reads as a template, because it usually is one.
Delete anything that could be published unchanged by a competitor.
Check every claim against something you could evidence if asked.
Keep it to a length someone will actually read on a careers page.
Review it whenever the underlying facts change, and date the review.

Diversity Statement Template FAQs

What is the difference between a diversity statement and a DEI policy?

The statement is public and short, and says what you are trying to be. The policy is internal and long, and says what happens in specific situations. Publishing a statement with no policy behind it is the common mistake.

What makes a diversity statement credible?

Specifics an outsider could check. Naming a practice you have changed does more for credibility than any adjective, and it is also the part that is hardest to write if the work has not been done.

Where should it appear?

The careers page and job postings at minimum, and anywhere a candidate makes a decision. Putting it in an annual report and nowhere else tells you who it was written for.

More DEI templates

DEI Policy Template View → DEI Strategic Plan Template View → Employee DEI Survey Template View → Inclusive Job Description Template View →

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