Equity and Inclusion

Serving All

Vibrant communities respect, involve, and serve all their residents. Core to our mission, the Kentucky League of Cities is committed to modeling equity, diversity, and inclusivity for its staff and member city officials. Executive Director|CEO James D. Chaney established the KLC Equity & Inclusion Committee in April 2021 to develop and support a robustly diverse community where all members engage and belong.

E&I team members formed subcommittees to focus on education, employment, and community outreach. KLC is working on making small but meaningful changes and successfully carried out several objectives:

• Updates to the KLC application for employment process to exclude information identifying gender, race, ethnicity, and age.
• Analysis of current policies for opportunities to advance the focus on equity and inclusion.
• Changes to the language used in policies and materials to be more inclusive.
• Intentional focus on diversity in the development of KLC-provided training and content.
• Compilation of minority- and women-owned businesses for inclusion in purchasing and procurement.
• Staff enrichment through cultural education, self-assessments, and discussions.
• Research of equity programs among state leagues and government institutions.
• Identification of learning opportunities for KLC staff.
• Development of equity and inclusion programming for KLC members.

KLC will:

1. Be more intentional about equity, diversity, and inclusivity.
2. Strengthen and maintain an equitable, diverse, and inclusive work environment.
3. Engage staff members and city officials to understand implicit biases and expand cultural competencies.
4. Empower city officials to foster and promote equitable, diverse, and inclusive workplaces and community practices.
5. Collaborate and align with various organizations, associations, and educational institutions to further equity, diversity, and inclusion.

KLC Member Training

Intentional Inclusion

Intentional inclusion involves purposeful action-based plans focused on inciting positive change and inclusion in the workplace. Teaching your teams about inclusion is one thing. It is another to ensure that your organization has procedures that help the team practice what was preached about workplace cultural diversity. This webinar focused on intentional inclusion and helped city officials and employees realize they are all accountable for fostering diversity, inclusion, and cultural awareness in the workplace.

Previous KLC training:

• Disability Awareness in the Workplace
• Avoiding Diversity Backlash
  
• Creating a Culture That Supports Generational Diversity
• Equity & Inclusion Matters: Implicit Bias - Dr. Cleveland

Equity & Inclusion Matters: Moving Beyond Implicit Bias

Implicit biases are the perspectives or stereotypes that affect our attitude towards people or cause us to associate stereotypes with specific people without our conscious knowledge. Research indicates that we all have biases that affect our lives and the lives of others with whom we interact.

Harvard Implicit Bias Tests – These free assessments take a few minutes and may yield some surprising results. The first step to reducing bias in the workplace is to become aware of your own. 

We all have biases. This popular training topic has become a focus of discussion mainly due to incidents of racial unrest and protest. If it is a fact that we all have bias, how can we move beyond it? Lisa Johnson, SHRM-SCP, is a professional speaker, author, and leadership coach. Ms. Johnson helps busy professionals build their leadership skills.

With questions regarding the KLC Equity and Inclusion initiative, contact KLC Corporate Compliance Officer Eleanor Barbour.