Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
We aim to provide an organizational culture that is diverse, inclusive and advances equity across all aspects of our Society. We know that bringing together, listening to and incorporating a wide range of perspectives makes us stronger and workplaces safer.
Across our organization and within each of our member communities, we strive to create safe and welcoming environments where differences related to factors such as race, ethnicity, class, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, ability and education are not only accepted but celebrated. We want all members to be treated with respect and to know their voices are heard — particularly those who are most frequently marginalized or silenced in other areas of their lives. We want to nurture a culture in which all stakeholders embrace opportunities to learn and grow so everyone can excel.
These are the ideals to which we aspire.
However, as we have learned from reviewing our history and listening to members, achieving such a culture requires consistent and purposeful action. We must do more to challenge long-held assumptions and understand how unconscious bias can influence decisions and actions so we can better support our members as they participate in our communities and as they practice occupational safety and health and help their organizations improve.
As part of our efforts, we have added language on diversity to guide our elections process and updated our Society Operating Guideline on diversity. We have also continued to provide learning opportunities designed to help our members better understand how societal issues such as racism and systemic inequities can impede career advancement, undermine workplace safety and disenfranchise workers.
Members Driving Culture Change
Our passionate and dedicated members have been the catalysts behind our culture shift. In 2020, Our Blacks in Safety Excellence (BISE) Common Interest Group community, led by Crystal Turner-Moffatt and Carl Hamilton, proposed Society-wide initiatives as advocates and subject matter experts on DEI. Those ideas included creating a task force and hosting a virtual summit, aiming to empower our membership and all safety professionals to drive change.
BISE has consistently worked with ASSP leaders to transform DEI across the Society. The group conducted a panel discussion on “The State of the Black Safety Professional” and held several webinars, including “Promoting Mental Well-Being for People of Color,” “Women and DEI” and “The Lens of Minority Populations in the Workplace.”
BISE leaders have also presented sessions at the Society’s annual Safety Conference and encouraged regions and chapters to appoint diverse leaders. The community has an active mentorship program that ASSP members can get involved in online.
In addition to BISE, the Society's DEI efforts have been supported by our Emerging Professionals in OSH, Hispanic Safety Professionals and Women in Safety Excellence (WISE) common interest groups. These member communities play a key role in creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members.
In June 2020, our Board of Directors established a board-level task force to define our goals for diversity, equity and inclusion. Members of this task force were Kristin Amlie, DeAundra Brabham, Ryan Clayton, Tiffany Felix, William Geddings, Bryce Griffler, Kahlilah Guyah, Krystle Hodge, Massimo Navarretta, Oscar Paredes, Monique Parker and Christine Waters. Jennifer McNelly, ASSP's CEO, and Deborah Roy, our 2020-21 president, co-chaired the group. We also established a staff team to address these issues internally.
Based on the work of the DEI Task Force and to further support our commitment to these principles throughout ASSP and across the OSH profession, we formed a task force in 2022 to develop a virtual summit to help members better understand how DEI impacts the OSH profession and how they can incorporate DEI principles into their work to improve outcomes. The members of this task force are Kimberly Gamble, chair; Ana Cammarata; Bill Geddings; Christopher Hicks; Stephanie Johnson; Christina Roll; and Robert Sharp. Our DEI Summit was held on Jan. 26, 2023, and we continue to build on the insights gained.
Engage in Our Common Interest Groups
Our common interest group member communities provide an accessible, virtual and diverse network of peers brought together by shared experiences, to become better safety professionals and promote inclusive safety cultures. These communities represent OSH professionals from different age groups, ethnic backgrounds and genders and facilitate their collaboration with one another, encourage their interest in the OSH profession, and promote their success and recognition within the industry.
Find a common interest group for you:
DEI Education From Our Member Communities
Our common interest group and practice specialty member communities deliver free webinars to their members throughout the year. Many of these offerings address DEI-related topics.
You can now access a collection of webinars from these communities to build your understanding of the intersection of DEI and occupational safety and health.
Learn more about our member communities
DEI Audit Tool
This tool was developed by ASSP’s DEI Task Force to support advancing DEI and safety within organizations. Policies communicate culture, values and philosophy. Incorporating a DEI lens with safety ensures safety professionals communicate what workers can expect, what organizations expect from workers, and what customers and stakeholder can expect from the organizations.