As we’re celebrating Pride Month — celebrating equality — we also consider diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). UserWay takes PRIDE in our LGBTQ+ employees and their family and friends. We are truly stronger and happier when we are all included regardless of our abilities, race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual preference.
Our team of world-changers has dedicated their careers to removing barriers one webpage at a time, and they show us constantly that those principals don’t get checked at the door when they clock out. DEI isn’t a destination to arrive at, it’s a motivation and challenge, to be honest with yourself and embrace the honesty of others.
Despite the principles and ethics acclaimed in the U.S. Constitution, America’s 250-year history is ripe with systemic oppression of diversity, suppression of racial equity, and hindrance to disability inclusion. Even so, those founding principles have provided a footing for civil rights advocates to fight for DEI in an unprecedented way.
Civil rights victories have crescendoed over the past century. With the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1945 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 segregation in public spaces has been uprooted and made it so it is now illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or religion.
With the establishment of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, equal rights for those with disabilities were finally codified and public spaces were required to offer equal access no matter an individual’s ability.
In 2015, the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges affirmed the rights of U.S. citizens to participate in same-sex marriage, overturning a previous ruling that had rejected that right.
The history of DEI shows significant victories. However, its story is still developing to this day, and perhaps the most expedient DEI need is for clarity to be handed down from the federal government on the rights of the disabled community to inclusion and access to digital spaces and content.
Our team members are truly driven by the same spirit of Pride that is being celebrated around the world this month. UserWay understands that true equity requires diversity, and diversity is impossible without inclusion. We are PROUD to have team members who are committed to bridging barriers regardless of where they originate.
