At CREST, we strive to create an environment that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive for our staff members, board members, interns, consultants, partners, and colleagues in the tourism sector.
We define diversity, equity, and inclusion through the following perspective:
Diversity: The understanding of individual differences along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, geographic background, life experiences, age, physical abilities, cognitive abilities, health, physical characteristics, body composition, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other perspectives and ideologies.
It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment.
Diversity is a reality created by individuals and groups from a broad spectrum of demographic and philosophical differences.
Equity: Fairness and equality in outcomes, not just in resources and opportunity. We recognize that each person needs something different to succeed and to reach their own purpose, values, and goals.
Inclusion: The achievement of a work environment in which all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully, have equitable access to opportunities and resources, and can contribute fully to the organization’s success.
Our DEI Vision Statement
CREST staff members are diligently working to improve our organization and ourselves through a diverse, equitable, and inclusive lens. We acknowledge our imperfections but strive to make intentional improvements each day. We seek to create a more equitable future for destinations and communities through sustainable tourism solutions by challenging marginalization in tourism development, bringing a diverse spectrum of voices to the forefront of our initiatives, and fostering equitable access to opportunities and resources to the best of our ability.
Through our programs, we are taking active measures to:
- Utilize a stakeholder mapping process that identifies and includes all groups impacted by the scope of the project
- Develop capacity-building measures with an emphasis on sustainable community development practices
- Engage local consultants through our Experts Network to make informed decisions about programmatic design and partnerships
We realize that we have work to do every day. While CREST has established practices that foster sustainable growth opportunities for a variety of communities around the world, we recognize that we must integrate diverse, equitable, and inclusive perspectives into our work each and every day.
Thus far we have taken action by
- Conducting a DEI audit to understand how to improve our internal and external practices
- Holding unconscious bias and emotional intelligence training sessions
- Reviewing and revising our staff and internship recruitment process
- Reviewing our website to ensure it is accessible for people with different abilities
- Conducting an audit of our conference speakers in order to establish a system that encourages the amplification of different voices
- Conducting a DEI staff survey to serve as a baseline to measure progress and to create annual DEI metrics/accountability measures
- Examining how to ensure underserved and marginalized identities are represented through our programmatic portfolio
We are actively working on
- Developing baseline DEI metrics and accountability measures
- Developing a DEI policy
- Integrating DEI into our five-year strategic framework
- Diversifying the composition of our board members
- Expanding our stakeholder mapping process with each project
- Updating our Academic Affiliate and Experts Network recruitment and onboarding process
- Developing a communications strategy that informs and generates conversation about topics critical to advancing sustainability and DEI in the travel industry
Accountability is critical to achieving genuine impact. We aim to share our progress with our partners, colleagues, and supporters. Please contact Program Manager Kelsey Frenkiel with any questions, comments, or feedback about our DEI practices and action plan.