Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
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At Earthjustice, we believe we can reach our full collective potential by investing in each other, cultivating the generative power of our differences, fostering a vibrant community built on respect and empathy, and maintaining our fearless drive to keep learning.
Our collective vision to confront racism, to work and manage across our differences, and to create a community of accountability, respect, and empathy prioritizes key pathways, including:
- Equitable Hiring Practices: Ensure that we grow the best possible team, leveraging the power of diversity of all kinds
- Culture of Inclusion: Build human connection and a respectful community that everyone knows how to navigate with agency, comfort, and ideally, humor and joy
- Staff Development & Advancement: Provide opportunities for our extraordinary staff to grow and thrive
Demographic Data
Total Incumbency: 554 people
44% of our workplace identify as people of color
67% of our workplace are women
“New Hires” chart represents data for Jan. 1, 2022 – Dec 31, 2022. All other charts represent data as of Jan. 1, 2023.
“Latinx / Hispanic” in the charts above also includes people who claim heritage to the Indigenous peoples of pre-Meso and South America.
Earthjustice collects demographic data in accordance with annual reporting requirements from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The categories of data we collect with respect to gender, race / ethnicity, and job grouping are all determined by the EEOC. Earthjustice also reports this data on an ongoing basis to GuideStar.
We recognize that this data is reflective of only certain aspects of diversity.
Life at Earthjustice
CARE: Community, Accountability, Respect, Empathy
Earthjustice is a diverse group of people who care about the environment, who care about justice, who care about each other, coming together to make a collective impact. That is the heart of who we are. At Earthjustice, we are aligning our efforts to reflect who we are as an organization today by advancing four areas of impact: community, accountability, respect, and empathy.
Our CARE model is the framework into a new way and approach of upholding our core values of justice, excellence, partnership, and inclusion.
- Community: Nurturing a community that reflects the diversity of our lived and shared experiences.
- Accountability: Aligning our actions with our mission and values with a commitment to self-reflect, learn, and improve.
- Respect: Respecting who we are, where we come from, and the policies and practices that guide us at work.
- Empathy: Infusing empathy into how we relate to one another.
Earthjustice Speaker Series
The Earthjustice Speaker Series invites critical thinkers on the intersectionality of justice and resiliency to engage our staff in expanding awareness and deepening understanding.
Among the many experts we are honored to have hosted, include:
- Mustafa Santiago Ali, a renowned thought leader, activist for environmental justice and economic equity, and founder & CEO of Revitalization Strategies, spoke on COVID-19 and communities of color.
- Tracy McCurty co-alchemist of the Acres of Ancestry Initiative / Black Agrarian Fund, discussed her visionary approach to “movement lawyering” to correct injustices on behalf of Black farmers.
- Heather McGhee, NBC News political analyst and a distinguished senior fellow and former president of Demos, discussed her book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together.
- Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, a queer disabled femme writer, cultural worker, and educator, spoke on disability justice and the movement to center the lives of disabled queer, trans*, people of color.
- Dr. Kyle Whyte, George Willis Pack Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the Univ. of Michigan and an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, spoke on the moral and political issues concerning climate policy and Indigenous peoples.
- Dr. Connie Wun, co-founder of AAPI Women Lead, spoke on racism, xenophobia, and anti-Asian violence in the United States.
- Kenji Yoshino, the Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at NYU School of Law and the director of the Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, explored what it means to be an ally and how we center allyship with our colleagues and in our work.
Peer Recognition
Our diverse, talented staff embody the very best of Earthjustice, and we are able to do our finest work when our staff live by our values in their everyday work.
Hosted by the DEI team, the annual Peer Recognition Awards is a part of our work towards achieving our goal of improving employee satisfaction, engagement, culture of trust, support, respect, and inclusion.
The awards aim to give peer-to-peer recognition and honor our colleagues who have made immense contributions to the culture and mission of Earthjustice in the categories of:
- Advocate
- Culture Glue
- Justice Warrior
- Leader by Example
- Leavening Spirit
- Standard-bearer
- Unsung Hero
- Excellence
Affinity Groups & ERGs
Affinity groups and employee resource groups are two of several diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at Earthjustice to intentionally cultivate an inclusive organizational culture.
The groups are designed to serve as spaces where members can connect, network, and fellowship, as well as uplift and celebrate their shared experiences.
Each affinity group welcomes all at Earthjustice who identify with the group’s values, interests, and goals. Staff at Earthjustice are welcome to establish new affinity groups.
Affinity groups are open to any staff members in the organization, including and not limited to full-time staff, part-time staff, fellows, and clerks.
- Black at Earthjustice (BaE)
- DecolonizedEJ
- Disability Justice at Earthjustice (ERG DJ@EJ)
- LatinX
- Multi-Racial EJ
- Out and Green (LGBTQ+)
- Southwest Asian/North African (SWANA)
- Sharing, Understanding, and Relearning Identities of Asia (SURIA)
- White Caucus Groups
DEI Workshops & More
To nurture a culture that reflects our most deeply held values:
- All Earthjustice staff participate in a structured, supportive DEI training series to deepen understanding around issues of inequity, and to provide tools for hard conversations that are necessary for examining and interrupting inequity in the workplace and beyond.
- Microaggressions workshops (mandatory for supervisors) help staff recognize microaggressions and build skills to respond effectively, regardless of the side they may find themselves on at any given time.
- To ensure equitable hiring practices, all hiring committee members receive training to address implicit bias, to craft interview questions that assess cultural competency and emotional intelligence, and to ensure diverse hiring committee composition.
- Weekly DEI Office Hours virtually bring together staff from all parts of the organization to build trust, find support, and develop enduring relationships.
Additionally, working groups within Earthjustice cultivate an extensive library of learnings and resources on strengthening diverse partnerships, building an equitable and inclusive organizational culture, and more.