Diversity

One of ALA's goals is to increase sensitivity to diversity within the Association and in the legal management community.

Diversity - in effect the difference among us - is reflected in a number of ways: race, religion, gender, ableism and cultural behaviors. To operate and manage effectively with these demographics, ALA's diversity initiative is designed to increase awareness of and sensitivity to the differences among our workforce, and to advance the concepts of inclusiveness and acceptance.

Toward this goal ALA has incorporated various diversity sessions and speakers in its educational events, including the Annual and Regional Educational Conferences. Topics have covered gender, generational, race and sexual orientation issues. ALA publications have also included articles on these topics.

ALA annually sponsors its Chapter Awards program, which encourages chapters to participate in the Achievements in Diversity component. This is an additional way in which ALA's overall goal can be achieved and helps legal administrators develop a greater understanding, tolerance and enjoyment of diversity in all its forms.

ALA's Diversity Task Force developed the Diversity Toolkit  designed to be used as a guide to assist in implementing and maintaining diversity initiatives in legal organizations. As each organization is unique , different techniques will work in different contexts and environments. The Toolkit is designed to allow users to select which resources best fit their organization.

The Diversity Resource Database has been created with resources submitted from ALA Chapters for use in your own chapter, firm or legal organization. It is designed to provide information to facilitate recruiting diverse candidates; marketing the legal field as a viable career; collaborating on liaison activities with other law-related organizations; and partnering and encouraging relationships with minority vendors.

http://www.alanet.org/members/chapters/diversityresources.asp