The California Budget & Policy Center strives to be an anti-racist organization, advancing policy solutions that expand economic opportunity and promote well-being for Californians blocked from the state’s wealth, while explicitly naming systemic barriers that deny equitable economic and social opportunities for people. Our data and policy work must call out structural racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination, point to the harm Californians endure, and investments avoided for specific communities and people, including Californians of color, women, immigrants, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ Californians.
We recognize rooting out systemic barriers, structural racism, and white supremacy in California’s public policies and practices is not about one moment or one policy. Instead, advancing equitable and inclusive policy solutions requires the Budget Center to: strengthen our knowledge and capacity around anti-racism work; engage in shared listening and learning with partner organizations; understand intersections of Californians’ identities, disaggregate data, and provide context as to why disparities along race, gender, and other identities exist; and improve how we use written, digital, and visual communications to portray people’s identities and inequities in our state.
We believe California can be a place where everyone can share in the state’s economic and social life, and our commitment to being an anti-racist organization must extend to our own staff and Board of Directors. We are committed to attracting and supporting a diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and thoughts to shape our internal and external learning and work. We must nurture an inclusive workplace, where all staff feel respected, listened to, and valued.
The Budget Center recognizes the need for accountability. Our goals and ongoing work include:
- Improving hiring processes, including identifying exclusionary practices and intentionally recruiting and retaining staff that represents California’s great diversity.
- Expanding our Board of Directors representation to reflect the people and communities of California’s vast social makeup.
- Establishing a roadmap shaping and guiding our internal learning and vision to center race and gender equity in all our work.
- Building an inclusive culture among staff and partners where lived experiences and individual identities inform our perspectives and work.
Though we have made some progress toward our vision, the journey and learning have only just begun.