Addressing Discrimination
"The responsibility for change is proportional to the power the individuals and groups hold in society. It is therefore the responsibility of the majority population to provide vision, leadership, and strategies to stop discrimination... A community that works well must promote a "zero tolerance" approach to discriminatory behavior."
-- 21st Century Partnership Diversity Taskforce Report
All of the other programs and policies in this Community Strategic Plan for Diversity address the need for education in one form or another. Education will promote awareness and appreciation of cultural differences and help to create a welcoming environment for diversity. One of the goals of diversity education is to eliminate discrimination. However patterns of discrimination will persist and must be confronted.
This community will have a policy of "zero tolerance" for discrimination.
The following programs are proposed to make such a policy effective:
| Program | Assist in identifying and resolving discrimination concerns and in preventing discrimination | |
|---|---|---|
| Customers | Victims of discrimination; majority and minority communities. | |
| Responsible Parties | Olmsted County Human Rights Commission; Other area Diversity Resources | |
| Measures of Effectiveness | Numbers of complaints resolved; satisfaction of participants; numbers of complaints received | |
| Specific Strategies | Provide counseling to minority residents to resolve potential misunderstandings and identify discrimination problems. | Area Diversity Resources |
| Continue to provide mediation resources for discrimination concerns | Olmsted County Human Rights Commission | |
| Provide education to employers and others on the laws pertaining to discrimination | Olmsted County Human Rights Commission | |
| Create a fund to support legal action as merited to address discrimination concerns not amenable to resolution through mediation | Area charitable foundations, community diversity resources, local Bar Association | |
