Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Audit & Program

The City of West Linn is committed to ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion are keystone practices within City operations and the community as a whole. The City released a request for qualifications for consulting services in April 2020 inviting proposals from firms specialized in achieving this goal. The Kenley Group was selected to provide professional consulting services in the area of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging; including policy development, employee training, and providing the City with a framework to carry forward this work into the future.

The Kenley Group completed an organization-wide equity audit of internal documents, data, policies, and communications to ensure they reflect the City of West Linn's goal to eliminate institutional bias and build equitable policies and language to improve racial equity in the City. The full Kenley DEI Audit & Program Report can be found below. Staff meet regularly as a DEIB committee to educate themselves on relevant topics and discuss next steps in addressing recommendations from the report to take measurable action towards making West Linn a more inclusive, equitable, and diverse place to live, work, and play. Progress is being made thoughtfully and intentionally, with the long-term goal of building and maintaining a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging throughout City operations and within the community.

An internal DEIB staff committee has been working alongside a dedicated DEIB professional to help educate and guide real change within the organization and make progress towards DEIB improvements within the city as recommended in the Kenley Report. Progress on those goals can be found in this our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Workplan spreadsheet, which is being used to help track and guide our progress towards a better and more inclusive workplace and community.

Interested in doing something in your neighborhood to help? Consider auditing discriminatory language that may be in your property deed or neighborhood covenants and restrictions (CCRs). Check out our page here to get started. We also encourage you to check the City meetings page to see future agendas, stay informed, and learn how to participate in the ongoing DEIB discussions.