The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) Award-Winning Learning Journey

In 2021, as part of AIFS’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, the Au Pair in America division created a DEI group for employees to learn, explore, and discuss topics in equity, especially as they relate to the work of cultural exchange. This initiative kicked off with a DEI Learning Series. The goal of the series was to bring together members of our team from across the US and around the world for learning and discussion opportunities, centered around equity and inclusion. Since the 2021 spring kickoff, the APIA DEI group has hosted book clubs, movie discussions, and guest speakers. To this day, we continue this work, growing in our participation, and supporting the APIA DEI mission. We are committed to doing the best work we can including all types of diversity within our programs and to bringing the (WHOLE) world together!

APIA Wins New Diversity and Inclusion Award

Big news! Au Pair in America is proud to announce we’ve won the WYSE Global Youth Travel Award in the category of New Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives! WYSE describes the… (read more)

APIA DEI Learning Journey Series (15 days – 3 weeks – of resources)

We invite you to explore these resources for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at your own pace yourself.  This 3-week journey outlined below was taken by APIA staff worldwide.  We hope you enjoy it – it’s a journey for us all…

Week 1: Implicit Bias – Reflect – The Self

Greater Good – Why DEI Matters to Us All*

The Appetizer:

The Entree:

The To-Go Bag: TAKE ACTION!:

  • Write your pledge and commitment to DEI
  • Journal about your encounters with racial inequality growing up.

*Monday – Greater Good – Why DEI Matters to Us All

Blind Spots and Implicit Bias*

The Appetizer:

The Entree:

To-go Bag, “take action:”

  • Write down all the names of your friends and those in your network and notice their backgrounds.

*Wednesday – Blind Spots and Implicit Bias

Class and Race*

The Appetizer:

The Entree:

To-go Bag, “take action:”

*Thursday – Class and Race

Being Comfortable with Discomfort*

The Appetizer:

The Entree:

To-go Bag, “take action:”

*Friday – Being Comfortable with Discomfort

**Zoom conversation – Friday 1pm eastern/10am PST Zoom**

Where CCs shared:

  1. What did I learn?
  2. What was surprising/ eye-opening?
  3. What questions/wonderings do I have?
  4. What actions might I take?

Week two: Systemic Racism and the Great Unlearn – Reveal – The US

Our US systems

The Appetizer:

The Entree:

To-go Bag, “take action:”

  • Continue to learn about the history of redlining and find out what your city is doing to reverse these practices.

*Monday – Our US Systems

-Systemic Racism Explained:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrHIQIO_bdQ…

-Heartbreaking Moment When Kids Learn About White Privilege | The School That Tried to End Racism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I3wJ7pJUjg

-13th: Netflix Documentary by Ava DuVernay about the connection between US Slavery and the present day mass incarceration system. (1 hour 40 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krfcq5pF8u8

-Read Stamped from the Beginning or People’s History of the US to see another perspective of the historical narrative. https://www.ibramxkendi.com/stamped-from-the-beginning

-Racial Justice Resources from Sesame Street https://www.sesameworkshop.org/what-we-do/racial-justice

-Continue to learn about the history of redlining and find out what your city is doing to reverse these practices.

Reckoning with the Past to Change the Future

The Appetizer:

The Entree:

To-go Bag, “take action:”

  • Interview someone with a different background than you and find out when and how they had a talk with their parents about (in)equality in the US.

*Tuesday – Reckoning with the Past to Change the Future

– Racism is Real https://www.vox.com/2015/4/30/8520305/systemic-racism-video

-A conversation about growing up black – https://www.nytimes.com/…/a-conversation-about-growing…

-Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man-Youtube series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8jUA7JBkF4

-Racism is a Threat to Public Health https://www.ama-assn.org/…/ama-racism-threat-public-health

-Listen to 1619 podcasts https://1619.simplecast.com/

-Mass Incarceration https://www.npr.org/2019/08/14/751126384/mass-incarceration

– Interview someone with a different background than you and find out when and how they had a talk with their parents about (in)equality in the US.

Understanding the Hurt Behind the Anger

The Appetizer:

The Entree:

To-go Bag, “take action:”

  • Audit your social media accounts and start following leaders in the DEI spaces or those who come from a background different from your own.

*Wednesday – Understanding the Hurt Behind the Anger

-Trevor Noah and the social Contract https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4amCfVbA_c

-Kimberly Jones Explains Systemic Racism – Bing video

https://centerforhealthprogress.org/…/to-rewrite-our…/

-Greenwood and the Tulsa Race Riots | Video | Boss: The Black Experience in Business | PBS

-18 poems written by black writers on race, resistance and identity | by Poppy Dillon | Medium

-Audit your social media accounts and start following leaders in the DEI spaces or those who come from a background different from your own.

Asian Americans – the “model” minority

The Appetizer:

The Entree:

To-go Bag, “take action:”

*Thursday – Asian Americans – the “model” minority

– America’s long history of scapegoating its Asian citizens (nationalgeographic.com) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/…/asian-american…

https://www.npr.org/…/model-minority-myth-again-used-as…

-Asian, Asian American students say rise in anti-Asian violence underscores deeper issues – The Chronicle (dukechronicle.com) https://www.dukechronicle.com/…/duke-university-asian…

-Read to digest: 9 Phrases Allies Can Say When Called Out Instead of Getting Defensive (everydayfeminism.com)

The Muslim Experience in the US

This section is very timely as today is one of the largest Muslim Holidays; Eid El Fitr. It is the holiday celebrated after the final day of fasting in the Month of Ramadan. If you have any Muslim friends, HFs, APs, or you are Muslim yourself wish them “Eid Mubarak.”

The Appetizer:

The Entree:

To-go Bag, “take action:”

  • Read your au pair’s full application and ask your au pair if she needs any help locating her community of faith.
  • Consider ways in which we can see au pairs as “one story” – how can we avoid this?

*Friday – The Muslim Experience in the US

-What Does My Head Scarf Mean to You? https://www.ted.com/…/yassmin_abdel_magied_what_does_my…

-Middle Eastern and Muslim Stereotypes in Media : Eefa Shehzad at TEDxYouth@ISBangkok https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRZQiwxB8lE

-The danger of a single story. https://www.ted.com/…/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the…

-How to Support Women of Color, with Minda Harts https://content.blubrry.com/coaching_for_leaders/CFL506.mp3

-Read the full file and ask your au pair if she needs any help locating her community of faith.

-Consider ways in which we can see au pairs as “one story” – how can we avoid this?

Week 3: DEI in Cultural Exchange

Supporting the One who Supports the Child with Special Needs

The Appetizer:

The Entree:

To-go Bag, “take action:”

  • Talk with your host families who have special needs children and ask them what the au pair experience is like in their home and how we can best support families like theirs.

*Monday- Supporting the One who Supports the Child with Special Needs

-I am not your inspiration thank you very much. https://www.ted.com/…/stella_young_i_m_not_your…

-Claire the documentary – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfqtOTwUcKE

-How to Support Belonging, with Julia Taylor Kennedy https://content.blubrry.com/coaching_for_leaders/CFL504.mp3

-Talk with your host families who have special needs children and ask them what the au pair experience is like in their home and how we can best support families like theirs.

LGBTQ and Study Abroad

The Appetizer:

The Entree:

To-go Bag, “take action:”

  • Revisit your language to be sensitive to the LGBTQ+ population of au pairs and talk with your same-sex HFs about their interviewing experiences.

*Tuesday – LGBTQ and Study Abroad

https://www.thetrevorproject.org/…/Guide-to-Being-an…

https://blog.culturalcare.com/…/lgbtq-au-pairs-in-the…

-Rainbow Newsletter of Nafsa SIG group. https://issuu.com/nafsar…/docs/rainbow_sig_newsletter_sp19

-Transgender passengers. https://www.tsa.gov/transgender-passengers

-MEANINGFUL TRAVELTIPS and tales – An Initiative to Make Travel More Inclusive LGBTQ traveler’s perspectives https://case.edu/…/2018-04/lgbt-study-abroad-guide.pdf

-“I’ve lived as a man and a woman – here’s what I learned. I’ve lived as a man & a woman — here’s what I learned | Paula Stone Williams | TEDxMileHigh – YouTube”

-Revisit your language to be sensitive for the LGBTQ+ population of au pairs and talk with your same sex HFs about their interviewing experiences.

Accents and Stereotypes

The Appetizer:

The Entree:

To-go Bag, “take action:”

  • Think about how you talk with au pairs who have emerging English. How can you help them gain confidence/be proud of the skills they have?

Host Families and Au Pairs

The Appetizer:

The Entree:

To-go Bag, “take action:”

  • Have things changed since 2006/7?

What’s Next? Call to Action

The Appetizer:

  • You and Diversity: How Small Acts can Create Big Change:

https://vimeo.com/505893020

Fighting Racism Through Diverse and Inclusive Volunteer Engagement Programming (Part 2 of 2) (jerometennille.com)

The Entree:

To-go Bag, “take action:”

  • Brainstorm on how APIA can increase the diversity of our families and team, and help ensure APIA is a program that continues to strive to be true to the DEI mission statement.