The UPMC Center for Inclusion launched the Dignity and Respect Campaign several years ago, and wouldn’t it be fitting to end Dignity and Respect Month by signing on to the Dignity and Respect Pledge? The link is here.

The Center’s Vision and Mission

OUR VISION:
To make our world a better place for all to live—with all of our differences by encouraging individuals, organizations, communities, and youth to treat everyone with dignity and respect.

OUR MISSION:
To unite under a shared belief that everyone deserves dignity and respect by encouraging behavioral change in individuals, communities, schools, and organizations.

As we make more and more progress towards full equality for the LGBTQ community, tensions rise and challenges to dignity and respect occur everywhere. I’m frequently alarmed at the LGBTQ persons who are demanding respect and equality, but who feel they have the right to attack, dismiss or verbally abuse and disrespect others simply because they see themselves as the victims. For me, this ‘us vs them’ mentality is a symptom of the greater problem, and the Dignity and Respect Pledge is a tool towards creating a different paradigm where the goal is for everyone to treat everyone with dignity and respect. Our focus as LGBTQ Equality advocates can be on finding fault with others (who often act atrociously), or actively and cooperatively building a different respect framework within our friends, our communities, our organizations, our cities and eventually the world.

The Pledge

The pledge is really short and simple, and taking it is a conscious decision to act accordingly. Like with most things, some days we may do it better than others, but in the end, the real goal is to keep reminding ourselves and treat everyone with dignity and respect.

The 7 Pillars

The Center for Inclusion has organized what they call the 7 pillars, a part of the D&R toolkit:

The 7 Pillars represent behaviors that help organizations create an environment of dignity, respect, and engagement for their employees, customers, and the communities they serve. The purpose of the modules is to introduce each of the 7 Pillars of Dignity & Respect, as well as explain why, when, and how the behaviors can be used to drive culture change in your organization, as well highlight actions employees can take to model the 7 Pillars.

These may be geared towards organizations, but they are equally applicable to an individual’s behavior.  Consider how you can apply them, or be the person who brings this to your organization.

Make the dignity and Respect Pledge Now!