Making diversity, equity, and inclusion part of everything we do

Today, the Gates Foundation is publishing our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We recently shared it with our employees, but we believe it is important to share publicly as well, because transparency and accountability will be critical to our success in living up to it.  

I am proud of the statement and proud of the work that many colleagues did to produce it, but I am also aware that a statement is not enough. We need to make these words come to life for our employees and our partners.  

So, underpinning this commitment, we have created our first DEI strategic framework, which lays out what we will do to achieve our DEI goals by 2023. The framework is built on top of four pillars: partnerships and voice, culture, talent, and leadership accountability.  

While our DEI commitment and framework are critical starting points, what matters most is what we change about the way we do our work. That is one of our top priorities for the foreseeable future, and we are committed to doing it right. Our organization is complex. We have nine offices on three continents and work across more than two dozen totally different fields.  

We have a team working to improve diagnostic tests for tuberculosis. We also have a team working on 8th grade literacy in Baltimore City Public Schools. When those two teams apply the DEI framework, their actions will look very different. In short, the day-to-day implications of this commitment will depend on a huge range of contextual factors, and every single one of our teams is going to think through what it must do to be more diverse, equitable, and inclusive, and therefore more impactful. 

I recognize that we are on a learning journey and that we won’t get everything right, particularly in the early stages, but we will keep moving forward. I am committed to closing the gap between how our organization shows up and how we have promised to show up—both internally and with our grantees and partners. I will also share more about our progress periodically and will engage more directly and consistently with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to understand where we are and aren’t living up to this important commitment.