DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION
& BELONGING

We work to create a community in our clubs in which individuals are seen, recognized and celebrated including but not limited, regardless of their background, race, gender, gender identity, age and fitness level.

What We’re ReadingWhat We’re DoingContact Us

All our team members have completed the following training and new hires also complete the following training

  • Unconscious Bias 
  • Microaggression Training 
  • Upstander Training 
  • Trans and Nonbinary Inclusion Training

We are working with Ashley Mitchell, an external DEI consultant, to lead our DEI&B initiatives

  • Ashley Mitchell is a multi-passionate creator and new mom. She has become a powerful voice speaking out against racial inequality in the fitness space, garnering fast follow-ship and influence, making her an agent of untold levels of inspiration and strength. Ashley currently works in several capacities, including stay-at-home mom to Zion, Director of the Movement School at Down Under Yoga where she also teaches strength classes, consults in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and most proudly, runs The Courage Campaign, a non-profit founded with her husband Mark.

Completed and Ongoing Trainings

  •  May 2023 – We hosted 5 Listen & Heal Sessions with Ashley Mitchell 
  •  June 2023 – Defining DEI and Bias & Allyship Training for all team members with Ashley Mitchell 
  •  July 2023 – Barriers to Belonging & Taking Action Training for all team members with Ashley Mitchel
  • September-December 2023We continue our work each month with Ashley Mitchell

We are actively working on diversifying our team for the benefit of all team members and the organization with the following tactics: 

  • Yearly Leadership Team Training – Unconscious Bias Recruiting and Hiring 
  • Work with organizations that will provide more diverse applicants.  Posting leadership jobs on Boston While Black
  • Measure Diversity on Leadership Team
      • March 21% of leadership team are a person of color (7 of 34), May 4% (5 of 34) 
      • Currently 76% of leadership team are women (26 of 34)

The fitness industry has often failed to feature people of all races, body sizes, ages, gender appearances. While Healthworks has made conscious efforts to reduce this gap, there is more work to do. 

  • The Fall 2023 photo shoot will continue progress and partially focus on body size, age and gender appearance.
  • A more formal strategy for social media in 2024. Both on what we post and how we highlight our community and National Observances.
  • We will provide more visible support of Healthworks Community Fitness
  • We will include our Healthworks Community Fitness program in our new member information and provide an opportunity for new members to donate
  • We will host Open Forum for our Members – bring in speakers
  • We will explore partnerships with Nonprofits such as Breaktime 
  • We will continue our partnership with Brookline Housing
  • Our longer term goals include:
      • Personal Trainer Certification Scholarship Program
      • Membership Scholarship Program

There are times in our clubs that a conversation or interaction can have a negative impact on a member or team member. We recognize that our intentions do not always match our impact. When these negative experiences occur, we investigate and document the incident. This allows us to address the impact, provide training when necessary and create a better experience to everyone in the future. If you would like to report an incident to your team, please use the contact form below.

Every month our team is invited to read a book or article, listen to a podcast or watch a new film that deepens our level of understanding and join in discussion. See the list here

All employees are welcome to participate in our Employee Resource Group. Each month, team members are encouraged to participate in a discussion based on a chosen book, movie or podcast. The resources are chosen to help educate and deepen our understanding of these crucial social issues.

READ

Black Friend

Ziwe

Are Prisons Obsolete?

Angela Davis

WATCH

MLK/FBI

Hulu

Exterminate All The Brutes

HBO Max

Cultural Appropriation: A Fixable Cultural Crime

YouTube

Tantura

Amazon

LISTEN

READ

Between the World and Me

Ta-Nehisi Coates

The New Jim Crow

Michelle Alexander

The Revolution Has Come

Robyn C. Spencer

The Color of Law

Missing author

Trouble with White Women

Kyla Schuller

The Black Kids

Christina Hammonds Reed

The Vanishing Half

Brit Bennett

Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word

Randall Kennedy

Assata: An Autobiography

Assata Shakur

Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia

Sabrina Strings

Black Girl Dangerous

Mia McKenzie

Stamped from the Beginning

Ibram X Kendi

WATCH

When They See Us

Netflix

Get Out

Hulu

Judas and the Black Messiah

HBO Max

Sorry To Bother You

Amazon

Paris is Burning

Apple TV

Passing

Netflix

Selma

Amazon Prime

Disclosure

Netflix

Fruitvale Station

Amazon Prime

Malcolm X

Amazon Prime

Miss Evers’ Boys

HBO Max

Birth of a Nation

HBO Max

I Am Not Your Negro

Netflix

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Amazon Prime

LISTEN

We welcome your feedback, ideas, and questions. Please fill out the form below and someone from our team will reach out to you
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