Sesame Place Announces Comprehensive Actions to Advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Actions include comprehensive racial equity assessment, anti-bias training and education program, and enhancements to DE&I program, all overseen and conducted by nationally recognized experts

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sesame Place today announced a series of initiatives as part of an expansion of its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Initiatives include a comprehensive racial equity assessment, the development and implementation of an anti-bias training and education program, and enhancements to ensure a best-in-class diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) program. This work will be overseen by national experts.

The racial equity assessment will include a review of policies, processes, and practices that impact guests, employees, suppliers, and the community to identify opportunities for improvement. The assessment will include engagement with both internal and external stakeholders. Experts will remain engaged after the completion of the assessment to monitor our progress toward established goals.

By the end of September 2022, all employees will participate in a substantive training and education program designed to address bias, promote inclusion, prevent discrimination, and ensure all guests and employees feel safe and welcome. This training will be incorporated into the onboarding of all new employees and will become a regular part of our training and workforce development.  

The racial equity assessment, training and education program, and DE&I program enhancements are being developed and overseen by national experts in civil rights and diversity, equity, and inclusion. These experts include Debo P. Adegbile, the Chair of the Anti-Discrimination Practice at WilmerHale LLP and a Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights; Joseph West, the current co-Chair of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at DuaneMorris; and Sadiqa Reynolds, the longtime leader of the Louisville Urban League and incoming CEO of Perception Institute, a research consortium that uniquely leverages insights from the social sciences to create effective interventions for inclusion and belonging. 

"We are pleased to have this team of well-respected leaders joining us. We have already begun engaging with employees, guests, civil rights groups as well as community leaders, and instituted some interim measures at the park while the review proceeds. The actions we are taking will help us deliver on our promise to provide an equitable and inclusive experience for all our guests every day," said Cathy Valeriano, President of Sesame Place Philadelphia. "We are committed to making sure our guests feel welcome, included and enriched by their visits to our park." 

For more information, visit www.sesameplace.com

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Sesame Place