Equity For ALICE
Commitment to Equity in Research
As part of our Equity Framework, United For ALICE recognizes that structural racism is deeply woven into the laws, institutions, and social and economic fabric of our society, and that it must be acknowledged, challenged, and dismantled. Creating equity for ALICE means illustrating how barriers by race, ethnicity, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, ZIP code, health, ability, veteran status, and/or immigration status limit life outcomes, and working to remove those barriers so that all people can participate fully in all aspects of our social and economic systems.
Additionally, we acknowledge that building a more just society — for ALICE and for all — requires a commitment to understanding the true extent of hardship in this country. From challenging inaccurate measures of poverty and inflation, to painting a more accurate and inclusive picture of ALICE, United For ALICE aims to hold ourselves accountable in all we do.
We will strive to recognize and document the role of structural racism in the lives of ALICE families by:
- Using the best possible data to show where opportunity is and is not available, where it is easiest to fall into hardship, and what structural changes are needed to make ALICE individuals, households, and communities safer and more secure.
- Taking an intersectional approach in our research, our writing, and every project we undertake in order to more accurately reflect the complex and varied concerns of ALICE families.
- Advocating for ALICE by providing research and data to inform strategies and solutions to assist those who are struggling financially to make ends meet, and by shining a light on racist and discriminatory systems and policies in order to effect change.
- Revealing the causes of financial insecurity by focusing on persistent, systemic racial inequities and taking a multitude of perspectives into account.
- Reframing “poverty” narratives in our work and writing, focusing on documenting persistent and systemic causes of unequal opportunity, not just unequal outcomes.
- Being intentionally inclusive in widening the diversity of the network of collaborators on our committees without overburdening any individuals or groups or including them in a tokenistic manner.
- Holding ourselves accountable to promoting justice and taking an equity-centered, anti-racist approach in our work, and to calling attention to any actions that run counter to those efforts.
...with the ultimate goal of making sure all ALICE households have everything they need to live and thrive in the current economy