HOW to Walk the Walk , Not Just
Talk the Talk
Visit Baltimore offers diversity , equity and inclusion training to the hospitality industry to help encourage a warm , welcoming environment .
MEET LOCAL
Lip service isn ’ t worth much , for anything really . But action ? That matters . And clearly there ’ s a case for action when it comes to diversity and inclusion , particularly after the social and racial justice movements that unfurled across the country ( and the world ) in 2020 .
Supporting these efforts , while important across the board , has special significance for the hospitality industry , which , by definition , seeks to optimize the experiences of people from various cultural environments as they move about their home regions and beyond .
Knowing this , Visit Baltimore introduced Diversity , Equity and Inclusion training for Baltimore tourism and hospitality leaders in fall 2020 . The six trainings , sponsored by Atlas Restaurant Group , ran through the end of the year and served hundreds of participants from hotels , restaurants , nonprofits and various venues throughout the industry .
You may wonder why this training was necessary , particularly since Baltimore already is quite diverse . In fact , the city ’ s standout and sometimes painful legacy stemming from its rich heritage is well-known , with its Black residents influencing everything from abolitionism , civil rights and the local economy to artistic culture and more . The city ’ s immigration patterns from the last two centuries are still visible in neighborhoods like Greektown , Pennsylvania Avenue and Little Italy , with Baltimore also now including a growing population of Hispanic and Asian residents .
But diversity — which goes beyond just race and ethnicity and includes gender identity , sexual orientation , language , age , religious affiliation , economic status and more — isn ’ t the same as inclusion . And , as humans , we can have our own unconscious and conscious bias to contend with , including in hospitality , where there can be issues with diversity and inclusion within the industry itself .
30 BALTIMORE . ORG