Action Plan Update, December 2021

Dear Bryn Mawr Community,

 

One year ago, we shared Bryn Mawr’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan outlining our steps toward building a more inclusive school community, where every member feels a strong sense of belonging, and acknowledges and respects the experiences of others. At Bryn Mawr, we believe this work is inseparable from our mission. As a school committed to academic excellence and educating the leaders of tomorrow, it is our responsibility to provide students with skills, resources and opportunities to engage and work together across differences as we prepare them to lead considered and consequential lives.

 

We invite you to read about our progress and the work ahead in this Action Plan Update that summarizes the processes, policies and programs implemented to ensure that we are pursuing a holistic education rooted in equity and justice for all. As a school, we have engaged in extensive research and discussion over the last year to gather data around the climate and culture of our community with a diversity, equity and inclusion lens. This Update also includes a Research Summary of some of our major findings and how they have helped inform our priorities and efforts as a school. 

 

As one of the most diverse independent schools in the Baltimore area, we strive to be a community where every person can share their full identity and feel respected in doing so, at Bryn Mawr and throughout their lives. We believe that a fully inclusive community—one that honors everyone’s beliefs, races, religions, political ideologies, gender expressions, sexual orientations and cultures—benefits all of us.

 

Among the major findings in the research summary, questions around gender identity and expression were identified as an area for the school to consider more deeply. For several years, the trustees and administration, our student life and student support services teams and divisional leadership have been in conversation and reflection regarding the school’s practices in this area and have created a Bryn Mawr Statement on Gender Diversity, which was recently approved by the Board of Trustees. Importantly, this statement affirms the school’s core commitment to girls’ education while acknowledging the spectrum of gender identities and expressions. 

 

The Bryn Mawr mission and our commitment to the ideals of belonging, equity and justice have inspired our collaborative and consistent efforts over the last year and will continue to drive us forward. Thank you for your ongoing partnership and support.