How to Design Inclusive Events

Creating inclusive events requires that you make DEI your compass. Diversity applies to race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation or disability. Equity is the baseline – all attendees are equal.

Inclusive events are experiences intentionally designed to include everyone.

Here are 10 strategies for more inclusive events:

1. Download Tourism Diversity Matters’ Diversity and Inclusion Dictionary to familiarize yourself with  the topics of DEI and accessibility as they relate to events.

2. Many DMOs have listings of minority businesses right on their web sites. Destination DC lists black-owned restaurants, while Meet Boston has a listing called Black-Owned Boston. LA Tourism has an comprehensive supplier diversity program, Business Connect. Visit Cincy lists its minority-, veteran-, women- and LGBTQ-owned local vendors.
   
3. Make sure that your planning team is diverse. Create an advisory group to inform your decisions and make recommendations.
   
4. Be sure to avoid dates that coincide with key religious holidays.
   
5. Your registration and surveys should emphasize the importance of inclusivity at your events and avoid asking questions that result in collecting irrelevant analytics.
   
6. Book speakers from different nationalities, genders, religious affiliations and cultural backgrounds. Resources include the Black Speakers Network speaker directory and the Diverse Speaker Bureau. Be sure to reflect the makeup of your attendees when you include top executives and sponsors on stage.
   
7. Focus on selecting host cities based on their inclusive social climate. When that is not possible, consider using Social Offset as a socially conscious alternative. Select your cause and charity, create a campaign, then share it with attendees to make donations.
   
8. Amplify your organization's DEI support and messaging. This is more important than ever as DEI comes under attack and becomes more politicized across the U.S.
   
9. Do an overall assessment of every aspect of your event, including the images you include in your marketing and web site, to make sure they represent all attendees. 
   
10. Celebrate each other. Acknowledging and celebrating one another's differences is an effective way to cultivate support for various communities. Support the different celebrations that take place throughout the year to recognize these communities' contributions.