Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Global Works strives to be a team and develop accessible programs representative of the many backgrounds and identities of those we seek to serve.

Achieving these goals requires commitment and focus. We have integrated DEI policies and initiatives into our programs and office operations, which we continue to build upon.

Read more about our Policies

DEI Initiatives

We support our non-profit partner, Wonderfolk (previously called Global Works Community Fund), to address these questions of access. We fully recognize that travel programs, like Global Works, can be primarily limited to those who have access to economic and social privilege. In 2011, we founded Global Works Community Fund (now Wonderfolk), a 501(c)3 organization, in order to address questions of access in our work. What we didn’t realize at the time was that this was our first step towards addressing antiracism and an attempt at creating truly equitable travel.

Today, Wonderfolk is run by a dedicated group of mentors, board members, a youth advisory board, and staff; and the org has a full-fledged mentoring program that focuses on antiracism, equitable practices, and building bridges to multidimensional leadership opportunities for BIPOC youth. To date, these opportunities have been provided for 78 students from Denver, CO and Portland, OR.

We commit to doubling down on ways that we can be a greater funding source for Wonderfolk. We want to enable our Global Works families to help make these transformative and life changing experiences available to more eager and motivated young leaders, regardless of financial background. We invite you today to support Wonderfolk via donation. 

We seek out, through our School Group Travel programs, more partnerships and work to make travel opportunities accessible for a broader range of school populations – public, private, parochial, charter, urban, rural, etc. – so that Global Works travel experiences reach a diverse population of students.

We invest resources into forming a home office staff, an advisory board, and a team of trip leaders that better represents our BIPOC and LGBTQ students. As a predominately white- run company, we understand our epic responsibility in dismantling the heinous legacy of white supremacy. We aspire to be a team of people who represent the many backgrounds and identities of those whom we serve. In 2024, 46% of our Global Works Trip Leaders identify as BIPOC and 11% are LGBTQ+. 

We employ DEI policies in our staff recruiting, hiring, and training practices. We try to minimize bias and create an equitable application and interview process in order to offer positions to a diverse group of applicants. Examples of our practices include, but are not limited to: being aware of and addressing unconscious bias; active sourcing for diverse recruiting efforts; inclusive job descriptions and posts; standard job offers, pay scales, and onboarding process; DEI as integral part to our company culture; and access to advanced training for contracted staff. 

We partner with organizations that support students from low-income backgrounds and provide scholarships to travel on Global Works programs. Partner organizations are:

• Summer Search
• Minds Matter
• Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
• Step Up to Excellence

We provide educational group travel experiences for young people, school, and university groups who engage in Homestays, Community-led Service Projects, Language Immersion, Adventure, Cultural tourism/sightseeing in locations in South America, Central America, Indigenous Nations, Asia, United States/territories, South Pacific, Western Europe. Specific actions that our programs achieve include, but are not limited to: 

• Cross-cultural connections: we bring people together across the world
• Broaden the worldviews, perspectives, capabilities, self-reliance, and leadership skills of those we travel with
• Create opportunities for skill-building, language practice, and learning
• Contribute to sustainable development and educational projects in communities around the world via community-led service initiatives. Examples include:
  • Home building in Villa del Rio, Puerto Rico
  • Construction of clean water cisterns in Kajillarakay, Peru
  • Work in collaboration with farmer-to-consumer coffee business in Cedral, Costa Rica
  • Volunteer in Fundación Escuela de Solidaridad in Granada, Spain

We pledge to keep learning and growing. We aim to involve our home office staff and our trip leaders in 15 hours of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) annual training that is specific to our industry. We know that without proper training, experiencing microaggressions can ruin a travel experience and close-minded perspectives are a block to being able to see and experience the world. Our partners in DEI training and education include:

• Nia Clark and Jay Guilford, CoWorks
• Jason Ernest Feldman, Global Works Trip Leader, Ernest Education
• Nia Slater- Bookhart, Global Works Trip Leader and Social Studies Educator
• Harry Alvarez and Biama Charles, DEI Advisors, Cornerstone Safety Group
• Global Works Trip Leaders

We look to the places closest to us to investigate how we can make necessary change in our offices, our backyards, our neighborhoods, and the communities where we live, learn and play. We donate to and support Cal-Wood Education Center’s Summer and Latino Family Camp programs and we invite you to donate, as well.

We invite conversation. Keep us accountable as we continue to do better. Share your ideas and resources with us at [email protected] and 303-545-2202.