MISSION STATEMENT

The Poetry Society of New York (“PSNY”) has a simple mission: to redefine and reestablish poetry’s essential position in the culture-at-large. The society accomplishes this mission by: 

  • creating new models for the presentation of poetry;

  • fostering vibrant, progressive poetry communities across the globe;

  • cultivating relationships in the worlds of art, literature, design, and commerce, and;

  • presenting the works of New York City poets to the world.

ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICY: Harassment, Discrimination, Bullying

Harassment of any kind is illegal. Discrimination against an individual or group based on a protected characteristic is also prohibited by law. Furthermore, it is the commitment of The Poetry Society of New York (PSNY) to create and maintain a workplace and event space in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. In this regard, discrimination or harassment in any form is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. 

Any PSNY affiliate or employee who feels harassed or discriminated against should report the incident to his or her manager or to PSNY’s CEO, Stephanie Berger at sb@poetrysocietyny.org. If, for any reason, you do not feel comfortable discussing the matter with any of the above-named individuals, you may report the incident to any representative of the Company with the understanding that that person is also encouraged to report the information to the above-named parties. We will not tolerate retaliation of any kind against employees who raise genuine ethics concerns in good faith. 

All incident claims will be investigated promptly and thoroughly, and anyone found to have violated our policy will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including warnings, probation, and termination of employment or affiliation with PSNY. The specific action taken will be fair and consistent with the severity of the action. 

Harassment may take many forms, but the most common forms include:

  1. Verbal – such as jokes, epithets, slurs, negative stereotyping, and unwelcome remarks about an individual’s body, color, age, physical characteristics, or appearance, questions or comments about a person’s sexual practices, or gossiping about sexual relations;

  2. Physical – such as physical interference with normal work, impeding or blocking movement, assault, unwelcome physical contact, leering at a person’s body, and threatening, intimidating or hostile acts that relate to a protected characteristic;

  3. Visual – such as offensive or obscene images, display of sexually suggestive or lewd objects, unwelcome notes or letters, and any other written or graphic material that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual, because of a protected characteristic, that is placed on the employer’s premises or circulated in the workplace. 

EVENT PROTOCOL

A large component of PSNY’s business activity consists of selling tickets to events where alcohol is served, and employees take audience members for intimate poetry readings. Due to our unique event environment, PSNY takes its employees’ and audience’s safety and well-being very seriously. If any employee, contractor, intern, volunteer, or audience member believes they were the victim of harassment, they are encouraged to immediately report the incident verbally to one or more of the following on-site contacts:

  • Stephanie Berger, CEO 

  • Jackie Braje, COO

  • The production coordinator or other person in charge of the event or territory where you are working

  • Any person that the above-named individuals designate as the appropriate “on-site” representative at events

Incidents reported verbally at events will be immediately handled. In most cases, after receiving the verbal report, one of the above named individuals will tell the venue’s designated security person, and the harasser will be removed from the venue by that security person. Employees are encouraged to submit a written report in addition as soon as possible after the incident. PSNY retains the right to suspend or ban any individual from PSNY related-activities, with or without cause. 

MORE INFORMATION

FEDERAL

Types of Discrimination: https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/index.cfm

Harassment: https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/harassment.cfm

Sexual Harassment: https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/sexual_harassment.cfm

NEW YORK STATE

Anti-Discrimination: https://goer.ny.gov/anti-discrimination-investigations

Sexual Harassment: https://www.ny.gov/programs/combating-sexual-harassment-workplace

NEW YORK CITY

Human Rights Commission: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/cchr/index.page

Sexual Harassment: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/cchr/law/sexual-harassment-training-main.page

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, & ACCESS

At The Poetry Society of New York, a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace is one where all employees, contractors, and volunteers, whatever their gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation or identity, education or disability, feels valued and respected. We are committed to a nondiscriminatory approach and to providing equal opportunity for employment and advancement in all of our programs and worksites. We respect and value diverse life experiences and heritages and ensure that all voices are valued and heard.

We’re committed to modeling diversity and inclusion for the entire arts industry of the nonprofit sector, and to maintaining an inclusive environment with equitable treatment for all.

DEFINITIONS

Diversity is the presence of difference within a given setting. In this case the workplace is the setting and the differences typically refer to identity like race and gender, and sometimes ethnicity, religion, nationality, or sexual orientation. A person isn’t diverse. They’re unique. They can bring diversity to a group though. You’re not looking for a diverse candidate. Diversity is about a collective or a group.

Inclusion has to do with people with different identities feeling and/or being valued, leveraged, and welcomed within a given setting (whether that’s a team, workplace, or industry). Longtime Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion educator, Verna Myers, said: “Diversity is being asked to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.” Inclusion isn’t a natural consequence of diversity. You can have a diverse team of talent, but that doesn’t mean they feel welcomed or valued or are given opportunities to grow.

Equity is an approach that ensures everyone has access to the same opportunities. Equity recognizes that we don’t all start from the same place because advantages and barriers exist. It’s a process that acknowledges uneven starting places and seeks to correct the imbalance. Diversity and inclusion are both outcomes. Equity is not. It refers to the process an organization engages in to ensure that people with marginalized identities have the opportunity to grow, contribute, and develop.

GOALS

To provide informed, authentic leadership for equity, PSNY strives to:

  • See diversity, inclusion, and equity as connected to our mission and critical to ensure the well-being of our staff and the arts communities we serve.

  • Acknowledge and dismantle any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and continually make updates to pursue cultural competency and progress throughout our organization.

  • Explore potential underlying, unquestioned assumptions that interfere with inclusiveness.

  • Advocate for and support thinking about how systemic inequities impact our organization’s work, and how best to address that in a way that is consistent with our mission.

  • Help to challenge assumptions about what it takes to be a strong leader at our organization, and who is well-positioned to provide leadership.

  • Practice and encourage transparent communication in all interactions.

  • Commit time and resources to expand more diversity within our board, staff, committees, and advisory bodies.

  • Lead with respect, tolerance, and sensitivity. We expect all employees, contractors, and volunteers to embrace this notion and to express it in workplace interactions and through everyday practices.

PLAN OF ACTION

The Poetry Society of New York takes the following steps to help promote diversity and inclusion in our workplace: 

  • Create detailed and transparent policies and plans for inclusion for all current board members, staff, and volunteers to follow and for all future organization members to understand upon hiring.

  • Develop and present formal learning opportunities for community members on various facets of diversity, inclusion, and equitable practices.

  • Develop a system for being more intentional and conscious of bias during the hiring, training, and evaluating processes. 

  • Improve our programs and offerings by creating and supporting programs and policies that foster opportunities for employees, artists, and leaders of diverse identities and abilities.

  • Pool resources and expand offerings for underrepresented constituents by connecting with other arts organizations committed to diversity and inclusion efforts.

  • Advocate for public and private-sector policy that promotes diversity, inclusion, and equity wherever possible. 

  • Challenge systems and policies that create inequality, oppression and disparity wherever possible.

  • Include a salary range with all public job descriptions.

DISABILITY INCLUSION PLAN

Regardless of limited time and resources, every nonprofit can do something to make strides toward inclusion of those with disabilities. As such, The Poetry Society of New York is committed to its disability inclusion plan, which follows these mandates:

  • Require leadership to take a free online e-course on disability: https://https://disabilityin.org/resource/disability-fundamentals-training-for-managers/

  • Engage employees, performers, board-members, interns, and other community members in an open discussion addressing attitudinal barriers and bias within our organization at least once per year and more frequently as deemed necessary.

  • When onboarding new employees, performers, board members, or other community members, explain how they can make reasonable accommodation requests and offer multiple forums – in writing, in an announcement during a meeting, etc. 

  • Ensure on-boarding information is shared electronically in an accessible document.

  • Ensure all supervisors have had the training to identify accommodation requests, even when employees or community members don’t use specific terms like “disability” or “accommodation” to identify their need for support.

  • Take a pro-active approach in facilitating realistic accommodation requests by describing any challenges folks with disabilities typically face in on-boarding materials. 

  • Include and encourage new employees, performers, interns, volunteers, and board members to complete a voluntary disability status question in on-boarding materials so they may choose to disclose their disability details to management in a confidential forum and judgement-free zone.

  • Streamline internal process for arranging reasonable accommodations.