Thinking about Anti-Oppression Policies

     In the process of gathering participants for the Portes Ouvertes project, I heard from several organizations that they did not have an Anti-Oppression or Diversity policy in place.  These were organizations which, to my mind, were working clearly within an Anti-Oppression framework and ethic.   I am wondering what peoples experiences are within their organizations.  Are policies an effective way of addressing the Anti-Oppression goals of our organizations?  Is it a matter of time and resources being hard to come by for developing these?

Here are a couple of organizations with policies that have clear Anti-Oppression statements:The Montreal Community Mission:  Anti-Oppressive Practice Policy

And a couple of community organizations in Toronto:

Sistering:  Anti-Oppression/Diversity Statement and Purpose and a link to the policy itself- Anti-Oppression/Diversity Policy

The Toronto District School Board:   Anti-Oppressive Framework

I would love to hear what people think of these. Would these policies be useful models for the organizations that you work with?

Also we would love to see policies that other Quebec organizations have developed.  If you have a policy to share, or would like to share your experiences translating Anti-Oppression policies into action- we would love to hear from you!