On Monday, March 22, the Board of Selectmen unanimously supported the establishment of a new committee, which will focus its efforts on issues around social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout Wayland. After several months of work by the Town Administrator’s Racial Justice Advisory Group, the Board was presented with a comprehensive proposal to establish a Human Rights, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. The idea for establishing this committee was inspired by a group of Wayland residents who studied human rights commissions for more than a year to learn how such an entity might benefit the Town. Wayland joins more than 60 municipalities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that have established some form of a human rights committee.
Among the Committee’s charges are to create action plans and conduct equity assessments to ensure all individuals in Wayland enjoy equal opportunity to participate in Town affairs and equal access to Town services, serve as a portal for receiving complaints regarding unequal treatment or discrimination, and recommend policies to the Board of Selectmen or other Town committees or departments to further the goals of equal treatment, opportunity, and access by all people throughout Wayland.
The Committee will be comprised of at least nine appointed voting members, and may include an additional seven non-voting members, including two youth representatives. Residents may apply to join the Committee by submitting a resume and statement of interest to Teri Hegarty in the Town Administrator’s Office at thegarty@wayland.ma.us. For questions or more information, call 508-358-7701 or see the Town’s web site at https://www.wayland.ma.us/
