GPA Diversity Statement

The Georgia Psychological Association values, seeks, and promotes a diverse membership, and stands against discrimination. We would like to be clear that we welcome members of all races, ethnicities, immigration statuses, faiths, religions, gender identities and expressions, sexual and affectional orientations, socioeconomic statuses, ages, regions of residence, physical and mental statuses, sizes, and political beliefs. Although we are an organization of individuals from diverse cultures and backgrounds, GPA recognizes our core unifying identity as Georgia psychology professionals and students, and our shared commitment to upholding our ethical and professional values.

 

As an organization, we are committed to social justice and multiculturalism. We recognize that, as an organization, and as individuals, we may hold unintentional attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that influence our perceptions of, and interactions with, others. We strive to work from a culturally humble orientation in all aspects of our professional work and service. We are committed to increasing our knowledge and awareness of, and our dedication to, all aspects of diversity and the unique qualities of different cultures and backgrounds. We are also dedicated to increasing equity and inclusion among all our constituents, and to reflecting this in the leadership positions within our organization. To this end, we are committed to working in solidarity with historically marginalized groups, and/or social and intersectional identities, to combat internalized and systemic racism and other forms of prejudice in our organization. We recognize that changing behaviors, policies, and procedures marked by systemic discrimination requires difficult work including honest, difficult dialogues, painful introspection of our conscious and unconscious biases, and an earnest willingness to actively dismantle these oppressive systems.

 

We strongly affirm our commitment to the APA Ethical and Multicultural Guidelines, which make clear that we must advocate for and protect the human rights of others. We are committed to increasing the visibility of psychological science in public health and all other areas in which our scholarship might positively impact human experience. We view psychologists as leaders in society, and are committed to using our voices to amplify those of historically marginalized groups, and/or social and intersectional identities, and to combat racism and other forms of prejudice in our society.