HR 215 — A Resolution recognizing the month of April 2025 as "Celebrate Diversity Month" in Pennsylvania.

PRINTER'S NO.    1552

                   THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



           HOUSE RESOLUTION
              No. 215
                                              Session of
                                                2025

     INTRODUCED BY CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, SANCHEZ, PROBST, VENKAT, GUENST,
        HILL-EVANS, McNEILL, HOHENSTEIN, WAXMAN, HANBIDGE, CERRATO,
        SCHLOSSBERG, RIVERA AND O'MARA, APRIL 30, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, APRIL 30, 2025


                               A RESOLUTION
 1   Recognizing the month of April 2025 as "Celebrate Diversity
 2      Month" in Pennsylvania.
 3      WHEREAS, In 2004, two diversity consulting firms, ProGroup
 4   Inc. of Minneapolis and Diversity Best Practices of Washington,
 5   DC, led a campaign to recognize the month of April as "Celebrate
 6   Diversity Month" in the United States; and
 7      WHEREAS, "Celebrate Diversity Month" now takes place each
 8   April to recognize and appreciate the diversity of our world and
 9   the people and cultures within it; and
10      WHEREAS, This recognition allows us to know one another
11   better by more openly discussing what makes us different from
12   one another while still appreciating our commonalities as human
13   beings; and
14      WHEREAS, Celebrating diversity is a critical step to
15   fostering understanding of those around us and creating a more
16   accepting, safer world; and
17      WHEREAS, Understanding and accepting diversity can take
 1   multiple forms, including celebrating both internal and external
 2   diversity; and
 3      WHEREAS, Celebrating internal diversity is the practice of
 4   accepting characteristics and traits that individuals cannot
 5   change, such as ethnicity, age and sexual orientation; and
 6      WHEREAS, Conversely, external diversity concerns differing
 7   characteristics that individuals can change, like education,
 8   life experience and familial status, which are also important to
 9   celebrate and accept in those around us; and
10      WHEREAS, Recognizing and appreciating diversity between
11   different people and in different forms has numerous benefits in
12   various fields; and
13      WHEREAS, In professional settings, having a diverse workforce
14   can provide new, different perspectives in critical decision-
15   making roles, which can lead to greater profits while creating
16   an open and safe environment to foster better relationships
17   between employees; and
18      WHEREAS, For instance, there is a 35% greater likelihood that
19   companies with racially and ethnically diverse leadership will
20   financially outperform companies that lack such diversity; and
21      WHEREAS, Furthermore, approximately two-thirds of job seekers
22   in the United States prefer businesses with more diverse
23   workforces, while half of United States employees want their
24   employers to invest more in diversity and inclusion; and
25      WHEREAS, Celebrating diversity can also provide societal
26   benefits like combating stereotypes and racism while leading to
27   more inclusivity and greater creativity; and
28      WHEREAS, Accepting and fostering greater diversity can lead
29   to personal growth for different individuals by forcing them to
30   go "outside their comfort zones" to experience cultures and

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 1   various life experiences they were not previously familiar with;
 2   and
 3         WHEREAS, While much progress has been made in the United
 4   States in diversity over the past few decades, there is still
 5   work to do; and
 6         WHEREAS, The United States labor force is currently more
 7   diverse than it has ever been, but approximately 47% of Black
 8   and Hispanic employees in the country have left jobs after
 9   experiencing discrimination; and
10         WHEREAS, Women and people of color are significantly more
11   likely to experience bias or discrimination in the workplace;
12   and
13         WHEREAS, Discussing and accepting different forms of
14   diversity more openly can help stop this pattern by creating
15   environments where all individuals feel welcomed and valued; and
16         WHEREAS, Many of the greatest problems of the world stem from
17   a fear of what is different, and celebrating diversity directly
18   combats this issue and its negative consequences; and
19         WHEREAS, As residents of a state with numerous cultures,
20   Pennsylvanians should recognize the importance of learning
21   about, understanding and accepting the countless different
22   backgrounds and lifestyles of those that call Pennsylvania home;
23   therefore be it
24         RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the
25   month of April 2025 as "Celebrate Diversity Month" in
26   Pennsylvania.




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