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

Bill Text

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
Recognizing the month of April 2025 as "Celebrate Diversity
Month" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, In 2004, two diversity consulting firms, ProGroup
Inc. of Minneapolis and Diversity Best Practices of Washington,
DC, led a campaign to recognize the month of April as "Celebrate
Diversity Month" in the United States; and
WHEREAS, "Celebrate Diversity Month" now takes place each
April to recognize and appreciate the diversity of our world and
the people and cultures within it; and
WHEREAS, This recognition allows us to know one another
better by more openly discussing what makes us different from
one another while still appreciating our commonalities as human
beings; and
WHEREAS, Celebrating diversity is a critical step to
fostering understanding of those around us and creating a more
accepting, safer world; and
WHEREAS, Understanding and accepting diversity can take
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multiple forms, including celebrating both internal and external
diversity; and
WHEREAS, Celebrating internal diversity is the practice of
accepting characteristics and traits that individuals cannot
change, such as ethnicity, age and sexual orientation; and
WHEREAS, Conversely, external diversity concerns differing
characteristics that individuals can change, like education,
life experience and familial status, which are also important to
celebrate and accept in those around us; and
WHEREAS, Recognizing and appreciating diversity between
different people and in different forms has numerous benefits in
various fields; and
WHEREAS, In professional settings, having a diverse workforce
can provide new, different perspectives in critical decision-
making roles, which can lead to greater profits while creating
an open and safe environment to foster better relationships
between employees; and
WHEREAS, For instance, there is a 35% greater likelihood that
companies with racially and ethnically diverse leadership will
financially outperform companies that lack such diversity; and
WHEREAS, Furthermore, approximately two-thirds of job seekers
in the United States prefer businesses with more diverse
workforces, while half of United States employees want their
employers to invest more in diversity and inclusion; and
WHEREAS, Celebrating diversity can also provide societal
benefits like combating stereotypes and racism while leading to
more inclusivity and greater creativity; and
WHEREAS, Accepting and fostering greater diversity can lead
to personal growth for different individuals by forcing them to
go "outside their comfort zones" to experience cultures and
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various life experiences they were not previously familiar with;
and
WHEREAS, While much progress has been made in the United
States in diversity over the past few decades, there is still
work to do; and
WHEREAS, The United States labor force is currently more
diverse than it has ever been, but approximately 47% of Black
and Hispanic employees in the country have left jobs after
experiencing discrimination; and
WHEREAS, Women and people of color are significantly more
likely to experience bias or discrimination in the workplace;
and
WHEREAS, Discussing and accepting different forms of
diversity more openly can help stop this pattern by creating
environments where all individuals feel welcomed and valued; and
WHEREAS, Many of the greatest problems of the world stem from
a fear of what is different, and celebrating diversity directly
combats this issue and its negative consequences; and
WHEREAS, As residents of a state with numerous cultures,
Pennsylvanians should recognize the importance of learning
about, understanding and accepting the countless different
backgrounds and lifestyles of those that call Pennsylvania home;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the
month of April 2025 as "Celebrate Diversity Month" in
Pennsylvania.
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