Resources for Businesses - Open to All
Open to All window clings

Resources for Businesses

Thank you for signing the Open to All® business pledge. Your business has joined hundreds of thousands of businesses large and small in making this commitment and pledging to create safe, welcoming, and inclusive spaces for customers, employees, and communities.

Open to All is a national coalition that believes that when we work together we have the power to change things for the better. Despite the challenges facing businesses big and small in 2020, we are seeing owners, employees, and customers across the nation prioritizing the greater good. From patrons supporting local businesses that have implemented best practice health standards to protect employees from COVID-19, to corporate leaders that are calling on their colleagues to invest meaningfully in diversity, equity, and inclusion—we’re changing the way America does business.

Ralph Lauren Corporation logo

In partnership with Yelp and Ralph Lauren, Open to All has created this toolkit to help your business—no matter your size or industry—take the next step. In this toolkit you’ll find resources to let employees and customers know you are Open to All.

Questions? Check out our FAQ document or email info@opentoall.com.

By signing the pledge, you are committing to:

Business Pledge Icon

Maintain a welcoming and safe environment for people—including employees, visitors, customers, vendors, and clients—regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, immigration status, religion, or disability.

Business Pledge Icon

Not discriminate against any individuals or deny them goods or services based on any of these characteristics, and to provide all goods and services to everyone on the same terms.

SIGN THE PLEDGE  


Learn more about corporate membership »

Businesses should be Open to All®

SHARE WITH CUSTOMERS THAT YOU ARE OPEN TO ALL®

Now that you’ve made this commitment, let your customers know that you support them! Not only is joining Open to All good for your employees and your customers, it’s good for business. Customers support businesses that lead:

64%

of consumers choose, switch, avoid, or boycott a brand based on its stance on societal issues.

2/3

Nearly 2/3rds of millennials and Gen Z express a preference for brands that have a point of view and stand for something.

33%

of consumers are now choosing to buy from brands they believe are doing social or environmental good.

35%

of Americans think a company’s reputation is just as important as the products it makes and have purchased a product more than once because of this reason.

Open to All has resources and graphics so you can share your support with your customers online and in your stores.

WINDOW CLINGS

If you don’t already have one, order an Open to All window cling. Open to All is a nonprofit and the minimum $10 donation is to help offset the cost of printing, mailing, and Open to All staff time to fulfill each order.

CUSTOMER E-MAIL

Consider sharing an email with your customer list telling them about the business/company’s commitment to being Open to All.

DIGITAL TOOLKIT

In addition to sending out an email, post on social media and tell your followers that you have taken the pledge to be Open to All. Open to All has put together a digital toolkit with sample posts and graphics to help you spread the word.

ENGAGE YOUR EMPLOYEES ON WHAT IT MEANS TO BE
OPEN TO ALL®

We know that building a stronger country means everyone should feel safe, respected, and accepted as they live, shop, and work.

By supporting employees to feel welcome and safe at work and committing to creating an inclusive environment, you can make a real difference. We believe that when we work together, when we value our employees, when we care for our customers and one another, we all thrive.

SAMPLE ANNOUNCEMENT EMAIL TO EMPLOYEES

After you’ve signed the pledge and made the commitment to being Open to All, consider sending an email to your employees telling them about why you signed the pledge and what this will mean for them—from watching the training video to interacting with customers.

TEMPLATE POSTER FOR YOUR OFFICE (PDF)

Open to All has also created this printable poster for your employee breakroom, kitchen area, reception area, etc. to remind employees about your commitment to the values of Open to All and to provide helpful answers to FAQs as they are interacting with customers and your community.  

TRAINING VIDEO

Open to All, in partnership with Ralph Lauren, has created this 60-minute unlearning bias training video for employees (intended to be watched in one sitting). As part of your business onboarding process, encourage or require each employee to watch the video and engage with the questions presented. Please note: this video is available only to businesses that have signed the Open to All business pledge. Sign up today and we will email you the password.

RESOURCES

HOW TO OUTSMART YOUR OWN UNCONSCIOUS BIAS

Sephora Racial Bias Study Cover

Racial Bias in Retail Resources from Sephora

Sephora is a member of Open to All’s Leadership Circle, a select group of corporate partners who are leading diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in innovative and meaningful ways. In January 2021, Sephora released the first ever large-scale study on Racial Bias in Retail, which found that racial bias in retail is pervasive for both shoppers and employees. In response to the findings, Sephora is implementing a detailed action plan to tackle bias in their stores. This groundbreaking study is certain to have impact across the entire retail sector. Learn more about the experiences of shoppers and employees, and ways you can take action to mitigate racially biased experiences.

LEARN MORE  


Diversity and Inclusion Trainings

As companies and businesses are looking to engage their employees in deeper work around diversity, equity, and inclusion, Open to All® has compiled this list of resources and organizations that are offering trainings, information, and resources to clients.  

The Equity Lab 

The Equity Lab seeks to disrupt racial and ethnic inequity by engaging organizations in issues of race, equity, diversity, and inclusion (REDI). Our signature fellowships and long-term engagements help individuals and organizations to develop a deep understanding of their own identities and the historical and cultural contexts in which we all operate. Through our relationships, our partners become agents of progress in their personal and professional spheres. 

Learn More  

Empathy Bootcamp

Empathy Bootcamp is a collective of trainers, therapists, and academics dedicated to improving the world by improving relationships. We make social science research on empathy and communication actionable in your life and at work.   

Learn More  

Right to Be Harassment and Bystander Trainings

We believe that everyone deserves the resources to respond to, prevent, and intervene in instances of harassment. We provide customized training experiences for businesses, organizations, schools, and colleges — and use any revenue earned, combined with generous donations from people like you, to accelerate efforts to end harassment and provide free trainings to the general public.  

We have proven methodologies in the areas of bystander intervention, conflict de-escalation, harassment prevention, and resilience.  We give much of what we’ve learned away in our free trainings, but to protect the integrity of our work we ask that you not use or re-purpose our methodologies without permission. 

Learn More  

ReadySet—Online Services

ReadySet is a consulting and strategy firm that helps companies build more human-centric, inclusive cultures, teams, and products. Our clients span industries from tech, to nonprofits, to social change organizations, each starting at a unique point in their DEI journey. Our team of consultants is composed of professionals and academics with deep diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) expertise who understand how business works. 

Learn More  

FAQS

(click a question to reveal the answer)

WHAT IS OPEN TO ALL?

Open to All is a national nondiscrimination campaign that believes everyone should be welcome regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, immigration status, religion, or disability. We believe we all have something to contribute. We believe we can all learn from one another. We believe that when we work together, when we value our employees, when we care for our customers and one another, we all thrive.

HOW CAN MY BUSINESS SUPPORT OPEN TO ALL?

Now that you’ve signed the Open to All business pledge, check out our Resources for Businesses page and find resources to support your employees and communicate to your customers that you are Open to All®.

HOW DO I GET AN OPEN TO ALL WINDOW CLING?

If you’re a business committed to diversity and inclusion, sign the Open to All business pledge and join our national campaign. When you sign up, you will have access to Open to All resources including window clings you can display to show your support publicly for a tax-deductible fee of $10 per window cling. Click here to order additional window clings. Open to All is a nonprofit, and the $10 donation is to help offset the cost of printing, mailing, and our Open to All staff time.

WHAT’S THE “OPEN TO ALL” ATTRIBUTE FIELD ON YELP?

Yelp offers an “Open to All®” attribute to its business page listings. This is a check box on the “More Business Info” section of each business’s page (alongside other check boxes such as “Accepts Credit Cards,” “Takes Reservations,” and “Gender Neutral Bathrooms”). Checking the box allows businesses to designate their business as “Open to All.”

If your business wants to indicate it is “Open to All” on Yelp, click here for a visual tutorial on activating the new attribute.

WHAT IF AN INCIDENT HAPPENS WITH ONE OF MY CUSTOMERS OR WITH ONE OF MY EMPLOYEES?

We know that being Open to All can involve an ongoing dialogue. Why? Because even the best-intentioned businesses or employees sometimes might not understand that certain interactions with customers, clients, vendors, and employees could potentially create an environment that is not welcoming to all.

When businesses declare that they are Open to All, that’s an important first step in starting that dialogue. If someone has an experience that suggests your business isn’t Open to All, engage in a conversation. Open to All also encourages customers to engage in dialogue with businesses to help them understand what a particular interaction felt like, why it felt welcoming or unwelcoming, what the business is doing well now, and how they hope a business can do better in the future.

If your business has taken the time to designate yourself as Open to All, welcome that feedback and encourage that discussion. It’s important for both parties to assume best intentions and look for constructive solutions.

Questions you may get from your customers and community:

SHOULDN’T BUSINESSES GET TO CHOOSE WHO THEY SERVE? CAN’T CUSTOMERS JUST GO TO BUSINESSES THAT WELCOME THEM?

Many people very rarely have to worry about whether a business will accept people like them. But imagine how you would feel if every time you walked into a restaurant, flower shop, hair salon, or bakery, you could be kicked out simply because the owner didn’t want to serve “people like you.” And imagine that there was no way to know which businesses would or would not be welcoming. The only way to protect countless Americans and their families from that kind of humiliation and abuse is to ensure that our nondiscrimination laws apply to all businesses that are open to the public, and that businesses commit to being Open to All so that customers can see that the business welcomes them and their loved ones.

WHY SHOULD OUR LAWS REQUIRE BUSINESSES THAT SERVE THE PUBLIC TO TREAT EVERYONE FAIRLY?

As a nation, we decided a long time ago that when a business opens its doors to the public, it should serve everyone on the same terms. Most businesses want to do the right thing, but there are some that will only do what’s right when the law requires it. We are all entitled to our beliefs. But that shouldn’t give businesses a license to discriminate. Nobody should be turned away from a business simply because of who they are.

WERE YOU NOT OPEN TO ALL BEFORE THIS PLEDGE?

Your business may always have supported the values of Open to All and you joined to express those values publicly to your employees, customers, community, and vendors. Or perhaps your company is on a journey to being more welcoming and this is the first step. Either way, the pledge would align with company values and policies to create a space where all can thrive.

Questions you may get from your employees:

WHAT IS THE OPEN TO ALL BUSINESS PLEDGE?

Open to All is a national nondiscrimination campaign that believes we can build a stronger country where everyone feels safe, respected, and accepted as they live, shop, and work.

The pledge states that your business is committed to maintaining a welcoming and safe environment for all people (including customers, employees, visitors, vendors, and clients) regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, immigration status, religion, or disability—and that you do not discriminate or deny people goods or services based on any of these characteristics.*

WHY DID OUR BUSINESS SIGN THE PLEDGE?

Your employees will want your company to answer this in an authentic way that rings true for you. Most companies join Open to All because the pledge aligns with company values and policies to create a space where all can thrive. Click here for a sample email to employees sharing why a company became Open to All.

HOW CAN INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES SUPPORT THIS EFFORT?

  1. Encourage and allow discussion and dialogue from customers about our values when they see the pledge.
  2. Be open to hearing different views and feedback.
  3. Commit to sharing the pledge with all new employees.

HOW CAN EMPLOYEES EXPLAIN TO CUSTOMERS WHAT THE PLEDGE MEANS?

If asked what the pledge means, explain how the pledge aligns with our core values that celebrate individuality, inclusion, and treating all people with respect, dignity, and fairness to ensure our workplaces and stores are welcoming spaces for everyone. Signing the pledge is an opportunity to stand alongside other businesses to work toward greater equality and a sense of belonging for everyone.

HOW DO SHOULD EMPLOYEES RESPOND IF SOMEONE HAS AN INCIDENT OR AN ISSUE WITH OUR BUSINESS?

When businesses declare that they are Open to All, that’s an important first step in engaging in that dialogue. If a customer has an experience that suggests your business isn’t Open to All, employees should call a manager or someone who has the skills to engage the customer in a conversation. Open to All encourages customers to engage in dialogue with businesses to help them understand what a particular interaction felt like, why it felt welcoming or unwelcoming, what the business does well, and how they hope a business can do better in the future.

If your business has taken the time to designate yourself as Open to All, welcome that feedback and encourage that discussion. It’s important for both parties to assume best intentions and look for constructive solutions.

WHY SHOULD EMPLOYEES WATCH AN ANTI-BIAS VIDEO, ESPECIALLY IF THEY ALREADY SUPPORT TREATING EVERYONE FAIRLY?

This is the start of a conversation—not the end of one—and educating employees on how to tackle bias is important. We don’t expect that stores or any business that signs this pledge or any employees that takes this training will be perfect. But your business is committed to this mission and you are inviting employees to join you on this journey. If employees have questions, concerns, feedback or ideas, encourage them to come to you directly. Emphasize that you have an open-door policy, and encourage this important discussion.


TAKE ACTION!

GET THE RESOURCES

Get business resources to let employees, customers, and community members know this business Open to All.

GET THE TOOLKIT

OPEN TO ALL ON YELP

Find and support Open to All businesses near you by searching on Yelp.com or the Yelp app, and filtering using the Open to All attribute.

SEARCH NOW

SHARE ON SOCIAL

Help spread the word about Open to All by sharing the images and videos linked below on social media using #OpenToAll

SHARE #OPENTOALL

BE COUNTED

Add your voice to the growing chorus of Americans who reject discrimination! Be a part of the Open to All campaign!

SIGN UP NOW