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.
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®.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.*
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®.
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.
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.
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.