OBSERVER CORPS REPORT 2025
Local Institutions’ Publicly Available Stance
on Diversity Equity and Inclusion
Those with significant federal funding:
Falmouth Hospital
The Cape Cod Health Care web site has no page on diversity, but they did begin a survey in 2024 to ask patients their race, ethnicity, preferred language, disabilities, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The careers page talks about serving all regardless of sex, race, creed, residence, national origin, sexual orientation or ability to pay. More information here.
Town of Falmouth
The Town of Falmouth is an equal opportunity employer that welcomes applicants of all abilities, cultures, backgrounds, and identities. It provides the highest level of customer service to all individuals and groups of various abilities, cultures, backgrounds, and identities through the equitable application of policies and procedures. It has a DEIB advisory Committee and you can read their most recent agenda and minutes here.
Six Woods Hole Scientific Institutions
The group has dissolved their diversity initiative, halted their partnership education program, and stopped Juneteenth plans.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
WHOI changed the wording on their web site. Instead of diversity, it now has a Chief Organizational Development Officer. They still ask for DEI statements from job applicants.
Marine Biology Laboratory
Their web page is explicit about equal employment opportunity, affirmative action, and DEI.
Woodwell Climate Research Center
Its web site does not discuss diversity, but some personnel descriptions do talk about work to foster diversity. More information here.
Institutions with little federal funding
Falmouth Academy
Their home web page under “About” has a pull-down Diversity and Belonging heading that leads to a commitment to “growing our diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; we are committed to catalyzing conversations in our classrooms and our hallways about race and systemic racism; and we are committed to providing our students with the information, resources, and knowledge they need to be agents of change.” More information here.
Falmouth Public Schools
Under the “Departments” heading is “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.” It starts with a video of the director Henry St. Julien discussing his organization. He has a DEIB group on each school campus. The webpage has links to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s web page on DEI policies and practices, plus links to other diverse resources. More information here.
Local banks
Three local banks all had commitments to DEI in their annual reports and other documents. More information here.
Cape Cod Five
The bank has a commitment to fostering a culture of collaboration and inclusivity. It sponsors DEI curricula and scholarships through a national initiate during Black History Month.
Eastern Bank
The bank still lists a 17-page DEI report it published in 2022 detailing a strong commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. It states that diversity makes it a better employer and a better provider of services to the community.
Martha’s Vineyard Bank
The bank explains its commitment to DEI in a 2024 Sustainability Report, a Code of Ethics and DEI Statement. The Bank's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement defines Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and focuses on acknowledging that 'We are not all the same" and that they "welcome all perspectives."
Falmouth Church Community
All the churches the LWVF have checked continue to talk about maintaining a diverse congregation. Those include St Barnabas’s Episcopal Church; John Wesley Methodist Church; First Congregational Church of Falmouth, UCC; St. Joseph’s Catholic Church; Falmouth Baptist Church; and Waquoit Congregational Church.
