Equity is built into how the program runs, not handled as a separate track.

This is a working draft, pending committee review.

Equity as structure, not sentiment

The program was rebuilt after a race-based rupture. The initiating harm came from an individual, but its impact was amplified by structure: concentrated authority, no documented path for responding to harm, and minimizing talk afterward. This makes equity and belonging institutional rather than cultural, so the standards hold regardless of who is in the room.

Our commitments

• The program is for and by men, inclusive of trans men, and welcomes nonbinary, intersex, and gender-expansive people who identify with and actively participate in spaces historically labeled masculine in this community. It welcomes people across all races and ethnicities.
• Racism is not subject to degrees. The program does not relitigate whether racist conduct counts.
• Participants should never have to minimize parts of themselves to belong.
• We account for power dynamics, whether D/s structures, leather family standing, or the mentor and mentee difference, that can make it hard to raise a concern. "We are all adults" is not a policy.
• Equity is embedded in every process: applications, vetting, matching, programming, reporting, and background checks. It is not a separate track.

Preparing our leaders and mentors

Before mentor onboarding, leadership shares a baseline framework and language for handling race- and gender-based harm. Mentor onboarding covers implicit bias, microaggressions including misgendering and kink shaming, and how power dynamics in kink interact with identity. When resources allow, we bring in outside facilitation to strengthen this and to help guide a response if a rupture occurs, but our accountability does not wait on a consultant.

How equity concerns are handled

There is one front door for reporting harm: see Safety and Support, or email the administrator at MentorProgram@sfldg.org. Equity and belonging does not run a parallel intake.

• Reports that flag racism, colorism, xenophobia, transphobia, or other identity-based harm include equity and belonging leads in the review, with recusal for any conflict of interest.
• The Mental Health and Wellness Team supports affected people through its own process. Support and investigation stay separate.
• You can also talk informally with program leadership or alumni without filing anything. Informal never blocks formal, and anyone can escalate at any time.
• Where the harmed party wants it, restorative dialogue is available as a path, consistent with our value of repair over punishment.

Related: Our Values · Safety and Support