Equity

This tool for creating equitable, inclusive, and just processes and the related tools below are ongoing works in progress. I welcome your feedback! kathy@kathykniep.com

Clarify the decision to be made – the choice point for impacting equity – and consider these factors.

  1. Which people experiencing inequities and injustices are affected by this decision? Are they at the decision-making table and do they feel a genuine sense of equity and belonging? Is there more than one person from each group so they don’t feel tokenized and can collaborate with a partner or partners in speaking on behalf of the group(s) they represent?
  2. Do we need to involve additional stakeholders of the members of the groups affected to make an accurate assessment? If so, how?
  3. Have we set up meetings to promote equity, belonging, and justice? (See below.)
  4. What are the barriers to more equitable and just outcomes (policies, limited resources, organizational culture, lack of managerial competency, politics, etc.)? How do we remove barriers?
  5. Does the decision advance systemic change? How might the decision affect each group? Have we addressed implicit bias and current inequities and injustices? Could this decision have unintended, negative consequences, and if so, how do we avoid those?
  6. How might the decision be perceived by each group? Do negative perceptions point to biases we haven’t considered? What is our plan to address negative perceptions?
  7. Do we need to conduct a more robust racial or other equity and justice impact analysis beyond this set of questions?
  8. What next steps are needed to implement this decision? How will we monitor the effectiveness of this decision to advance equity? How will we hold ourselves accountable from here?

Thank you to Race Forward and the Nonprofit Association of Oregon for providing help with concepts and language.


"Disability Justice: An Audit Toolkit" — Written by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, envisioned by Stacey Park Milbern and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha; via the NW Health Foundation. An incredibly helpful guide with tips, questions, stories, and more.

Screen to Create Meetings that Promote Equity, Belonging, and Justice

  1. Is the meeting in an easily accessible and culturally comfortable place, in terms of the geographic location, building, and room?
  2. Have we made accommodations for participants' physical and developmental abilities, technology access, language requirements, financial assistance needs, child care needs, schedules, learning styles, emotional support, and cultural preferences? What else might participants need to be able to participate fully?
  3. Are there people in the room who can legitimately and comfortably (in a safe space) speak on behalf of under-represented groups?
  4. Are the facilitators trusted by all of the people in the room?
  5. Can everyone abide by a set of meeting participation agreements (see below) that directly address equity, justice, privilege, and power and seek to lift up the voices of people from under-represented communities?
  6. Is the meeting information justice-focused? Does it present the most relevant and accurate data (e.g., highlighting disparities), and is the information presented in culturally responsive language?
  7. Is everyone familiar with the existing equity and justice statement and/or equity and justice lens? Are there questions about how to use these tools as part of the meeting? Are they sent in advance and made available at the meeting? Is there ample time to genuinely apply the tools?
  8. Do we have a specific and ethical plan for honoring the Original, Indigenous, and Native people of the land on which we're meeting? (See below.)
  9. When making decisions and setting goals, are people getting specific about how to improve equity, belonging, and justice and how to hold themselves accountable? (I encourage organizations to use The Management Center’s “SMARTIE” goals, listed here.)
  • STRATEGIC | Reflects an important dimension of what your organization seeks to accomplish (programmatic or capacity-building priorities).
  • MEASURABLE | Includes standards by which reasonable people can agree on whether the goal has been met (by numbers or defined qualities).
  • AMBITIOUS | Challenging enough that achievement would mean significant progress; a “stretch” for the organization.
  • REALISTIC | Not so challenging as to indicate lack of thought about resources or execution; possible to track and worth the time and energy to do so.
  • TIME-BOUND | Includes a clear deadline.
  • INCLUSIVE | Brings traditionally excluded individuals and/or groups into processes, activities, and decision/policy making in a way that shares power. (Source: OpenSource Leadership Strategies)
  • EQUITABLE | Includes an element of fairness or justice that seeks to address systemic injustice, inequity, or oppression.

Honoring the Original and Indigenous Inhabitants of the Land on which We’re Meeting

There are countless ways we neglect or even erase the affects of colonization in the U.S., and this is one way to interrupt that. “In countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and among tribal nations in the U.S., it is commonplace, even policy, to open events and gatherings by acknowledging the traditional [I]ndigenous inhabitants of that land. While some individuals and cultural and educational institutions in the United States have adopted this custom, the vast majority have not. Together, we can spark a movement to change that.”

- U.S. Department of Arts and Culture (a social justice organization, not a government entity)

You can download a free guide on the ethics and complexities of doing this properly at https://usdac.us/nativeland.

Please note there are varying perspectives about whether and how to do land acknowledgements. This article highlights some of the challenges and proposes that we reframe why we do them.

Here's information from Nancy Luna Jimenez about the Original People in the Portland, Oregon, area, and it includes additional information about land acknowledgements.

Suggested Meeting Participation Agreements

By participating in this meeting, and in collaboration with the other meeting participants, I agree to do my best to…

  1. Be present and not distract the group from being present.
    • Turn off anything that beeps or chimes or vibrates and refrain from using gadgets aside from note taking. Put my phone on vibrate if I have to keep it on.
    • Move outside the room to take any calls or send emails or texts.
  2. Be genuinely curious and open to learning.
    • Speak my truth and seek understanding of truths that differ from mine; to not debate to win; and to ask questions to get to the root of people’s beliefs.
    • Focus on sharing what I’m learning, not what I already know.
  3. Collaborate and create and build.
    • Consider “both/and.”
    • Offer ideas without making a “hard sell.”
    • Instead of saying “no,” first ask “how?”
  4. Be mindful of how my words and actions impact others and to not be defensive when I learn I have caused harm; to look for best intent and acknowledge that sometimes people have good reasons for not assuming best intent.
  5. Engage tension but not indulge drama.
    • Be kind and brave.
    • Remember: “Relationships first.”
  6. Move up; move up. If I don’t typically participate, I’ll make an effort to do so. If I tend to talk a lot, I’ll do more listening and invite in those who haven’t spoken.
  7. Notice power dynamics in the room.
    • Be aware of how I use my privilege, whether that’s as a white person, someone who speaks English as first language, or maybe as someone with authority as a board member or senior staff member.
    • Be conscious that it’s a kind of power dynamic to take up too much emotional and airtime space or, at the other extreme, to disengage.
  8. Refrain from side conversations, out of respect for the person talking and to ensure everyone can hear.
  9. Respect confidentiality: Take the lessons; leave the details; and remember that disclosing confidential information could put individuals or organizations at risk or cause harm.
  10. Take care of myself and my fellow participants.
    • Help myself to food and drink.
    • Stand if that’s helpful.
    • Leave the room if I need to.
    • Look for opportunities to be an ally and caring colleague.
  11. Help facilitate and share responsibility for the process.
  12. Use supportive gestures that don’t interrupt – “finger sparklers,” snapping, etc.
  13. Additional recommendations and questions: If I think of a recommendation or question related to something we’ve already covered on the agenda, I’ll post it or pass it the facilitator so it can be incorporated into the notes.
  14. Value the process more than the outcomes.

Thanks to adrienne maree brown and ColorBrave Space for help with these concepts.


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