Step 1:
Determine where you are in your personal commitment to advancing racial equity personally and professionally. Reflect on past experiences and current experiences that help contextualize where you currently are.
Questions to consider:
- Who are the current champions for racial equity, diversity and inclusion work in your school/organization?
- Who are the current detractors?
- Of the current detractors, which could be brought into this work to motivate other detractors?
- What strategies can your team use to communicate your objectives to the wider team?
Actions to consider:
- Invite champions to a meeting and outline the launch of a Racial Equity Taskforce/Committee (1, 3)
- Gather feedback on how best to engage the detractors in this work & develop a plan for outreach.
- Ensure that multiple leadership team members are involved in this taskforce/committee.
- Ensure that a diverse representation of identities are involved.
- Plan an all staff meeting presentation to announce the launch of the taskforce/committee. (2, 3)
- Request time in an upcoming staff meeting to announce the launch of the taskforce/committee and to invite other teammates into the committee. (2, 4)
- Create Employee Resource Groups to offer support and gather feedback throughout the process from staff. (1, 5)
Resources:
- Diversity and Inclusion Council | How to Launch a D and I Council
- Creating a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in the Workplace — 4 Point Consulting
- Diversity and Inclusion Councils
- Why Having a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee is Important
- A Toolkit for Establishing and Maintaining Successful Employee Resource Groups
Step 2:
Create opportunities for staff to engage in multiple capacity building and framing sessions to establish a foundation for the deep, personal work that organizational DEI change requires.
Questions to consider:
- What current professional development cycles/calendars exist at our organization?
- How are team members held accountable to professional development?
- What org-wide goals/values currently connect to individuals professionally developing in DEI?
- If none are explicitly stated, which could be connected?
- What data exists on staff professional development needs?
Actions to consider:
- Conduct an assessment of personal professional development needs for DEI. Consider the Equity Lens Map, Intercultural Development Inventory, or an in-house PD survey. (1, 2)
- Review survey results with DEI taskforce/committee and begin prioritizing the needs. (3)
- Contact & vet consultants and facilitators who can lead your team through these sessions, or invest in train-the-trainer models for your staff to lead training internally.
- Develop an annual calendar of DEI professional development sessions and capacity building sessions.
- Develop a performance annual review metric that holds staff accountable to engaging in DEI professional development. (4, 6, 7)
- Establish a professional development philosophy and framework with inclusion, equity, and culturally responsive pedagogies as embedded principles. (4, 5)
- Establish surveys and feedback cycles to inform PD topics/delivery (in addition to performance data). (6,7)
Resources:
- Equity Lens Map
- Intercultural Development Inventory
- Living Cities: Operationalizing Racial Equity & Inclusion
- Mosaic’s Toolkit for Hiring a More Diverse Workforce
- Performance Management for Inclusion
- Anti-Racist Organizational Change: Tools for Non-Profits
- Resource: Checking In With Your Humanity
- Zappos Insights: company culture trainings
- The Management Center
- Society for HR Management
Step 3:
Establish data collection and analysis processes that allow the organization to audit their progress in racial equity, diversity and inclusion across their stakeholders and programs.
Questions to consider:
- To what extent does our (insert stakeholders: staff, board, students, advisory committees, etc) reflect our regional demographics?
- To what extent are the outcomes from (insert program: hiring, promotions, student success rates, etc) predictable by participants’ demographics?
- To what extent do our diverse populations feel comfortable, respected, and empowered within our organization? To what extent are diverse community perspectives included in decision-making that impacts their lives?
- What data do we currently have about our internal staff members’ sense of belonging?
- What data do we currently have about our external stakeholders’ sense of belonging?
Actions to consider:
- Take an org-wide/school-wide Equity Audit: https://www.wearebeloved.org/equity-audit
- Host focus groups with your stakeholders: faculty, staff, parents/families, community members, board, etc. (1, 2, 3)
- Conduct a climate survey or belongingness survey. (7, 8, 9)
- Review climate survey and belongingness survey data. (4, 5, 6)
Resources:
- Mindset Kit: Belonging for Educators
- LGBTQ Girls Are Much More Likely to Face Discipline in School
- Black & Belonging in School – STEM middle school resources
- BETA Draft of The Social Belonging Intervention: A Guide for Use and Customization
- Why Belonging Matters at Work _ Catalyst
- “Companies lose when employees feel excluded” Catalyst Org, 2014
- Guidance on customizing your existing org climate survey
- Gallup Q12 Employee Engagement Survey
- Even Survey Monkey has a template for belonging and inclusion surveys!
Step 4:
Research best practices on the budget needed to engage in racial equity work.
Questions to consider:
- Where can we re-allocate funds from our existing budget to fund our DEI and racial equity work?
- What funders in our region (or nationally) are currently supporting DEI and racial equity work?
- What grants exist in our region (or nationally) for DEI and racial equity work?
- Who might we partner in our region to build a community of practice for DEI & racial equity work (and potentially split costs with)?
Actions to consider:
- Assign a team member to research funders and grants available for supporting DEI & racial equity work. (2, 3, 4)
- Design an annual budget that allocates adequate funding to support DEI & racial equity work. (1, 6)
- Host introductory conversations with external consultants to learn more about the costs associated with DEI and racial equity work.
- Meet with peers who are engaging in this work and ask them how they allocate funds or secure grants.
- Allocate stipends to staff who choose to lead internal DEI sessions or committees. (5)
Resources:
- DEI Budget 101: 4 tips for making the most of your funds
- Grants for Organizational Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | NOPI
- 1,134 Workforce Development Grants
- Social Justice Educator Grants
- How to target=”_blank” rel=”noopener” Develop a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative
- How much does Diversity, Equity and Inclusion really cost?