Using an equity lens

Imagine putting an entertainment center together in your living room and finding out that you missed an important piece when you finish (this has happened to me several times - oops!). For some of your decor, it might not be that big of a deal; however, are you going to take the risk of putting your new QLED flatscreen TV on it, knowing that it may not be sturdy enough to hold it? Yeah, me neither!

As odd as it may sound, this is a lot like integrating an equity lens into your work. Reading the directions might require us to take a pause, but the outcome in the end tends to be better for everyone involved. In your work to advance equity, you must include equity as a core part of our process from the beginning, because it typically doesn't work as well when done retroactively, which can bring risk and harm to our organizations. 

Before we continue, let's take a second to define equity. There are many definitions of equity, so I will explain using an analogy I learned from a friend and colleague of mine. Think about equity like a pair of shoes. I wear size 13 shoes, so whenever I go to the shoe store or bowling that's what I look for. If I walked into a store and everyone was given a size 10.5 shoe, I would be negatively impacted and would likely develop some sort of foot pain or issues leading me to see a podiatrist. The podiatrist could just give me a size 13 shoe and send me on my way, but the harm has already been done. 

What if I could walk into that store and have received a size 13? What health challenges and long-term effects could I have avoided by getting the right size shoe in the first place. 

When you approach our work equitably, you appropriately resource individuals and groups, to address historical and persistent harms, to ensure the best outcomes. In essence, you are ensuring that one's social group identity isn't a predictor of negative or disparate outcomes. 

My friend Jaya Mallik with Jaya Mallik Consulting recently wrote an article titled, "DEI Programs: Their Existence Depends on Our Intentions". In this article, Jaya talked about the restructuring of our hiring practices in the contentious landscape of DEI work and ongoing efforts to derail, defund, and dismantle this work. She asserts that a (traditional) focus on hiring quotas can create negative unintended consequences on organizations, including bringing an incredible amount of risk. Instead, she offers the need to focus on the characteristics, knowledge, skills, and abilities of talent that don't rely on social group identity markers. To actualize this approach, with a net benefit of minoritized groups, it is essential to have an approach that builds equity into the beginning and throughout the process.

So how do you use an equity lens in your work? I'm glad you asked!

I recommend that organizations use this 7-step process to begin examining their work through an equity lens. 

• Step 1: Assemble a diverse team. It is important to have a team that is representative of a diverse array of voices, perspectives, and experiences. By not intentionally building a team, you run the risk of centering and prioritizing the same voices in your work - typically those voices reflect the dominant culture. Instead, identify the groups who are most impacted by the work being undertaken and reflect on how you can include those voices in your work. If this is not possible, you should work to build trust with the impacted group, so they are assured that there is a trusted source who can speak on their behalf. 
• Step 2: Identify the problem you're addressing and the desired outcomes/product you're working toward. If you have not clearly identified a problem, you might create solutions that (1) don't address the program or (2) exacerbate the problem. If you start with the problem and desired outcome, you can put steps in place to begin defining and addressing both. When possible, the impacted population should be aware and/or help with defining the problem. 
• Step 3: Lean into the data sources to better understand the problem. Data is important because you can draw on prior knowledge and patterns to better understand why a problem exists and the extent to which it exists. You can do this through some level of saturation in the data. If our sociological background is consistent with the quantitative data and is confirmed through stories or focus groups, you can assume that you have a pretty good grasp of the actual problem and can move to confirm our approach.
• Step 4: Before you implement your intervention, you should assess the benefits and burdens of your action. How will this initiative be a net benefit to those impacted and are there unintended consequences on those groups. If I want to increase employee engagement, I might host virtual social hours for staff to attend. The benefit is that staff are more engaged and connected with their colleagues; however, an unintended consequence is that you may have staff in your organization who have very rigid schedules (i.e., Call Center/Help Desk staff) and it may be difficult for them to find time away. This is a decision point where you have to assess where to go. Remember, you want to increase benefits and reduce barriers!
• Step 5: Implement your strategy that will help you reach your desired outcome or product. This is often the most difficult step because you're stepping into risk with the hope that what has been developed will work. In implementing your strategy, you will need to consider the feasibility, resources, and capacity to follow through. The more you can communicate and be honest about any lingering challenges or gaps, the better off you'll be. Many communities value transparency and authenticity - don't hide the information because you're scared of the response. 
• Step 6: Evaluate and communicate the outcomes. This is where you get to assess whether or not you've reached your desired outcome. At this step, you get to understand whether or not the problem still exists and how to communicate that outcome to various partners, constituents, and those impacted. Ideally, you'll find that the problem no longer exists and you can move forward; however, you may find the problem still exists and you need to reexamine. Both are okay and completely acceptable, but how you communicate about it can make a world of difference!

Finally, an assumption you should make in this process is that you are regularly engaging with those impacted throughout the process. Start by integrating small changes into a process so that it's iterative and can be modified and fixed along the way. There's a large margin of error when you build a project plan and seek to check the boxes. Transforming the approach can help you make continuous progress and move you to your overall goals and outcome faster while mitigating risk. Who wouldn't want that?