A growing number of organizations have begun to view diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as an important investment in their long-term success. We have seen an unprecedented number of equity commitments from industry-leading organizations. From public statements to community initiatives, companies are pouring dollars and hours into DEI.
These efforts are commendable, but they aren’t what drives organizations toward more equitable outcomes. Real change is rooted in policy. Behind the public-facing efforts, companies should be grounding their work in policy because that’s what leads to meaningful and sustainable change.
Here are four key elements you should consider as you design, assess, and revise your policies for equity:
Alignment—Do your equity policies align with your organizational values?
Your values are part of your company’s North Star. They are what drives your decision-making, defines your objectives, and shapes your culture. If your goal is to become more equitable, one of your first tasks is to ensure that equity—the elimination of disproportionality and disparity—is one of your primary values.
This is a critical first step because no policy can override a culture where equity isn’t valued and prioritized. Effective equity policies depend on leadership and staff understanding the importance of equity, recognizing it as a fundamental part of how the company operates, and considering it in every action and goal.
Once you’ve made equity a key value in your company, then you can begin developing policies that support it. This includes integrating DEI into the policies, practices, and procedures in each department to ensure every part of the organization is aligned with broader equity goals.
Responsiveness—Do your policies address the issues in your organization?
Effective equity policies aren’t just a collection of frameworks and practices. They are responsive to the specific inequities at play in an organization. If you are unaware of the disproportionalities and disparities happening within your company, your equity policies won’t create meaningful change.
To understand where inequities are happening in your organization, you must collect disaggregated identity-based data about your staff. Use surveys, focus groups, and other ethical data collection methods to learn about how people of different races, genders, sexualities, faiths, abilities, and ages are faring in your organization.
With this data, you can create new policies (or refine existing ones) to address the inequities identified. For example, if the data shows that women are underrepresented in leadership, your training policy might include mentorship or sponsorship programs for female employees. Likewise, if the data reveals there’s high turnover for people with disabilities, you should examine how accommodations are addressed in your HR policies.
Responsibility—Do your policies identify the people or departments responsible for outcomes?
Often, companies treat equity as an afterthought, adding it to an unqualified and overwhelmed employee’s responsibilities or failing to delegate it to a specific person or department. However, in the same way that you assign HR to your other business goals, equity also requires dedicated people and departments.
There should be people responsible for tasks like collecting and analyzing data, designing and reviewing policies, and addressing issues of inequity. That doesn’t mean equity work falls entirely to those people. Equity is a collective effort to be taken on by every employee and department. As such, all policies should clearly articulate both employees’ and leadership’s roles in organizationwide and departmental equity strategies.
This clarity is important for many reasons. Assigning responsibility ensures equity efforts aren’t forgotten or abandoned, and it provides accountability for the DEI goals and outcomes you’ve outlined. Additionally, being clear about organizationwide responsibilities incentivizes staff to center equity in their roles and departments.
Collaboration—Do your policies invite and consider feedback from staff?
While your leadership shoulders the responsibility for creating and enforcing equity policies, the employees experiencing inequities at your company are best equipped to name how practices, procedures, and operations impact them and inform what changes will be most effective. As such, they should have a seat at the table in designing and refining your organization’s policies.
There are many ways you can invite staff to provide feedback and insight, such as employee resource groups and community advisory boards. Both of these methods allow staff to offer meaningful input while being compensated for their time and labor. You may also consider anonymous feedback mechanisms like surveys that create a safe way for marginalized staff to speak out without fear of reprisal.
When you prioritize accepting feedback on your policies from staff, you ensure you account for the lived experiences of the employees those policies impact. You also avoid paternalizing marginalized people who have long been disempowered by oppressive systems by honoring their ability to recognize and name what they need.
Equity work is a practice, and perfection isn’t possible. Your equity policies will need to be examined, refined, and revised again and again. But if you focus on aligning your policies with your values, responding to the inequities in your organization, clearly articulating responsibility, and working in collaboration with marginalized staff, you will be able to develop and implement equity policies that work.
Kike Ojo-Thompson is a leading expert and consultant in antiracism, anti-Black racism, and DEI. As CEO of equity firm KOJO Institute, she has guided companies across Canada and the United States toward more equitable outcomes, developing and delivering proven frameworks and strategies for organizational culture change.