At Beloved Community, we are committed to implementing tangible, measurable systemic change at work, at home, and in schools. Our city, state, and nation are facing an unprecedented crisis with the onset of this global pandemic. Oftentimes the fear and urgency that emerges in these moments can cause us to prioritize speed and decisiveness over equity and inclusion. However, at Beloved Community, we believe that now more than ever is the time to apply an equity lens to our work and our decisions. One way to do that is by taking our Equity Audit which can be done virtually with your team. You might also consider completing a mini-Equity Audit about your Covid 19 response strategies.

In this blog post, we will unpack some of our learnings and insights from the first two years of launching and administering our Equity Audit which has now been taken over 500 times. The Equity Audit was designed because quite frankly, we didn’t see any other comprehensive assessments that reviewed how organizations are operationalizing diversity, equity, and inclusion into their policies and practices. To us, the operationalization of these concepts is what creates sustainable, long-term change so that when the charismatic leader leaves, funding dries up, or politics shift, an organization is still able to center and serve their most marginalized community members.

So, what is the Equity Audit? The Equity Audit is a comprehensive benchmarking tool that assesses diversity, equity, and inclusion for schools, nonprofit organizations, and companies. Organizations can take the Equity Audit and receive their general report for free and they can receive their detailed report and consultation for a $500 fee.

We have guiding questions for the diversity, equity, and inclusion standards that are measured across a variety of organizational stakeholders in the audit. Let’s review those standards, next.

For diversity, we ask, To what extent does your (insert subgroup: staff, board, students, etc) population reﬂect your regional/target demographics? Within the diversity standard, we measure awareness, application, selection, and participation.
For equity, we ask, To what extent are the outcomes from (insert program type: grants, promotion, etc) program predictable by participants’ demographics? Within the equity substandard we measure audits & access, assignment, advancement, financial, and performance outcomes.
For inclusion, we ask, 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? Within the inclusion substandard we measure language, shared voice/shared power, belonging, and cultural relevance.

Ok, so now that we’ve got some of the basics out of the way, let’s get to our learnings!

Taking it as a team, matters: One of our biggest learnings thus far from administrating the Equity Audit is that taking it with a team creates a plethora of learning opportunities across your organizational units. We recommend that organizations take the audit in teams of 5–10 people, typically consisting of the CEO/ED/Principal, an HR/Talent representative, a Data Analyst/Strategist, a Board member, Community/Parent representative, an Operations Manager, and other team members who can help answer questions about your organization’s policies and practices.
Common Strengths of Organizations: We have learned that on average, organizations self-rate higher in Diversity indicators than in Equity and Inclusion. All Diversity sub-standards are typically self-reported as almost equal ratings. When it comes to Equity, organizations report higher levels of established practices around Assignment and Advancement. As for Inclusion practices, organizations report strengths in Language and Cultural Relevance.
Common Needs of Organizations: The largest need/area of growth for all organizations who have taken the Equity Audit is found in the Inclusion standard, specifically around Belongingness.

The Equity Audit measures these Diversity, Equity and Inclusion standards and their correlating sub-standards across an organization’s stakeholders.

Strengths: On average, organizations report more established practices around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion regarding their Target Populations and Staff. On average, schools report more established practices around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion regarding their Students and Faculty/Staff.
Needs: Three areas of reported need are Subcontractors/Vendors, Board, and Community. For schools, three areas of reported need are Parents, Community Partners, and Subcontractors/Vendors.

Lastly, let’s review the demographic themes for organizations that have completed the Equity Audit.

In conclusion, we are so grateful to all of the organizations and schools that have completed our Equity Audit. We are currently engaged in a research project for the K-12 Schools Equity Audit that will culminate in a free, openly available racial equity toolkit for schools. If your school is interested in contributing to that project by taking the Equity Audit, please visit us here.

What We've Learned Since 2018: Beloved Community's Equity Audit.

The Importance of Pronouns.

Centering Equity & Inclusion During Virtual Meetings & Working From Home.