Equity in Practice: six perspectives and seven questions

Content

Compliance and civil rights: start with the rights, protections, and required procedures that apply. Equity work must respect due process.

Diversity and representation: who is present, absent, promoted, heard, and contracted with.

Hearts and minds: notice bias, fear, gaps in knowledge, empathy, and everyday behavior. Question an assumption and consider another person's experience.

Inclusion and belonging: whether people can take part, disagree, contribute, and be themselves without penalty.

Organizational learning: what the team needs to learn, reconsider, or change because important voices were left out earlier.

Social justice: who is harmed, what fairness requires, and what responsibility DHS holds.

Seven questions: What are we deciding or creating? What authority, rights, and obligations apply? Who benefits, carries the burden, faces the risk, or is missing? What assumptions, rules, and routines shape who is affected? What evidence and community knowledge are needed? What can we change or redesign, and what must go to the responsible decision-maker? What changed, how will we know, and how will we report back?

Next steps

• Use the seven questions in a learning path — program page /learn
• Equity impact questions — program page /library/ja-equity-impact-questions

Practice paths this supports

• New program or service concept
• Policy, form, or notice change
• Workplace culture and team climate