George Brown Polytechnic is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and other Indigenous peoples who have lived here over time. We are grateful to share this land as treaty people who learn, work and live in the community with each other.
The assessment is a checklist of features that characterize units, departments, or institutions at different places in terms of how they focus on racial equity. It provides a starting place for how to do more in advancing anti-racism work.
Anyone can use this tool at any time. However, it is best when used in groups (informally or formally). It can open up conversations about what steps can be taken towards moving your unit on anti-racism efforts and can be used to continue to benchmark progress towards advancing your unit’s work in equity, diversity and inclusion.
Think through the reflection prompts and select the option that best reflects your team. After you have completed the reflection (access an interactive version here), read the descriptions below.
My team:
- Does not collect, break out, or analyze data by race/ethnicity in programs or operations.
- Proposes strategies that are presumed to work for everyone.
- Presumes that all staff can work with all groups, including racially-marginalized and historically underserved groups.
- Sees diversity as a secondary consideration to organizational priorities.
- Believes that lifting up issues of race or ethnicity will create conflict.
- Has no accountability mechanisms around equity, diversity, and inclusion.
- Discourages the formation of internal groups to focus on race/ethnicity.
In Section A, I checked ___ boxes.
My team:
- Does not collect, break out, or analyze data by race/ethnicity in programming.
- Proposes strategies that are presumed to work for all students or service users.
- Looks for staff, consultants, and vendors with racial/ethnic backgrounds similar to the community.
- Sees diversity as an important organizational consideration.
- Celebrates EDI "wins" on the team, but has no mechanisms for management accountability around equity, diversity and inclusion.
- Offers voluntary EDI training and opportunities for learning.
- Supports the efforts of internal groups to work on issues of diversity and inclusion.
In Section B, I checked ____ boxes.
My team:
- Has some recognition that expanding opportunity and closing racial gaps are important to its work.
- Collects and breaks out data by race/ethnicity in programming but is not sure what to do with it.
- Has gone through training about race, equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization but is unclear about what to do next.
- Sees equity and belonging as an important organizational consideration, though is unsure about the distinctions between equity, diversity, inclusion, anti-racism, and decolonization.
- Has management accountability mechanisms around diversity and inclusion, but not specifically anti-racism or decolonization.
- Has some mechanisms for staff accountability around equity, diversity and inclusion.
- Has an internal team working on issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
In Section C, I checked ____ boxes.
My team:
- Understands and communicates that reducing racial inequities is mission-critical.
- Collects, breaks out and analyzes data by race/ethnicity in programs and operations.
- Proposes strategies for its work that have been put through a racial impact assessment, continually building on what is learned from training.
- Makes resources available for development to improve the cultural sensitivities and competencies of staff to work with diverse groups.
- Has mechanisms for management accountability around racial equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization.
- Has robust mechanisms for staff accountability around racial equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization.
- Supports the efforts of internal teams to work on issues of racial equity, diversity, and inclusion and decolonization.
In Section D, I checked ____ boxes.
A Learning Continuum for Race-Focused Work
What sections did your team mainly fall into? Discuss with your group your thoughts about your results.
Mostly 'A's
Mostly As: Colour-Blind
At the end of the continuum is an approach that is "colour-blind," either by design or by default. That is, your team may tend to think that what's good for "everyone" will necessarily be good for people of colour. Thus, it does not lift up issues of equality, diversity, and inclusion in any routine or integrated way.
Further, it may even take up the position that paying attention to racial/ethnic diversity or disparities diverts attention away from shared concerns. For example, the "All Lives Matter" notion when inserted into a "Black Lives Matter" conversation or when someone says "reverse racism."
Taking a "colour-blind" approach limits your awareness of systemic racism and its impacts on your team and those your work impacts.
Mostly 'B's
Mostly 'B's: Diversity-Only
When teams have decided, with deliberate emphasis, to focus on diversity (but diversity only), recognizing that it offers value to the workplace/space and the work/environment. This approach is not attuned to equity and may not even be active around issues of inclusion.
Teams in this place may feel either a) doing the work of creating diversity will allow other goals to fall in place, or b) doing the work of diversity is itself labour-intensive, not really allowing space to work on issues of race. For example, these teams may dismiss diversity as not being a "black and white" issue. They may try to recruit for diversity within the staff, but do not create an environment to support that diverse staff.
Mostly 'C's
Mostly 'C's: Race-Tentative
Race-tentative describes teams that find data showing racial disparities troubling, know something needs to be done, and yet are not sure how to act systemically on that concern.
These teams may take a step or two in the way of outreach or training a person responsible for diversity and inclusion.
They may also recognize that their own staff and leadership are not diverse but presume the slow turnover of staff and leadership dictate slow change. For example, "We just don't know what to do, but we don't want to get it wrong."
Mostly 'D's
Mostly 'D's: Equity-Focused
The right end of the continuum is a racial equity approach, one which characterizes the most race-intentional organizations. This orientation recognizes that virtually all programs and operational functions must be culturally competent, race-informed, and anti-oppressive in order to advance the overall organizational mission. For example, elimination of disparities, closing the achievement gap, addressing health inequities, focusing on issues of social justice, are all core to our values.
Adapted from the Annie E. Casey Foundation