Applying Equity in a Crisis

Now more than ever, applying an equity lens to leadership and decision-making is essential.

In times of crisis, it’s easy to stop or disregard diversity, equity and inclusion work as less relevant or an unnecessary luxury. But now more than ever, applying an equity lens to leadership and decision-making is essential.

Here are six ways you can apply an equity lens to your organization in times of crisis.

  1. Use Inclusive Communication. In a crisis, it’s easy to resort to ‘telling’ communication: “Leadership met; here’s where we are; here’s what you’re going to do.” An equity lens in communication means first asking and listening, and then responding. Ask what people are experiencing and needing. Listen to what people say without interrupting, explaining or telling. Respond by explicitly addressing people’s concerns in your follow-up communications.
  2. Honor Differences in Response. Different people, communities and cultures have different ways of handling stress and expressing emotion. An equity lens respects all responses, not just the ones we’ve historically deemed “professional.” Allow space for both the doomsday-predictors and deniers. Recognize the highly-distracted and hyper-focused. Acknowledge both the expressive emoters and stiff-upper-lippers.
  3. Coach on Working Remotely. Not everyone is comfortable with technology. Helping your team be successful in this environment takes more than, “Here’s the link to our Zoom meeting. Follow the instructions for downloading.” Coach your people on Technology 101, the etiquette of phone and video conferencing, and practical ways to be productive while working at home amid multiple distractions. Allow time for some people to process new ways of working virtually.
  4. Community Relations. We’ve all received them – the “Our Response to COVID-19” emails, many of which are generic in content. An equity lens means being transparent, clear and specific so that your constituents have the relevant information they need. Explain how you are caring for your people, which products, programs and services continue to be available, how you are handling your suppliers and vendors, and how and when you will continue to communicate.
  5. Reductions in Force. If reducing your workforce is necessary because of declining revenue, consider the economic situation of your employees, and explore the pros and cons of furloughs vs. lay-offs. Ask your employees about their situation and needs. Furloughs allow people to remain employed with reduced hours and access to benefits, and be quickly re-activated when business picks up again. Lay-offs sever the employment relationship, enabling people to seek unemployment.
  6. Paying Vendors and Suppliers. When making decisions about paying vendors when revenue gets tight, consider the financial capacity of smaller businesses to weather financial storms. While striving to honor your commitments and being fair to everyone, an equity lens recognizes the possible differential impact on some businesses. Pay attention to under-represented groups such as women-, minority-, veteran-, disability-owned and emerging small businesses.

What are your thoughts and experiences of applying an equity lens to your organization in a crisis?

Thomas Bruner, Bruner Strategies and Lillian Tsai, TsaiComms

Diversity: What Fails & What Works

Most diversity programs aren’t increasing diversity.

Why Diversity Programs Fail, Harvard Business Review.
July-August 2016.

An article in the most recent issue of the Harvard Business Review is generating lots of buzz in the diversity, equity and inclusion arena.

The authors analyzed three decades’ worth of data from more than 800 U.S. firms and interviewed hundreds of line managers and executives. Here’s what they found: the most commonly-used diversity programs did not increase representation of women and people of color in management after five years. In fact, they seemed to have the opposite effect by making matters worse. These are the strategies that didn’t work:

  • Mandatory diversity training. Managers resist strong-arming, effects of training are short-lived, and training can actually activate bias or provoke a backlash.
  • Hiring tests. Hiring managers don’t always test everyone, give some applicants a pass, and don’t interpret results consistently.
  • Performance ratings. Raters tend to lowball women and minorities. Some managers give everyone high marks to avoid hassles and keep their options open when giving promotions.
  • Grievance procedures. Many managers try to get even with or belittle employees who complain. Most employees don’t report discrimination, which creates a false impression that no problems exist.

The good news is, the authors found diversity strategies that did work. These programs centered on the principles of voluntarily engaging managers in solving the problem, increasing their on-the-job contact with female and minority workers, and promoting social accountability—the desire to look fair-minded. Here’s what worked:

  • Engagement.
    • Voluntary diversity training. When managers voluntarily help boost diversity in their companies, they begin to think of themselves as diversity champions.
    • College recruitment. Managers who voluntarily make college visits take their charge seriously, and are determined to come back with strong candidates from underrepresented groups.
    • Mentoring. Managers are eager to mentor assigned protégés, and women and minorities are often first to sign up for mentors.
  • Contact.
    • Self-managed teams. These allow people in different roles and functions to work together on projects as equals. Working side-by-side breaks down stereotypes, leading to more equitable hiring and promotion.
    • Cross-training. Rotating management trainees through departments exposes both department heads and trainees to a wider variety of people.
  • Social accountability.
    • Diversity task forces. Having a task force member in a department causes managers in it to ask themselves, “Will this look right?” when making hiring and promotion decisions.
    • Diversity managers. When people know they might have to explain their decisions, they are less likely to act on bias, which prompts managers to consider everyone who is qualified.


Let’s discuss how your business or organization can implement diversity strategies that really work.

Interrupting Racism

This woman changed my life.

Years ago I partnered with Dr. Joy DeGruy to help the organization I led improve its cultural competency. We had had a sometimes-tense relationship with communities of color. Many people in the Latino and African American communities did not trust us. And we as an organization felt misunderstood and unfairly blamed by them. Things needed to change.

Dr. DeGruy’s approach was not necessarily easy or comfortable for me and my staff. It was direct, candid, and unflinchingly honest. But that was its power. Her no-nonsense, practical style made a big and lasting impression on me and my work. I still implement the lessons she taught me.

This video has been around awhile. But it’s as relevant now as it was when it first came out. It illustrates the power of white allies to interrupt incidents of intentional or unintentional racism. Take a look.

Let’s discuss how your business or organization can be an ally in interrupting racism.