Adopting an Equity Lens

Campus Definition of Equity:

The Equity Impact Assessment facilitates the process, product, and practice of equity.

  • As a process, enacting equity illuminates ways in which individuals are privileged within a system of institutional and structural oppression.
  • As a product, equity results from a dissolution of oppressive institutional structures within any system, leading to a balance of opportunity and outcomes for all.
  • Equity is practiced with individuals and institutions regularly call attention to systemic oppression and racial inequities, take institutional responsibility to dismantle these inequities, and commit to change agency to advance equity across institutional policies.

Utilizing an equity lens:

  • Provides a shared language, authentic exchange, and formalized protocol for evaluating decisions, policies, processes, programs, and practices for equity.
  • Results in more equitable decisions, policies, processes, and practices.

Adopting an equity lens assists in:

  • Recognizing and addressing how the institution may advance or impede efforts to become more equitable.
  • Becoming more action-oriented to eradicate disparities resulting from forms of systemic oppression, including racism.
  • Realizing equity efforts by first identifying and addressing barriers that disproportionately impact historically underrepresented and excluded groups.
  • Explicitly engaging in crucial conversation and intergroup dialogue about equity, justice, inclusion and belonging.
  • Empowering every community member, cabinet, council, unit and department at WSU Vancouver and across all WSU campuses to utilize the equity impact assessment tool to infuse equity and dismantle systemic inequities throughout the WSU system and institutional fabric.

Equity Impact Assessment Tool

The questions below form core considerations needed in reviewing policies, procedures, and decisions with an equity lens.

  1. (For NEW Policies) Have WSU community members from communities that have experienced systemic racism and institutional discrimination been intentionally involved in the process of drafting this policy, practice, or decision? If not, who else should be involved in the development process?
    (For Revision of Existing Policies) Were WSU community members from communities that have experienced systemic racism and institutional discrimination intentionally involved in the process of reviewing this policy, practice, or decision? If not, who should be involved in the revision process?
  2. What are the intended outcomes of the policy, practice, or decision?
  3. What are the potential impacts of this policy, practice, or decision on those who have experienced systemic racism and institutionalized discrimination?
    • How might this policy have a disproportionate impact, negatively or positively, on those who have experienced systemic racism and institutionalized discrimination?
    • How does this policy, practice, or decision perpetuate or help to dismantle historical or other barriers to equity?
  4. If this policy, practice, or decision has the potential to ignore or worsen existing disparities or produce other unintended consequences, should this policy be enacted? If so, what mitigation should be planned?
  5. What accountability, infrastructure, and resources are required to implement the policy?
  6. What is the plan to evaluate and monitor the policy, practice, or decision to ensure equity in the short- and long-term?