It is a real gut punch when you are trying to increase equity with your actions, but are instead criticised and accused of virtue-signalling or not meeting everyone’s needs. It can make creating change scary and challenging, feeling like you can never get it right.
We all want the best for our students and school community, but how can we be confident our actions will earn the trust of our community and prevent accusations of virtue-signalling?
I have created The Equity Ladder – an easy-to-use scale to self-assess and check if you are taking the right steps. The Equity Ladder supports you as you attempt to support your community. By understanding the characteristics of your actions, you can see what steps to take next.
Where do your school’s DEIJ initiatives lie on The Equity Ladder?
The Equity Ladder supports a quick assessment of equity initiatives including scale, level of administration, common examples, common barriers to improvements, and finally, the key ways to develop our actions.
To make use of ‘The Equity Ladder’, follow the steps below:
- Think about an initiative you are, or would like to, take at your school.
- Read the The Equity Ladder Infographic below to quickly position yourself.
- Move on to The Equity Ladder Full Table to deepen your understanding of the characteristics of your plan.
- Use the steps in the final column to make this action more impactful and long-term on your way to Developing Systemic Equity™.
Disclaimer: The Equity Ladder is not prescriptive, it should support reflection and the development of next steps. For example; many of the identified barriers will apply to more than one of the categories and, in some school contexts, the alignment of examples and characteristics may look different. Take time to consider what your school looks like and needs as you use the categories and descriptors to support critical and growth-orientated thinking.
Not all individuals are in a position to create procedures or change policies, at many stages it may be the role of individuals to petition for and demand policy change. Ensuring democratic and accountable decision-making processes are in place with procedures for questioning such as staff liaisons and unions, is critical for the application of The Equity Ladder.
Give The Equity Ladder a try now to see where your efforts sit on the ladder, and how to elevate the quality of your initiatives… If you find this resource useful, take the natural next step and get in touch for a discovery call! I look forward to supporting your journey up the ladder.
The Equity Ladder Infographic
The Equity Ladder Full Table
Key things to note while reading the full table:
- As you move towards Systemic Equity, procedures and the use of data captured in review and monitoring are the goal. Though administration is good, it can be vulnerable to the failings of the lead individual. Where initiatives are proceduralised and monitored, there is potential for multiple, if not all members of the community to see errors and initiate an intervention.
- As you move towards Systemic Equity, greater transparency supports involvement of all members of the community. This generates trust, broader accountability, and shared commitment to the change.
- Not all individuals are in a position to create procedures or change policies, at many stages it may be the role of individuals to petition for and demand policy change. Ensuring democratic and accountable decision-making processes are in place with procedures for questioning such as staff liaisons and unions, is critical.
