Beyond the Checklist: Applying a Racial Equity Lens to Organizational Policies and Practices

Across government agencies, nonprofits, and large institutions, racial equity tools have become an essential part of organizational change work. These tools, often in the form of checklists or frameworks, can be incredibly useful for surfacing and addressing racial disparities embedded in policies, procedures, and decisions. But we know that tools alone are not enough and that without a clearly defined and consistently applied Racial Equity Lens (REL), even the best tools can reinforce inequities rather than resolve them. Like an operating manual without a trained practitioner, a racial equity tool used without critical reflection can result in more harm than good.

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So what does it mean to actually apply a Racial Equity Lens?

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It means going beyond procedural checkboxes and asking deeper questions:

• Who benefits, and who bears the burden?
• Who shaped this policy or decision and who was left out?
• What assumptions might be embedded, even unintentionally?
• What data are we using, and what perspectives are missing from that data?
• Are the communities most impacted by inequity actively shaping the solutions?

Start With One Policy

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We invite you to choose one internal policy or procedure from your team or organization and move it through these questions. It could be something like:

• A pay offer policy intended to ensure fairness.
• A protocol for funding community engagement efforts.
• A hiring or procurement practice designed for equity but still producing uneven outcomes.

Start by asking:

1. What is this policy trying to achieve?
2. How does it impact different communities, based on data or lived experience?
3. Who was involved in creating it?
4. What hidden assumptions or norms might be baked into it?
5. What are the risks if we don’t apply a REL?

Then imagine: what would a more racially equitable version look like? What would need to shift to get there?

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Applying the Lens at Every Level: Self, Team, System

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To deepen your analysis, consider how different layers of the organization shape this policy:

• Self: How do your own identity, experiences, or role influence how you see or implement this policy?
• Team: What norms, habits, or power dynamics from within your team are showing up in how this policy is viewed and implemented?
• Organization/System: What broader patterns across the organization make this policy harder (or easier) to understand and implement?

Try to name any assumptions, default practices, or systems of advantage/disadvantage that may be in play. This layering of reflection helps clarify not just what we’re trying to achieve but also where and how real change needs to happen and helps develop our practice of inquiry, reflection, and redesign in service of racial equity.

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Moving from Analysis to Action

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Reflection is only powerful if it leads to change. Based on your insights:

• What specific revisions could you propose—minor or major?
• Who would need to be part of the redesign to ensure a meaningful REL is applied?
• What practices, expectations, or barriers need to shift?

Remember- Equity work is always collective. Once individuals or teams have done this kind of reflection, coming together to share insights can reveal patterns and inspire broader shifts. Conversations are made possible like: What’s emerging across policies? What kinds of changes whether cultural, structural, procedural are most often needed? And what conditions must exist for those changes to take root?

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Final Thoughts

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A Racial Equity Lens is not a fixed perspective but a practice. A practice that asks us to slow down, notice the unseen, and redesign with intentionality. It's not about being perfect or having all the answers. It’s about building our individual and collective capacity to ask better questions, shift outcomes, and ensure that our work leads to true racial equity and not just the appearance of it.

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