DEI Resource of the Month
BY THE WSBA EQUITY AND JUSTICE TEAM
Diversity, equity, and inclusion often get lumped together, shortened into the convenient acronym DEI. These concepts are deeply interconnected complements to each other, but each piece has a distinct meaning. Diversity is a measure of the heterogeneity of a particular group or institution and all the differing identities, experiences, and perspectives that individuals bring. Inclusion is the shared feeling that everyone within a group belongs and that their experience, skills, and knowledge are valued.
Equity is the most misunderstood part of DEI. Equity can be split into four overlapping domains to be examined: (1) who has access to resources and opportunities (access equity); (2) whether the ways we go about our work exclude, ignore, or harm people who are most impacted by it (procedural equity); (3) if and how experiences of certain groups have impacted their safety, dignity, and sense of self-worth (quality equity); and (4) the end result of whether all these things, together, create inequalities or exacerbate existing ones (outcome equity).11 Race: A Nervous Area of Government by Susan T. Gooden outlines this frame in detail and examines ways that public institutions have successfully or unsuccessfully worked towards equity.
The goal of equity work is to produce fair and equal outcomes for all. This does not mean treating everyone equally. Equity acknowledges that people are situated closer to or further away from resources, opportunities, and power because of systems and policies that privilege some groups at the expense of others. While there are many different groups that are targets of systemic oppression,22 Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment by Leticia Nieto is a great workbook for examining interpersonal dynamics based on systemic oppression. An article series summing up the core of the work can be found here: https://beyondinclusionbeyondempowerment.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/nieto-articles-understanding-oppression-2006.pdf.many who do equity work center race, and for good reason: Disparities in health, economic opportunity, intergenerational wealth, and educational levels are deepest and most pervasive among non-white racial and ethnic groups,33 For a comprehensive look at racial inequality in the U.S., see https://home.treasury.gov/news/featured-stories/racial-inequality-in-the-united-states.and racism cannot be disentangled from other forms of oppression.44 An interview with Kimberlé Crenshaw on the changing meaning of intersectionality: www.law.columbia.edu/news/archive/kimberle-crenshaw-intersectionality-more-two-decades-later.
As practitioners of the law, we have a duty to identify and interrupt the processes that keep us from achieving a legal system that is fair and equitable for all.
NOTES
1. Race: A Nervous Area of Government by Susan T. Gooden outlines this frame in detail and examines ways that public institutions have successfully or unsuccessfully worked towards equity.
2. Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment by Leticia Nieto is a great workbook for examining interpersonal dynamics based on systemic oppression. An article series summing up the core of the work can be found here: https://beyondinclusionbeyondempowerment.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/nieto-articles-understanding-oppression-2006.pdf.
3. For a comprehensive look at racial inequality in the U.S., see https://home.treasury.gov/news/featured-stories/racial-inequality-in-the-united-states.
4. An interview with Kimberlé Crenshaw on the changing meaning of intersectionality: www.law.columbia.edu/news/archive/kimberle-crenshaw-intersectionality-more-two-decades-later.