EQUIPA is committed to building a culture of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion, inside and outside our organization. The EQUIPA team is a diverse community based on shared values. We all want to be treated with respect, no matter our race, gender, disability, or economic background. We all want a say in decisions that affect us, whether we live in a city, suburb, or small town. We all want to be represented fairly, no matter who we love or how we worship. These values inspire us to build a culture of equity across and at the intersections of gender, sex, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, national origin, military status, and pregnancy status. This takes intention and humility.

 

Here are some the ways that EQUIPA is putting our values into practice:

• Adopting equitable benefits and paid leave policies that allow for rest, care, and safety for all employees. Avoiding misclassification so all team members benefit.

• Practicing humility, inviting feedback and divergent perspectives, and acknowledging and learning from mistakes.

• Combating bias and favoritism in hiring, compensation, and promotion by adopting and revisiting evidence-based practices. 

• Stewarding a diverse pipeline of leaders in the field of evaluation, research, and nonprofit leadership. Paying all interns, so that family wealth isn’t required to join this field.

• Cultivating a network of partners, vendors and subcontractors that is diverse in race, gender, geography, and background, including organizations led by Black, indigenous, or other leaders of color and businesses designated as minority and woman owned.

• Basing on-campus recruitment primarily in HBCUs, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and public colleges serving predominantly first generation and working-class students. 

• Creating accessible physical and virtual spaces that allow everyone to fully participate, proactively considering access needs and language justice.

• Setting aside time and resources for learning, coaching, and organizational assessment on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

• Amplifying emancipatory voices marginalized by dominant traditions of social science, including Black, indigenous, working-class and gender-oppressed people.

• Implementing the principle of “nothing about us without us” in research and evaluation.

• Reflecting on how data and work products will be used and the impact on marginalized communities, and drawing ethical boundaries when needed.  

 

At EQUIPA, we believe that research, strategy, training, coaching, evaluation, and organizational learning are vital practices to build a strong multi-racial democracy. Join us as we work towards what Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called the “beloved community.”