Our Approach
We strive to be Equity-First.
We began defining and applying the construct of “equity-first” in 2017/2018 to our work with clients to privilege equity as a first consideration, a first priority - foundational to systems and infrastructure development - not something to be added on at the end of building processes or even later in attempts to retrofit. As use of the concept grew and more practitioners began to apply “equity-first” approaches to practice, we established the following definition:
Equity-first approaches privilege equity as a “first” priority to support access and success for people from minoritized and historically underserved communities, rather than as an afterthought to be considered after systems and processes have already been built. They focus on operationalizing deep knowledge of the lived contexts community members bring to their experiences in order to design and implement equity-minded and culturally responsive systems and services. (EquityworksNW, 2019)
We challenge ourselves and others to “use the real words.”
Because talking about race can feel charged and difficult to navigate, there is a tendency to center discussions around class and other social determinants. Building the knowledge and skills to engage in meaningful and productive conversations about equity focusing on race and using racialized language is critical to understanding and redesigning systems and practices that attend to related root cause dynamics and powerfully promote equitable access and success. This does not mean we are not also keenly attentive to the power and influences of other social determinants and their impacts on systems and outcomes. We understand that wholistic practice is critical to the work of transformation and we work diligently to help our partners develop the capacity to operationalize effective related praxis.
Race and socioeconomic consciousness is deeply embedded into every aspect of our work.
We work from an understanding drawn from Critical Theory that root causes of disparities related to race and socioeconomic status are deeply entrenched in the ways our systems are designed and operated. They are constantly in force, strongly influencing outcomes. Therefore, we challenge the goal of “fixing” systems that aren't broken and, in fact, reliably achieve the outcomes they have been designed to produce. Instead, we encourage a strategic vision for transformation, disrupting and rebuilding systems to operationalize equity strategies to center and promote equitable success for all members of our communities.