Equity and Inclusion

Equity and inclusion are central to building environments where people can participate fully and feel a sense of belonging. They focus on acknowledging diverse identities and experiences, addressing systemic barriers, and supporting fair treatment and access for everyone. In schools, workplaces, and community organizations, equity and inclusion influence how people engage, contribute, and work together.

Practicing equity and inclusion requires both awareness and action, such as reflecting on policies and behaviors, listening to different viewpoints, and adapting practices to meet differing needs. These skills are important across professional fields as they create better environments for collaboration, encourage innovation, and open the door for people who have historically been overlooked or excluded.

Course-Based Approaches

Here are some ways to encourage equity and inclusion skills in your course:

Create positionality statements for assignments to help students recognize the identities they bring to their work in the field and reflect on the authority and biases they hold.
Co-create community agreements as a class to involve students in the process of creating a more equitable and inclusive environment. Writing these agreements together acknowledges diverse identities and needs in the classroom while building a mindful classroom community.
Incorporate critical thinking about inclusivity and equity in course readings and projects. Provide materials and prompts that reflect diverse perspectives and acknowledge inequities and historically marginalized and underrepresented identities.
Use real-world scenarios to identify equity and inclusion issues within the field. Case studies and problem-based learning activities promote critical analysis and reflection, helping students understand both the challenges involved and the impact of initiatives designed to advance equity and inclusion.

Programmatic Approaches

Go further by encouraging equity and inclusion skills at the program or department level with these ideas:

Personal Development

Encourage students to participate in trainings and personal development opportunities that expose them to diverse perspectives and invite reflection on their own beliefs, identities, and experiences. NIU’s Real Talk Conference allows students to connect with and learn from people whose experiences and perspectives may differ from their own.

Capstone Projects

Incorporate aspects of inclusion and equity into programmatic capstone projects. Transparently introducing an equity focus into community-engaged projects can assist students with connecting their coursework to real world applications and connecting with the community outside of the University. Drake University provides a toolkit to assist with developing inclusive and equity-focused community-engaged learning opportunities.

Career Preparation

Develop opportunities for students to discuss, implement, and demonstrate inclusion and equity skills in the field. The University of Minnesota Duluth has incorporated a focus on equity and inclusion in its career readiness support. Students are encouraged to work with the University’s support centers, like the Career Center and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, to develop a greater awareness of equity and inclusion, as well as how to effectively communicate these skills in their job market materials.

Resources

Equity & Inclusion — This list of career readiness skills from NACE provides examples of what equity and inclusion look like.
Examining Professionalism Through a DEI Lens — This article from NACE highlights that workplace standards for professionalism often reflect Western, white-centered norms that can exclude people from diverse backgrounds. They recommend fostering cultural competence, addressing implicit bias, and supporting authentic professional development to ensure standards in the workplace are based on job-relevant skills, not personal or cultural biases.
Organizational Race Equity Toolkit — The toolkit from the Washington Race Equity & Justice Initiative (REJI) provides tools to assess organizations’ equity practices as well as plans and models to assist organizations in developing more equitable practices.
Activities for Building Cultural Competencies in Our Students and Ourselves —The article by Melissa Gomez, published in Faculty Focus, explains how intentionally addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) through classroom activities can foster a sense of belonging in the classroom. The article also emphasizes that engagement with DEI topics is a shared responsibility and should not be limited by the identities individuals hold.
Making Equal Opportunity Real: How Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts Combat Workplace Discrimination — This article from the National Institute for Workers’ Rights highlights the importance of initiatives for equity and inclusion in the workplace, noting the ways that biases hurt job candidates as well as businesses that participate in discriminatory practices.