The equity inventory planning process: A pilot program promoting racial justice in early care and education organizations

Abstract

Leaders undertaking the effort to dismantle structural inqualities at the organizational level often find traditional professional development on diversity, equity, and inclusion to be limited in scope, rarely leading to meaningful organizational change. The Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) Movement was developed in 2020 by associates within a Midwest university research center to increase efforts toward the pursuit of a holistic, systems-level approach to equity, social justice, and inclusion. REDI now includes several interventions that prepare associates and their teams to advance racial justice and equity across four levels of the REDI Framework: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Institutional, and Societal. This case study investigates a team-based, voluntary pilot intervention within REDI known as the Equity Inventory Planning Process (EIPP), specifically targeting policy development to address structural racism at the institutional level. We piloted the EIPP with seven early care and education organizations following a year of strategic planning and consultation with the leading statewide Head Start association.