Operationalizing equity

 

By Tessa Danelesko, Senior Account Director, Justice + Community Impact

Organizational values are easy to find on most company websites, and equity is increasingly making the list. But what does operationalizing equity as a value look like? That information is almost always missing from those webpages, and my guess is because most companies would struggle to tell you what that actually looks like.

Operationalizing equity is one of the three pillars Yulu’s Justice + Community Impact division is built on – narrative sovereignty and community-led impact programming being the other two – and it’s equity that generates the most intrigue and questions. Embedding equity into a day-to-day communications practice requires two key ingredients: unwavering commitment to the end goal (equity) within every small decision, and humility, acknowledging the process is an ongoing journey – not a quick trip to a known destination.

As a starting point (this is far from an exhaustive list), here are some of the questions we ask, as we seek to operationalize equity with excellence, inside Yulu, within our client partnerships and in the communications field: 

Are we rejecting deficit framing?

Take time to consider whose story gets centered within your narrative, and how they have been included within the process. Actively resist the pull toward trauma and hardship as the hook. Instead build narratives around resilience, self-determination and joy. The most powerful stories don’t lead with what was taken, they lead with what rightfully remains, who is thriving, and what has been reclaimed.

Are we moving at the pace of trust?

Relationship building must come before storytelling, and never serve as a consultation checkbox. Build good, long term connections, which lead to trust, which leads to equitable, community centered storytelling that follows community timelines. You’ll know you’ve achieved this pace if you can answer yes to these two questions:

• Would all the people in your story tell it the same way you are?
• Would the people in your story be proud of the way you’re telling it?

Are we building and using tools that serve communities?

Shani Gwin is a Métis entrepreneur and recently developed wâsikan kisewâtisiwin – kind energy in Cree – an AI tool designed to moderate online hate speech targeting Indigenous people and help non-Indigenous people identify bias in their own writing. The impact is clear: the tool places the responsibility of learning about Indigenous ways of being in the hands of non-Indigenous people, alleviating Indigenous peoples from undertaking the harmful and exhausting emotional labour of having to provide this education first-hand.  

When we view equity not as an isolated organizational value, but as an operating principle that requires consideration within every decision you make, every pitch you send, and every piece of copy you approve, the communities you serve win. The organizations doing this work well are the ones willing to consider how their own comfort must be challenged to make the space needed to do things differently to enable stories full of redemption, sovereignty, and reclamation.

The communities you serve aren’t looking for your best intentions when it comes to your company values, they are requiring you to make good decisions about living your values everyday.

 

—

 

Seeking more on how to operationalize equity within communications? Here’s an FAQ to help unpack key topics:

 

What is deficit framing?

Deficit framing is the practice of centering trauma, hardship or loss as the primary hook in a story about a community. Equitable communications practice rejects this in favour of narratives built around resilience, self-determination and joy.

What is impact communications?

Impact communications is a purpose-led discipline that uses strategic storytelling and public relations to drive positive social and environmental change. Yulu’s Justice + Community Impact division operates at the leading edge of this practice in Canada.

What is narrative sovereignty?

Narrative sovereignty is the principle that communities must own and lead the telling of their own stories — not have those stories told about them, or on their behalf, without their leadership and consent.

 

Are you looking to elevate your brand’s purpose? Learn more about our social impact PR and environmental sustainability services at Yulu Public Relations.