There are 5 Key Steps to help you prepare for the Equity Audit:


1. Settle on Your Scope
2. Form Your Team
3. Define Your Stakeholders/Function Groups
4. Schedule Your Audit
5. Gather Your Data


1. Settle on Your Scope


The majority of organizations who administer the Equity Audit do so as a self-assessment of their entire organization. Sometimes, large and/or complex organizations choose to conduct more than one Equity Audit for their "sub-organization." A sub-organization may be a department, unit, or division within a larger organization. Therefore, you may complete one or more Equity Audits for your parent organization as well as any additional sub-organizations. At the end of this prep session, you will have the ability to create as many Equity Audits you deem necessary for your organization(s). The decision is yours to make and there are a few guiding questions that can help you settle on your scope of self-assessment.

Task: Discuss these questions with your team

Does your organization:
- serve vastly different populations across programs/services?
- have more than one campus or site?
- have more than 150 employees?
- have different practices and policies across departments/divisions/etc. that result in varied diversity, equity, and inclusion outcomes?

Is your organization:
- a subsidiary of another organization or company?
- a college or university?
- a municipality or a local/state/federal government agency or body?

2. Form Your Team

We recommend the Equity Audit is taken as a team of individuals representative of all stakeholders in your organization. While it is not necessary to include individuals from each Stakeholder group, your team will be most effective in conducting the Equity Audit when it includes deep knowledge and experience working with the stakeholders within your organization. In addition to checking for Stakeholder representation, you'll also want to be sure to include individual staff members with knowledge of the following organizational functions:

- Human Resources
- Marketing/Outreach
- Application & Selection (where applicable)
- Program Participation (where applicable)
- Customer/Consumer Relations (where applicable)
- Data
- Finance
- Governance

Task: Identify the stakeholders within your organization that you would like on your Equity Audit team.

3. Define Your Stakeholders

The Equity Audit is structured as sections of questions relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion, organized by Stakeholder/Function groups. While you can skip entire sections and individual questions that do not apply to your organization, it is helpful to consider the individuals and organizations that fall within each Stakeholder/Function Group.

Task: Confirm with your team the list of stakeholders/function groups that are applicable to your organization.

4. Schedule Your Audit

The Equity Audit typically takes a cross-functional team of individuals 4-5 hours to complete. Many organizations divide this time into two sessions. It’s helpful to schedule your sessions as soon as possible to ensure attendance and preparation time. Remember to schedule time to work together to define your stakeholders and diversity before you begin!

Task: Confirm with your team the dates and times during which you'll work together to conduct your Equity Audit.
5. Gather Your Data

There is no organization-specific data entry or metrics requested within the tool. In other words, you will not be asked to submit any of your organization’s data (ie: demographic breakdowns, survey results, etc.) into the tool. However, it is helpful to consider specific data sets before you get started so that you can answer questions most accurately and efficiently. For more details on what types of data you might consider gathering based on your organization type, click here.

Task: Work with individuals in your organization to gather relevant data sets. Remember that this should not be a labor-intensive process. This should help your Equity Audit process, not hinder it.

As you prepare to conduct your Equity Audit, keep in mind that there is no organization-specified data entry or metrics requested within the tool. Instead, within each of the indicators, your organization will rate itself on the scale listed below the sample indicator.

Sample Indicator responses:
- Yes, and we have clear data about it.
- Yes, but we need a data tracking tool.
- No, and we have clear data about it.
- No, and we need a data tracking tool.

It is helpful to consider specific data sets before you get started so that you can answer the multiple choice questions most accurately and efficiently. The list below provides details on what types of data you might consider gathering.