Are Your Unit’s Bylaws and Procedures Equitable? Eleven Suggestions

We all want the organizations we lead to be as inclusive and equitable as possible. To that end, we have developed DEI mission statements, empowered equity committees, created antiracist book discussion groups, and funded consultants to engage our faculty and staff in discussions about implicit biases, microaggressions, and inclusive hiring practices. We have developed equity audits that help us assess how well we are addressing our students’ needs. We have revised how we advertise and recruit for faculty positions, broadening how we advertise to create more diverse candidate pools. Those of us at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) know that this work is important and difficult and that we can’t delay in moving the process of improving our practices forward. But we also know that we hire new faculty and staff only occasionally and that as important as recruiting diverse hires is, ensuring that we have created a work environment in which everyone we hire feels welcome and a sense of belonging is the more immediate and ongoing work.