Equity in All Policies
by Griffin Beronio
What’s the Problem?
Policies intended to expand access to resources often fail to reach those most in need. Local governments aiming to promote the public good, and reduce the high costs of inequality, must address the disparities present in their communities. Doing so requires that policymakers develop clear and measurable goals for addressing the barriers faced by marginalized groups. This roadmap provides an introduction to ensuring equity in all policies and provides in-depth resources for implementation at every step of the governing process.
What are People Currently Doing?
The first step for cities and towns working to fight inequality is creating a framework for action. Government Alliance on Race & Equity (GARE) identifies three steps to crafting such frameworks: (1) Normalize, (2) Organize, and (3) Operationalize. For example, jurisdictions like Seattle and Fairfax County have adopted resolutions affirming their commitment towards advancing equity and eliminating disparities. Cities and counties should also communicate the importance of mitigating inequities to the public: using easily understood language, facts, and stories that explain the government's role in creating and maintaining inequities, convey the urgency of the problem, and work to build support for equity-centered policies. Messaging guides from GARE, Afterschool Alliance, National League of Cities, and Voices for Healthy Kids include communication strategies and best practices for launching equity initiatives.
Local governments must also develop the organizational capacity to effectively execute equity programming. Cities and counties should make specific staff members responsible for ensuring that an equity lens is applied at every stage of the legislative process. Policymakers and staff can take equity training courses that combine on-demand and group-based interactive learning. The City of Dubuque is a model example for establishing links to underserved communities for input on equity programming: to launch their equity initiative, the city partnered with more than 60 community leaders from business, faith, labor, education, nonprofit and local government to create Inclusive Dubuque a publicly supported peer-learning network. Guides from Simon Fraser University and Groundwork USA provide tips for improving equity through public engagement.
However, policymakers need access to high-quality data to ensure that enacted policies and pre-existing programs effectively advance equity. NEEP’s guide to evaluation, measurement, and verification processes offers a step-by-step process for centering equity and justice in data collection programs. Effective data-driven policy making in this realm requires meaningfully engaging stakeholders, conducting equity gap analyses to identify disparities, and adjusting cost-benefit tools to incorporate costs driven by disparities and the benefits created by increasing equity. Officials, policymakers, and other local leaders should also create equity-centered program metrics to track these goals, and develop performance incentives that reflect equity priorities. Cities and counties can also use pre-existing tools to help them identify policy impacts and optimal paths forward. For example, Seattle, Madison, and Multnomah County incorporate GARE’s Racial Equity Tool into their policy making and analysis programs.
Taking it to the Next Level
While an equity framework can and should be applied to all aspects of government, public health is one of the most crucial ways of intervening. This is largely due to the social determinants of health on health outcomes, and the growing awareness of the high price we all pay for these disparities. For example, research by Deloitte estimates disparities related to race, socioeconomic status, and sex/gender cost approximately $320 billion annually in health care spending. These costs are the result of unjust social and economic policies and are avoidable by addressing disparities at their source.
By making health equity a policy priority with equal value to cost, economic impact, and public opinion, local governments can begin to systematically address the social structures that play an outsized role in health outcomes. Health in All Policies (HiAP) is a collaborative approach that integrates population health and equity into all sectors of policymaking to improve outcomes for all communities. ProGov21's sister organization, Mayors Innovation Project, has a guide advising mayors and city staff looking to incorporate health equity in their decision making through a HiAP approach. The foundations of HiAP programming are the same as those necessary for implementing a health framework in other policy areas: both require data-driven decision making and input from internal and external stakeholders to change standard operating procedures of local government (see ProGov21’s Public Health roadmap to learn more).
Allies, Advocates, and Advisors
Mayors Innovation Project, our sister organization, is a national learning network for mayors committed to shared prosperity, environmental sustainability, and efficient democratic government.