The framework
The Equity in Action Model, explained for leaders
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The Equity in Action Model is a six-element framework that helps leaders examine how their decisions, behaviors, and organizational systems shape the experiences and opportunities of the people they lead. It was developed by Celeste Warren and sits behind every CRW Diversity briefing.
What is the Equity in Action Model?
The Equity in Action Model, used by CRW Diversity, moves equity from good intentions to everyday leadership practice through six elements: awareness, access, advocacy, action, accountability, and empowerment. Its premise is simple: equity does not become real because an organization believes in it, but through the decisions leaders make every day.
Six elements
The six elements, and how each shows up in a briefing
Each element pairs a definition, in CRW Diversity’s words, with an example of how it can be used in an executive briefing on culture.
Awareness
Understand how assumptions, experiences, and organizational patterns influence decisions.
In a briefing: Executives look at which patterns show up in their own hiring, promotion, and assignment decisions.
Access
Examine who has access to information, opportunities, relationships, and resources.
In a briefing: The team maps who hears about stretch roles first and who is invited into key meetings.
Advocacy
Use your influence to ensure talent, ideas, and perspectives are not overlooked.
In a briefing: Leaders name where their sponsorship could change outcomes for people who are being missed.
Action
Turn awareness and good intentions into deliberate leadership decisions.
In a briefing: The session ends in specific decisions, with owners, rather than general agreement.
Accountability
Look beyond intentions and pay attention to outcomes.
In a briefing: Boards and executives agree which outcomes they will track to know whether anything changed.
Empowerment
Create the conditions for people to contribute, grow, and use their voices.
In a briefing: Leaders consider what would make it safe and worthwhile for people to speak up and step forward.
Evidence cards
Why a model built on decisions, not beliefs
Definition card
Equity in Action, defined
CRW Diversity defines the Equity in Action Model as a practical way for leaders to examine how their decisions, behaviors, and organizational systems shape the experiences and opportunities of the people they lead. It deliberately looks at both sides: how people lead and how organizations operate.
That makes it well suited to executives and boards, who control the systems in question. The model is explored in depth in Celeste Warren’s book The Truth About Equity, which asks what fairness really requires and the role leaders play in creating it.
Resources
Free and short ways to start
CRW Diversity offers a free guide, 6 Practical Ways to Lead More Fairly, Intentionally and Effectively, with key insights, reflection questions, and simple next steps for each element.
For managers, Equity in Action for Managers is a short, practical learning experience designed for busy leaders. Both are available from CRW Diversity’s main website.
Back to the guide to executive briefings on culture
Put the Equity in Action Model in front of your leaders
An executive briefing walks your team through all six elements using your own decisions and systems.
FAQ
Common questions
- What is the Equity in Action Model?
- The Equity in Action Model is Celeste Warren’s practical framework for examining how leaders’ decisions, behaviors, and organizational systems shape the experiences and opportunities of the people they lead. It treats equity as something that becomes real through daily decisions, not stated beliefs, and it underpins CRW Diversity’s briefings, advisory, and workshops.
- See this answer in the full FAQ
- What are the six elements of the Equity in Action Model?
- The six elements are awareness (how assumptions and patterns influence decisions), access (who reaches information, opportunity, relationships, and resources), advocacy (using influence so talent is not overlooked), action (turning intentions into deliberate decisions), accountability (looking at outcomes, not intentions), and empowerment (creating conditions for people to contribute, grow, and use their voices).
- See this answer in the full FAQ
- Why focus on systems instead of individual behavior?
- Both matter, but individual change rarely lasts if the systems around people stay the same. After nearly four decades in HR and organizational leadership, Celeste Warren asks what inside the organization helps people succeed and what gets in their way: policies, practices, access to opportunity, leadership decisions, and unwritten norms.
- See this answer in the full FAQ
- Is there a free introduction to the Equity in Action Model?
- Yes. CRW Diversity offers a free guide titled 6 Practical Ways to Lead More Fairly, Intentionally and Effectively. It gives key insights, reflection questions, and simple next steps for each of the six elements. You can request it on the main website at crwdiversity.com.
- See this answer in the full FAQ
- What is Equity in Action for Managers?
- Equity in Action for Managers is a short, practical learning experience from CRW Diversity. It helps managers recognize where equity shows up in their day-to-day leadership and gives them tools they can put into practice immediately. It is designed for busy leaders, which makes it a natural follow-on after an executive briefing.
- See this answer in the full FAQ
- What are the 5 C’s of culture?
- There is no single official list of the 5 C’s of culture; different authors pick different words, so check which framework a source is using. For leaders who want something they can act on, CRW Diversity uses the Equity in Action Model, which names six elements: awareness, access, advocacy, action, accountability, and empowerment, each tied to everyday leadership decisions.
- See this answer in the full FAQ