Accountability

Accountability in white normative culture is often about punishment or return on investment. The Office of Equity rejects the strategies that position accountability as a punitive tool.

Illustration of hands raised with multiple skin tones.

In our human-centered approach, accountability is fundamentally about Truth and Reconciliation. 

Accountability is about:  

  • Honoring our Commitments. 
  • The Human Impact of our Decision-Making. 
  • Relationships and Transformative Change. 
  • Community. 

Ultimately, accountability begins and ends with truth. It takes every person to make small, day-to-day commitments to realizing pro-equity anti-racism in their lives to ensure that our organizations and institutions do the same. Without self-accountability there will be no organizational accountability. Take the PEAR Pledge, make a commitment and hold yourself accountable to achieve equity and justice for all. 

At the Office of Equity we work to demonstrate these “musts” on our quest towards accountability. We must: 

A hand holding a clear ball that is reflecting the trees

Transparency

Acknowledge with radical transparency the historic and present harms to be able to identify and diagnose the systemic problems that prevent us from creating a reality where everyone has their needs met and they have the tools, resources, and power to live and thrive. 

Image with a hand holding two white puzzle pieces that say committment

Committment

Identify the harms and define the targeted strategies for achieving our goals with the communities. We must make a commitment to repair the harm and ultimately be accountable to those communities most harmed by the systems of oppression.

Two lightbubls one says plan and the other says action

Action

Take Action to repair the harm and build into our systems structures that prevent recurrence of that harm.

Coffee cup and a pen on a napkin with pause, reflect, act written on the napkin

Reflection

Reflect consistently on our progress, performance, and impacts. We must constantly question if the targeted interventions are helping us reach our universal goals. If we discover that the impacts of our actions have caused or perpetuated harm, we must be transparent about the mistakes and with humility adjust our strategies to continuously drive towards our universal goals equity and justice for all.

Transparency

A hand holding a clear ball that is reflecting the trees
A hand holding a clear ball that is reflecting the trees

Transparency

Acknowledge with radical transparency the historic and present harms to be able to identify and diagnose the systemic problems that prevent us from creating a reality where everyone has their needs met and they have the tools, resources, and power to live and thrive. 

Committment

Image with a hand holding two white puzzle pieces that say committment
Image with a hand holding two white puzzle pieces that say committment

Committment

Identify the harms and define the targeted strategies for achieving our goals with the communities. We must make a commitment to repair the harm and ultimately be accountable to those communities most harmed by the systems of oppression.

Action

Two lightbubls one says plan and the other says action
Two lightbubls one says plan and the other says action

Action

Take Action to repair the harm and build into our systems structures that prevent recurrence of that harm.

Reflection

Coffee cup and a pen on a napkin with pause, reflect, act written on the napkin
Coffee cup and a pen on a napkin with pause, reflect, act written on the napkin

Reflection

Reflect consistently on our progress, performance, and impacts. We must constantly question if the targeted interventions are helping us reach our universal goals. If we discover that the impacts of our actions have caused or perpetuated harm, we must be transparent about the mistakes and with humility adjust our strategies to continuously drive towards our universal goals equity and justice for all.

It takes every person to make small, day-to-day commitments to realizing pro-equity anti-racism in their lives to ensure that our organizations and institutions do the same. Without self-accountability there will be no organizational accountability. Make a commitment and hold yourself accountable to achieve equity and justice for all.