Here's a list of the biggest points or takeaways from Module 3: Developing an EDI Strategy. You can refer to this list at any time.

• An 'EDI strategy' is a blueprint or plan for advancing EDI. It helps an organization identify and achieve EDI-related goals.

• 'Leadership buy-in' refers to leaders’ support for EDI. When leaders have bought in to an EDI strategy or initiative, it means they're actively promoting it or championing it. So, they're not just accepting it or letting it happen. They're pushing it forward, ensuring it's prioritized. Without leadership buy-in, EDI initiatives often fail to “gain traction” or “take off.”

• An 'EDI committee' is a group of people who've come together for the explicit purpose of advancing EDI within their organization.

• An 'EDI assessment' is about evaluating or assessing an organization to see how diverse or how inclusive it is. There are three (3) key types of EDI assessments : 'demographic assessments,' 'employee engagement assessments,' and 'policy reviews.'

• A demographic assessment involves collecting and analyzing demographic data. Demographic data is data that has to do with employees’ identities and the social categories they belong to. So, demographic assessments show us how an organization is doing in terms of diversity. That is, they show us how diverse an organization is.

• Employee engagement assessments help us determine how employees are feeling or how engaged they are in terms of EDI. Do they feel included? Do they feel like they belong?

• A policy review involves reviewing or evaluating your organization’s official documents to see how inclusive they are. Ultimately, you want to be sure your policies make it easier to achieve your EDI goals, not harder.

• Broadly speaking, 'EDI goals' are targets or goals related to EDI. They help measure the success of EDI within your organization. When it comes to setting EDI goals, there are two (2) big things to consider. The first (1st) thing is the data from your EDI assessment — it’s going to tell you and your fellow goal-setters what needs to be prioritized. The areas that need to be prioritized are the areas where your organization is lacking or not doing so well. The second (2) thing is the EDI committee’s mission and vision. Together, the committee’s mission and vision serve as a broad, overarching EDI goal. They describe the committee’s desired outcome or impact in terms of EDI and can be used to inform the goal-setting process.

• 'EDI training' refers to educational practices or programs designed to teach us about EDI. The importance of EDI training lies in the fact that it provides tools and strategies that can be used to make an organization more equitable or inclusive

• Measuring progress is about re-visiting or reviewing EDI goals and assessing how close your organization has come to achieving them. It's about evaluating the effectiveness of your EDI strategy. Has your helped you get to where you want to go, or do you need to try something new?

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Disclaimer: Gateway to EDI: A Workplace Learning Journey resources were created in the year 2024. So, by the time you read, watch, or listen to them, the language used to describe or discuss some of these topics may have changed.