Framework
The Equity in Action Model
The Equity in Action Model is Celeste Warren's six-part framework for moving from good intentions to everyday leadership practice. Used across CRW Diversity's advisory, workshops, and briefings, it helps leaders examine how their decisions, behaviors, and organizational systems shape people's opportunities.
Last updated: November 2026. Published by CRW Diversity.
What is the Equity in Action Model?
It is a practical lens with six elements: Awareness, Access, Advocacy, Action, Accountability, and Empowerment. Each element turns a value leaders already hold into something they can check in a real decision.
Definition
The model in one paragraph
CRW Diversity describes 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 starts from a simple observation: equity does not become real because an organization believes in it, but through the decisions leaders make every day. The model therefore looks at both sides of the equation, how people lead and how organizations operate. Its six elements move in a logical order, from noticing patterns, to examining access, to using influence, to deciding deliberately, to checking outcomes, and finally to creating conditions where people can contribute and grow.
The six elements
- Awareness. Understand how assumptions, experiences, and organizational patterns influence decisions.
- Access. Examine who has access to information, opportunities, relationships, and resources.
- Advocacy. Use your influence to ensure talent, ideas, and perspectives are not overlooked.
- Action. Turn awareness and good intentions into deliberate leadership decisions.
- Accountability. Look beyond intentions and pay attention to outcomes.
- Empowerment. Create the conditions for people to contribute, grow, and use their voices.
Questions each element asks of leaders
| Element | Example question for a leader |
|---|---|
| Awareness | What assumptions shaped how I judged this candidate or idea? |
| Access | Who knew about this opportunity before it was announced? |
| Advocacy | Whose work should I be naming in rooms they are not in? |
| Action | What will I decide differently this week? |
| Accountability | Did the outcome match what we intended, and for whom? |
| Empowerment | Do people on my team have the conditions to use their voices? |
How leaders use the model
Senior executives use it in executive advisory to test organization-wide decisions. Managers use it in leadership workshopsand the Equity in Action for Managers mini-modules. It is also the foundation of CRW Diversity's inclusive leadership training and a core part of its leadership development programs for companies.
Free guide and books
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. It is available on the main CRW Diversity website.
Celeste Warren's book The Truth About Equity challenges leaders to examine how everyday policies, practices, systems, and decisions shape access to opportunity.
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 has six elements: Awareness, Access, Advocacy, Action, Accountability, and Empowerment, and it is the foundation of CRW Diversity’s workshops.
What are the six elements of the Equity in Action Model?
Awareness: understand how assumptions and patterns influence decisions. Access: examine who has access to information, opportunities, relationships, and resources. Advocacy: use influence so talent is not overlooked. Action: turn good intentions into deliberate decisions. Accountability: pay attention to outcomes. Empowerment: create conditions for people to contribute and grow.
Is there a free resource to start with?
Yes. CRW Diversity offers a free guide, 6 Practical Ways to Lead More Fairly, Intentionally and Effectively. It introduces the Equity in Action Model with key insights, reflection questions, and simple next steps for each of the six elements. You can request it on crwdiversity.com.
What is Equity in Action for Managers?
Equity in Action for Managers is a practical learning experience from Celeste Warren that helps managers recognize where equity shows up in their day-to-day leadership and gives them tools they can put into practice right away. It is delivered as short mini-modules designed for busy leaders. Details are available on crwdiversity.com.
What makes a leadership development program effective?
Effective programs connect learning to the real decisions leaders make at work, give them tools they can use right away, and check whether organizational systems support the new behavior. CRW Diversity examines both how people lead and how organizations operate, using the six elements of the Equity in Action Model as a practical framework.
See all 45 questions in the leadership development programs FAQ
Apply the model to your leadership team
CRW Diversity can bring Equity in Action into advisory, workshops, or an executive briefing.