Equity Case Studies Report - School of Social Work - University of ...

UBC school of social work equity and diversity strategic plan: A compilation of case studies 84
that in order to realize an equity plan; it needs to exist not only in text, but also by ‘living’
through practice. As such, a living equity plan is informed by the following guiding principles:
• It is not only what organizations do (either informally, or in terms of policy) which
challenge oppressive and racist structures, but how organizations do this, and how policy
is implemented which has a significant impact (Ahmed et al., 2010);
• Attention is given to processes and methods for development, implementation, and
sustainability of an equity plan instead of focusing on a set of isolated and not necessarily
related best practices;
• A holistic approach to address equity issues is built upon recognition of current
inequities, meeting professional and community standards, and a respect of rights and
freedoms;
• Institutional and faculty commitment and openness to change and to challenging
structures of oppression are conditions for any basic and meaningful change; and
• Student leadership and participatory governance ensure accountability and transparency
of process.
To complement this emerging vision, the lessons learned and recommendations for policy and
practice that emerged through the process of interviewing other Schools/Faculties of Social
Work and undergoing analysis are provided below. This analysis included suggestions from
other sources used throughout this report. As one of the challenges in establishing positive
change in the area of educational equity centres on the implementation of policies, the goal of
this report is to have these recommendations considered in the UBC School of Social Work’s
attempts to minimize the disjunctures between policy and practice, and in the development of a
new equity and diversity strategic plan.