Giving voice and taking action: equity-driven leadership

While the idea of being a leader for social justice and advancing an equity agenda on campus is not a new endeavour, it has certainly become more challenging as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts have come under fire. In our book, A Blueprint for Equity-Driven Community College Leadership, we’ve arrived at tangible, visible strategies for leaders to create, support and institutionalise equity-driven communities of practice. We argue that community colleges must move beyond a mere valuing of access to a focus on how these institutions and their leaders can work to cultivate collective practices that advance equity and social justice for all community members.

As of 2024, nearly half of US states have passed or proposed legislation to defund and ban DEI initiatives, making the need for equity-driven leadership greater – particularly at community colleges, with their history of being open access and serving students who might otherwise have limited educational opportunities.

What do we mean by communities of practice?

Building equity-driven communities of practice requires taking critical action. It is important to note that a community of practice is more than just a committee or a task force. Rather, it is a group of advocates from across the campus with shared values related to equity who are dedicated to making systemic change. At its roots, a community of practice involves a commitment to a set of shared practices, in this case around equity, with the practice providing opportunities for campus members to refine strategies and resources that are ultimately shared with others. In organisational cultures with high levels of trust and high-functioning communities of practice, the following strategies can help to advance equity.

Supporting affinity groups

Affinity groups are gatherings of people who share common characteristics, identities and life experiences. These groups consist of individuals with various social identities, whether that be gender, race, sexual orientation, language, nationality, physical/mental ability, socio-economic class, family structure, religion or any other aspect of one’s identity. While the groups provide opportunities for professional development, mentoring and engagement, a common theme that cuts across all affinity groups is the desire to create a safe space for group members. Leaders can signal support for affinity groups by providing spaces for groups to meet, identifying resources, and communicating broadly the ways in which people can connect on campus to create a sense of belonging.

Reconceptualising mentorship as a form of allyship

Mentoring relationships are common in higher education, yet mentoring alone has not advanced equity in leadership. In fact, mentoring among people who share the same characteristics may actually serve to perpetuate the status quo in terms of who is positioned to lead. To signify a commitment to advancing equity, campuses can shift the role of mentor (and mentoring programmes) to the role of ally and allyship. This way, members of the dominant group who are allies work to end oppression by supporting and advocating for oppressed populations. By reconceptualising mentoring programmes and relabelling mentorship as allyship, leaders are publicly acknowledging that some people have been excluded from mentoring because of their position in non-dominant groups.

Recognising advocacy work in the local community

Community colleges are intricately linked to their local communities. Separating advocacy work on campus from efforts off campus creates an artificial boundary that may create a divide between leaders’ work and non-work personas. Encouraging leaders to engage in their local, regional and state communities and to bring those experiences to their leadership practice acknowledges the value of their community advocacy. Community engagement also serves to expose residents to the community college and to see it as a place they can access. Community college leaders should celebrate and recognise the importance of advocacy activities in the local community through public ceremonies and recognition activities.

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Creating opportunities for rational discourse by combating microaggressions and silencing bullies

Equity-driven leaders recognise, confront and create environments that are free from microaggressions and bullying and create opportunities for rational discourse and intervene in instances where individuals engage in microaggressive behaviour and bullying. Microaggressions occur when individuals or groups of individuals are subjected to verbal, behavioural or public embarrassments that communicate hostile, derogatory or negative slights. Bullying, in comparison, is repeated behaviour that aims to hurt, undermine or silence others.

Rational discourse allows for extended and repeated conversations that evolve over time into a culture of careful listening and cautious openness to new perspectives. Engaging in trust-building activities on campus provides a foundation for more honest conversations.

Being an equity-driven leader is more than a mindset. It is the public display of support that can be observed in a leader’s actions. Those actions then create environments where communities of practice can thrive. Equity work is hard, especially in the current context. There are risks to this work, yet the potential risks of taking no action could be more detrimental.

Pamela L. Eddy is the associate provost for faculty affairs and development and professor of higher education at William & Mary university. Kim VanDerLinden is the director of the social sciences interdisciplinary programme at the University of Buffalo.

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