How to Guide

Evaluating diversity programs for effectiveness

Too often for people of color, the field of evaluation does more harm than good. Historically and today, data has been sourced using oppressive methods that are not only exploitative of communities and staff of color — but are often used to support racist policies. This list provides resources for integrating equity into evaluation approaches of policies and programs, and learning from existing evaluation frameworks of diversity initiatives.

Sources

American Journal of Evaluation

What’s Race Got to Do With It? Equity and Philanthropic Evaluation Practice

Introduction This study examines a recent upward trend in the number of foundations embracing racial equity as a core value. It identifies  philanthropic evaluation, a practice that has yet to embrace this core value. The author, Jara Dean-Coffey, explores how race and racism have affected philanthropic evaluation practices and contends that these practices may inadvertently…

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American Journal of Evaluation

Can Social Justice Live in a House of Structural Racism? A Question for the Field of Evaluation

Introduction The professional field of evaluation plays an integral role in creating the results, measurements, and evidence that guide the worldviews and decisions of businesses, educational institutions, philanthropies, public health agencies, and governments. Given this influence, it is paramount for evaluators to understand the practice of evaluation as a tool to reinforce and enable or…

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Personnel Review

Organizational Diversity Learning Framework: Going Beyond Diversity Training Programs

Introduction This conceptual paper by Fujimoto and Härtel provides an overview of the shortcomings of traditional diversity training and proposes a set of criteria that allow for true diversity learning in the workplace. These criteria make up a framework devised by the authors that aims to allow staff of all backgrounds (both personal and professional)…

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School of Hotel Administration Collection

A Meta-Analytical Integration of Over 40 Years of Research on Diversity Training Evaluation

Introduction Across the United States, there has been a significant increase in demand for diversity training. These training programs have grown in both their importance and accessibility as the United States continues to experience various demographic, economic, and social changes. Many of these trainings are intended to reduce prejudice and discrimination within an organization and…

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