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Managing for racial equity: how mid-level managers can transform organizations

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Managing for Racial Equity: How Mid-Level Managers Can Transform Organizations
by
Jade Keala Agua

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education

August 2022

© Copyright by Jade Keala Agua 2022
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Jade Agua certifies the approval of this Dissertation

Shaun Harper
Helena Seli
Kenneth Yates, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2022

iv

Abstract
Institutional racism is embedded in organizations through policies and practices that ultimately
impact the way people are treated. By focusing on mid-level managers or people who supervise
others, the curriculum herein seeks to develop individual awareness about racial identi(ties) and
positionality, knowledge about racism and the various ways it can manifest, and skill sets to
combat institutional racism and manage others for racial equity. Through a series of synchronous
workshops and one-on-one coaching sessions over the course of a year, this cohort-based
program will support mid-level managers to exhibit the following critical behaviors:
● Engage emotions and facilitate constructive conversations about race with
supervisees as it relates to racial climate, racial power dynamics, policies, and
practices in one-on-one and team meetings on a monthly basis;
● Implement equitable strategies to counteract racial dynamics that may be negatively
affecting the work climate and racially minoritized supervisees; and
● Use equity-mindedness and checklist tools to strengthen and sustain an antiracist
approach to recruitment, hiring, retention, advancement, and policy enforcement.
Consequently, and collectively, mid-level managers can leverage a critical tipping point
necessary for organizations genuinely seeking to be antiracist.
Keywords: diversity training, racial equity, organizational change
v

Acknowledgments
The topic of this dissertation was made possible by the aftermath of the murders of
George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many other Black lives lost to racist
violence that led to the reignited conversation (for some) of racial (in)justice in the United States
in the Summer of 2020.
I am incredibly privileged to have written most of this dissertation in the comfort of my
own home (while also working from home throughout a global pandemic) and from the safety
that my Asian American body affords me in my everyday lived experience.
I am thankful and humbled by my committee and colleagues, including Sumun Pendakur,
Camille Llanes-Fontanilla, Amy Tran, and Kevin Huie, for their ongoing support in this
endeavor. To my family, especially my husband Jonathan Stein, I am forever grateful for your
unconditional love and strength. And to my children, Sierra and Jasper, may this topic be
irrelevant in your lifetimes because racial equity has been achieved.
vi

Table of Contents
Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... iv
Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................................... iv
List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. ix
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ xi
Chapter One: Overview of the Project and Needs Assessment ..................................................... 1
What Is Racism?.............................................................................................................. 2
Institutional Racism by the Numbers ............................................................................... 2
Diversity Training Alone Doesn’t Work .......................................................................... 4
Urgency of Dismantling Institutional Racism in Our Organizations ................................. 5
Alignment With the USC Rossier Mission Statement ...................................................... 7
Defining Racial Equity .................................................................................................... 7
Instructional Needs Assessment ....................................................................................... 8
Summary of the Curriculum Design Process .................................................................... 9
Learning Environment ................................................................................................... 19
Potential Barriers to Racial Equity ................................................................................. 21
Definition of Key Terms ................................................................................................ 22
Organization of the Design Blueprint............................................................................. 24
Author’s Positionality and Theoretical Foundations ....................................................... 25
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature ..................................................................................... 31
Prior Attempts ............................................................................................................... 31
The Content of the Curriculum ...................................................................................... 35
Summary of the Curriculum Content ............................................................................. 59
Chapter Three: The Learning Environment and the Learners ..................................................... 62
Description of the Learning Environment ...................................................................... 62
vii

Learner Characteristics .................................................................................................. 65
Implications for Design ................................................................................................. 70
Chapter Four: The Curriculum .................................................................................................. 72
Cognitive Task Analysis ................................................................................................ 72
Overview of the Units ................................................................................................... 76
Program Timeline .......................................................................................................... 81
Formative Evaluation .................................................................................................... 82
Delivery Media Selection .............................................................................................. 86
Specific Instructional Platform Selection in Terms of Restrictions ................................. 89
Client Preferences and the Great Resignation ................................................................ 89
Specific Media Choices ................................................................................................. 90
General Instructional Methods Approach ....................................................................... 91
Chapter Five: Implementation and Evaluation Plan ................................................................... 98
Implementation Plan ...................................................................................................... 98
Evaluation Plan ........................................................................................................... 101
Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 118
References .............................................................................................................................. 119
Appendix A: Lesson Plan and Instructor’s Guide .................................................................... 138
Unit 1, Recognize Your Racial Identity and Positionality ............................................ 138
Unit 2, Analyze Your Workplace Culture and Climate ................................................ 147
Unit 3, Engage Emotions and Facilitate Constructive Conversations About Race ........ 154
Unit 4, Mitigate Microaggressions, Stereotype Threat and Imposter Syndrome............ 161
Unit 5, Rectify Racial Privilege and Power Dynamics ................................................. 168
Unit 6, Transform Recruitment and Hiring .................................................................. 175
Unit 7, Transform Retention and Advancement ........................................................... 183
viii

Unit 8, Hold Yourself and Others Accountable to Racial Equity .................................. 190
Appendix B: PowerPoint Slides and Instructor Guide for Unit 1 ............................................. 197
Appendix C: Unit 1 Online Survey .......................................................................................... 218
Appendix D: One-on-one Coaching Session Template ............................................................ 219
Appendix E: Online Survey Completed Immediately After Unit 8 .......................................... 220
Appendix F: Managing for Racial Equity Exit Interview ......................................................... 223

ix

List of Tables
Table 1: Managing for Racial Equity Assessment Plan ………………………………….........15
Table 2: Summary of the Curriculum Design Process for Managing for Racial Equity ……...16
Table 3: Diversity Training from 1964 to Late 1990s ………………………...……………....32
Table 4: “How to Be An Antiracist Manager” Google Results…………………...………..….36
Table 5: Managing for Racial Equity Content: Knowledge Types …………...…...………......61
Table 6: Scope and Sequence for Managing for Racial Equity ……………...……………......80
Table 7: Managing for Racial Equity Formative Evaluation Timeline ……...…………...…...81
Table 8: Unit 1: Recognize Your Racial Identity and Positionality Individual Online Survey
Planning………………………………………………………………………….......83
Table 9: One-on-One Coaching Session Planning ………………………………………........84
Table 10: Media Choices in Managing for Racial Equity ………………………………….......91
Table 11: Indicators, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes …………….104
Table 12: Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation ………………...106
Table 13: Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors ……………………………………109
Table 14: Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program ………………………113
Table 15: Components to Measure Reactions to the Program ………………………………...114
Table 16: Managing for Racial Equity Summative Evaluation Timeline …………………......116
Table A1: Instructional Activities, Unit 1 ……………………………………………………...140
Table A2: Instructional Activities, Unit 2 ……………………………………………………...149
Table A3: Instructional Activities, Unit 3 ……………………………………………………...156

x

Table A4: Instructional Activities, Unit 4 ……………………………………………………...163
Table A5: Instructional Activities, Unit 5 ……………………………………………………...170
Table A6: Instructional Activities, Unit 6 ……………………………………………………...177
Table A7: Instructional Activities, Unit 7 ……………………………………………………...185
Table A8: Instructional Activities, Unit 8 ……………………………………………………...192

xi

List of Figures
Figure 1: Managing for Racial Equity Curriculum Topics ……………………………………...20
Figure 2: Managers by Race ……………………………....…………………………………….69
Figure 3: Managing for Racial Equity Implementation Model ………………………………..101
Figure 4: Managing for Racial Equity Sample Dashboard …………………………………….117
1

Chapter One: Overview of the Project and Needs Assessment
In the Fall of 2020, Nimyah Jones-LaCroix of Queens, New York, reached a breaking
point after months of working from home with two small children and elderly parents under
global pandemic conditions (Boniello, 2021). She took a sick day from work, told her company’s
human resources department that she was about to have a nervous breakdown when she inquired
about a short-term leave, and then was fired three hours later (Boniello, 2021). She has since
filed a lawsuit against the company, Socure Inc. (Boniello, 2021). The part of the story that is left
out of the text of the article is told only by the photo of Jones-LaCroix—a Black woman.
The article only covers issues related to working from home because of the pandemic and
does not consider the likelihood of mental health concerns due to the killing of George Floyd or
the racial justice unrest in the Summer of 2020. And yet, “the rate of [Black] Americans showing
clinically significant signs of anxiety or depressive disorders jumped from 36% to 41% in the
week after the video of Floyd’s death became public. That represents roughly 1.4 million more
people” (Fowers & Wan, 2020). Furthermore, researchers have found during this pandemic that
“heightened racist sentiment, harassment, and violence against Asian and Black Americans
contribute to increased risk of depression and anxiety via vicarious racism and vigilance” (Chae
et al., 2021, p. 508). I begin by centering this story to highlight and humanize Jones-LaCroix’s
experience. And yet, this story is not unique when multiplied by the realities of racism operating
on various levels. The curriculum design presented here, Managing for Racial Equity: How Mid-
Level Managers Can Transform Organizations, seeks to avoid situations like Jones-LaCroix’s by
empowering managers to understand the racial climate of their organizational context, to
interrogate the institutionalized racism that shape their policies and practices, and ultimately to
change their own management behaviors to be explicitly antiracist.
2

What Is Racism?
Racism exists on individual, institutional, and cultural levels and reinforces one another
to maintain a racial hierarchy in which White people are the most privileged (Bowser, 2017).
One need only look at the disproportionate rates at which people of color have died from
COVID-19 to see how racism manifests on a systemic level—in this case, the health care
system—in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Indigenous persons died 2.4x more, Hispanic or Latinx persons 2.3x more, and Black persons
1.9x more from COVID-19 as compared to White, non-Hispanic people (Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 2021). On January 20, 2021, President Biden issued the Executive Order
On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal
Government (2021) which describes, “Our country faces converging economic, health, and
climate crises that have exposed and exacerbated inequities, while a historic movement for
justice has highlighted the unbearable human costs of systemic racism” (para. 2). Whether it is a
top-down approach from executive leadership, or what began as a grassroots movement like
Black Lives Matter, institutional or individual change, strategies for eradicating racism are
needed on all fronts from the federal government to our own organizations.
Institutional Racism by the Numbers
While the federal government has taken what some might consider a bold step toward
advancing racial equity through the Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support
for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (The White House Briefing
Room, 2021), institutional racism can be replicated through many organizational forms (Ray,
2019). More specifically, racism is institutionalized through policies, structures, and practices
(Patel, 2021). Indicators of institutional racism continue to mount including but not limited to
3

pay inequity, higher rates of job dissatisfaction and turnover by people of color, and a lack of
representation at the highest levels of organizations (Choi, 2017; Patten, 2016; Zweigenhaft
2020). For example, according to the Pew Research Center, White men continue to outearn
Black and Hispanic men and all groups of women (Patten, 2016). With regards to job
satisfaction, Choi (2017) found that people with minoritized racial and ethnic identities “reported
the lowest job satisfaction in predominantly White settings, while Whites expressed the lowest
job satisfaction in minority–majority settings” (p. 1). Along with lower levels of salary and job
satisfaction, there is a dearth of representation of people of color at the highest levels of
organizations. Consequently, for CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, although women and people
of color have made modest gains to the CEO level in the last 20 years, White people still
occupied 92.6% of CEO positions in 2020 (Zweigenhaft, 2020). According to the American
Council on Education (2017), only 17% of college presidents were racial minorities, and only
5% were women of color—this in what some might call the “progressive” field of higher
education.
In spite of the evidence, a dearth of meaningful action for racial equity in organizations
remains as highlighted by the following statistics in the Mercer (2020 report):
Although close to half of [U.S.] organizations (42%) have documented commitments to
racial or ethnic equality publicly, only 13% offer programs specifically targeted at
women of color… Though 66% of organizations track representation and 53% track rates
of hiring, promotion and exits by race or ethnicity and career level, only 23% of U.S.
organizations routinely review performance ratings by race or ethnicity to ensure against
any adverse impact. (p. 23)
4

And yet, behind these various examples of institutional racism via organizational policies,
structures, and practices are actual people responsible for enforcing and upholding them in
organizations. Thus, one popular strategy to attempt to rectify institutionalized racism within
organizations is diversity training.
Diversity Training Alone Doesn’t Work
Many diversity and inclusion efforts, ranging from diversity statements to training for
employees, have a top-down approach from executives or senior leaders or a bottom-up approach
to develop the skills of individual contributors. Recent studies have questioned how effective
diversity training actually is. For example, Chang et al. (2019) conducted a study using a 1 hour
online training session and found “very little evidence that diversity training affected the
behavior of men or White employees overall—the two groups who typically hold the most power
in organizations and are often the primary targets of these interventions” (p. 2). With regards to
implicit bias interventions, Payne and Vuletich (2018) found that a shift in the way we think
about implicit bias from an individual attribute to a phenomenon based on social context has
serious policy implications. Payne and Vuletich (2018) emphasize that “the best approaches for
reducing the harm of implicit bias should aim at changing social contexts rather than changing
people’s minds” (p. 1).
Furthermore, according to Dobbin and Kalev (2016), “Decades of social science research
point to a simple truth: You won’t get managers on board by blaming and shaming them with
rules and reeducation” (p. 54). Instead, research has shown positive results with approaches
based on the following basic three principles: engage managers in finding a solution, expose
people to different groups, and encourage social accountability (Dobbin & Kalev, 2016). While
many diversity training programs focus on individual–level learning (bottom-up approach to
5

organizational change) or executive leadership learning (top-down approach to organizational
change), few diversity training programs target mid-level managers who can have an immediate,
meaningful impact on shaping inclusive workplace contexts and the lives of others on a daily
basis. The mid-level manager could be an overlooked, critical leverage point for organizational
change from the inside-out. How can organizations strategically support the middle and
effectively leverage mid-level managers to be agents of change to eradicate institutional racism?
Urgency of Dismantling Institutional Racism in Our Organizations
Institutional racism reverberates through organizations, upheld by policies, practices, and
people. While organizations may be slow to change, are they really? The COVID-19 pandemic
revealed the expediency with which even the most complex and bureaucratized organizations can
pivot under life and death circumstances. Following the murder of George Floyd on May 25,
2020, Black Lives Matter, the uproar for racial justice in the United States, and the movement to
Defund the Police took center stage (Burch et al., 2021; Hill et al., 2020). The murders of George
Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and many more all shed light on the particular
brutalities of policing and the criminal (in)justice systems.
When we think about racial justice and racial equity more broadly, it can encompass
more than the difference between life and death—it can also include quality of life which is
something that all employers can have a tremendous impact on. Even in the seemingly
overwhelming tradition and culture of institutional racism in the United States, an individual can
choose to be antiracist and act accordingly. Dr. Ibram X. Kendi in his seminal work How to Be
An Antiracist (2019) defines someone who is antiracist as, “one who is supporting an antiracist
policy through their actions or expressing an antiracist idea” (p. 13). We are each of us invested
with the power to support antiracist policies, express antiracist ideas, and ultimately take
6

concrete actions to dismantle institutional racism within our own organizations so that people
from every racial background can live and thrive.
Diversity, however, is not to be conflated with racial equity (Hecht, 2020). Throughout
this dissertation diversity means the numeric representation of different groups. For example, the
racial demographics of the undergraduate student population at the University of Southern
California (USC) for Fall 2021 is reported as follows: Black or African American (5.8%);
Hispanic or Latinx (15.6%); Asian (19.1%); White or Caucasian (27.3%); and Other (8.4%)
(University of Southern California, 2021). While these racial demographics might be considered
to be “diverse” by some in the context of higher education, these numbers do not communicate
anything about racial equity. Racial equity, in this context, might be better communicated by the
rate of success between the different racial groups being the same. For example, in Black
Students at Public Colleges and Universities: A 50-state report card, Harper and Simmons
(2019) describe completion equity as the “extent to which Black students’ [6 year] graduation
rates, across four cohorts, matches overall [6 year] graduation rates during those same time
periods at each institution” (p. 2). Closing this gap, and the particular gap between specific racial
groups and the overall [6 year] graduation rate, is one way to define racial equity.
Diversity’s moral appeal is often enough to garner espoused commitment, but not
necessarily a financial commitment or investment to racial equity. As a business case for
diversity for organizations, multiple studies have shown that there are many benefits of more
diverse organizations. For example, a diverse workforce can be associated with “increased sales
revenue, more customers, greater market share, and greater relative profits” (Herring, 2009, p. 1).
Page (2019) makes the case that identity diversity, including racial identity, can yield to better
performance as a result of improved problem solving and increased innovation. And Robinson
7

and Dechant (1997) point to cost savings, increases in business growth, and winning the
competition for talent. Perhaps the most pressing and relevant of these as the United States
economy climbs its way out of the pandemic is the pressure to win the competition for talent. As
of June 2021, there were millions of unemployed workers, millions of vacant jobs, and workers
were feeling more empowered which is likely to endure (Long, 2021). So, whether the moral
and/or the business case for diversity, dismantling institutional racism requires immediate
attention and action.
Alignment With the USC Rossier Mission Statement
According to the USC Rossier Mission Statement, we students are taught to “value and
respect the cultural context of communities in which we work and to interrogate systems of
power that shape policies and practices” (University of Southern California Rossier School of
Education, 2021). This curriculum, Managing for Racial Equity: How Mid-Level Managers Can
Transform Organizations, seeks to empower managers to understand the racial climate of their
organizational context, to interrogate the institutionalized racism that shape their policies and
practices, and ultimately, to change their own management behaviors to be explicitly antiracist.
In the sections that follow, I will provide a definition for racial equity and introduce the
innovation model that the framework for this curriculum is based on. I will then provide a brief
description of the curriculum purpose, goal, assessment, outcomes, and ideal learning
environment.
Defining Racial Equity
At the USC Race and Equity Center, we operationalize racial equity for colleges and
universities as equal outcomes for racially minoritized students (e.g., Alaska Natives, Asian
Americans, Black and/or African Americans, Indigenous and/or Native Americans, Latinx,
8

Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islanders) in access, course completion, degree attainment and transfer.
For example, Harper and Simmons (2019) found that “across four cohorts, 39.4% of Black
students completed bachelor’s degrees at public institutions within [6] years, compared to 50.6%
of undergraduates overall” (p. 3). In this case, one racial equity goal could be to improve the
percentage of Black students completing bachelor’s degrees at public institutions within 6 years
from 39.4% to at least 50.6%. Furthermore, racial equity holds practitioners accountable in
crafting and implementing policies, procedures, and practices that prioritize the unique needs of
historically, racially minoritized communities.
In applying racial equity more broadly for employees of organizations, there are a few
indicators that could illuminate racial equity gaps and point to measurable racial equity goals.
One approach could entail looking at hiring data starting from what the applicant pool to those
hired disaggregated by race looks like to see what the retention rate is from step to step
throughout the process. Another approach might be looking at turnover and promotion rates
disaggregated by race. And yet another could be to conduct a pay equity analysis disaggregated
by race. While analyzing these data can help to recognize the needs of an organization and
provide tangible racial equity goals, it can also be crucial as context in the curriculum
development process as described in the next section.
Instructional Needs Assessment
Analyzing the learning context is critical in developing effective curriculum. Smith and
Ragan (2004) offer an innovation model for curriculum design which is likely applicable here for
most organizations that already have a learning or professional development system in place,
along with an articulated commitment to equity (explicitly including racial equity preferred), but
perhaps have not had the opportunity yet to tie those two elements together. In order to develop
9

the Managing for Racial Equity curriculum proposed here, I would recommend following these
steps adapted from Smith and Ragan’s (2004) recommendations for assessing needs in an
innovation model:
1. Determine the nature of the innovation or change. How does it align with the mission
of your organization overall and with your commitment to equity and racial equity
specifically?
2. Determine the learning goals that accompany this innovation (Refer to learning goals
listed later).
3. Begin learning analysis design activities (which are described in Chapters Three,
Four, and Five).
Since this curriculum would be intended for mid-level managers or individuals who
directly supervise other people, it would be prudent and beneficial to involve members from the
group in the customization process of this curriculum and especially and most importantly with
the first step of reflecting on how this curriculum aligns with the mission of their organization.
Ultimately, managers in organizations need to be involved and invested in this process in order
to recognize their unique positionality and power to bridge the gap between individual
contributor efforts and executive leadership plans for achieving racial equity. How to effectively
bridge that gap is the learning need that this curriculum intends to address.
Summary of the Curriculum Design Process
Starting with an organization’s mission statement, the sections herein provide a logical
framework through which the Managing for Racial Equity curriculum was designed. Following
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2016) four levels of evaluating training programs in reverse from
levels four to one for planning purposes “keeps the focus on what is most important, the program
10

outcome that is accomplished through improved on-the-job performance of training graduates”
(p. 11). Once organizational goals are identified, then organizational outcomes can be prioritized
and aligned with the curriculum purpose. From there, learning goals, outcomes, and plans for
assessment are briefly previewed.
Organizational Mission, Diversity Statements, and Organizational Goals
Most organizations that this curriculum is intended for will already have well-developed
mission statements that perhaps already include a commitment to one or some combination of
diversity, equity, inclusion, racial equity, or racial justice. And yet, many organizations stop at
such statements and the like and fail to make good on commitments to diversity, equity, and
inclusion (DEI) (Carnes et al., 2019; Kraus et al., 2021). Furthermore, according to Fitzhugh et
al. (2020), in the 5 months following the murder of George Floyd, “between May 25 and the end
of October [2020], about one-third of Fortune 1000 companies made a public statement on racial
equity” and “Of those companies, [93%] followed up with an internal or external commitment”
(para. 8). Drawing on an organization’s mission and commitments or plans for racial equity,
organizational goals for racial equity must be identified from the outset for maximum impact.
The Managing for Racial Equity curriculum is designed to be adapted with and for managers of a
particular organizational context to help those organizations implement the strategies and
tangible actions necessary to achieve what their diversity or, hopefully, racial equity
commitments aspire to—or what we refer to here as organizational outcomes.
Organizational Outcomes
Organizational outcomes or what Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) would refer to as
“Level 4: Results” are “the degree to which targeted organizational goals are achieved as a result
of training and the support and accountability package” (p. 60). I should note here that what
11

Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick describe as “training” is any learning intervention during which
knowledge, skills, and attitudes are taught. In this curriculum, I refer to training as one session in
the Managing for Racial Equity overall program which includes eight sessions and built-in
support and accountability. Results are best evaluated by leading indicators or “short term
observations and measurements that suggest that critical behaviors are on track to create a
positive impact on desired results” (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016, p. 60). For example, the
overall purpose of the Managing for Racial Equity program could be achieved by observing the
following leading indicators internally: (a) increase in job satisfaction; (b) increase in employee
retention; (c) increase in the diverse hiring and promotion of racially minoritized individuals; (d)
decrease in racially biased behaviors, (e) decrease in DEI–related formal complaints related to
racial bias. External leading indicators, or those observed outside the organization (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016) of the Managing for Racial Equity program could be achieved by observing
the following: (a) increase in interest and applications by job seekers of racially minoritized
backgrounds, (b) increase in positive media mentions about the organization’s inclusive working
environment, and (c) increase position of the organization among diversity rankings. Any of
these indicators could and should tie back to an organization’s mission statement and
commitment to racial equity.
Curriculum Purpose
The specific purpose of the Managing for Racial Equity curriculum is to empower
managers to recognize the racial climate of their organizational context, to interrogate and
disrupt the institutionalized racism that shape their organization’s policies and practices, and
ultimately to change their own management behaviors to be explicitly antiracist in their
supervision of others on a daily basis. By leveraging this tipping point via mid-level managers,
12

this program aims to implement an “inside-out” approach to organizational change for racial
equity by addressing design issues that previous iterations of diversity training have not.
Osentoski (2016) might describe this “inside-out” approach as managers adopting new roles as
“internal change agents'' (p. 1). Heading the advice of Payne and Vuletich (2018), this yearlong
program seeks to empower managers to change the social contexts of their organizations rather
than “[change] people’s minds” (p. 1).
Learning Goals
By conducting a cognitive task analysis of experts in the field described in Chapter 4,
three major learning goals began to take shape. A cognitive task analysis is a design process used
to “facilitate the alignment between learning objectives, knowledge (declarative and procedural)
necessary for attaining the objectives, and instructional methods appropriate to the required
knowledge” (Clark et al., 2008, p. 587). According to Smith and Ragan (2004), “learning goals
are statements of purpose or intention, what learners should be able to do at the conclusion of
instruction. These can be lesson goals, unit goals, or course goals” (p. 77). Similarly, Kirkpatrick
and Kirkpatrick (2016) describe “Level 3: Behavior” or critical behaviors (or learning goals) as
needing to “be specific, observable, and measurable” (p. 51). Ultimately, the monitoring and
accountability that the stakeholders share is described and measured in Level 3. The Managing
for Racial Equity program has three major learning goals:
1. Managers will develop the ability to engage emotions and facilitate constructive
conversations about race with supervisees as it relates to racial climate, racial power
dynamics, policies, and practices in one-on-one and team meetings on a minimum
monthly basis.
2. Managers will implement equitable strategies (such as receiving feedback, building
13

trust, active listening, strategic empathy, and interrupting and correcting
microaggressive behaviors, stereotype threat, and imposter syndrome) on a daily basis
to counteract racial dynamics that may be negatively affecting the work climate and
racially minoritized supervisees in particular.
3. Managers will use equity-mindedness and checklist tools to strengthen and sustain an
antiracist approach to recruitment and hiring (including equitable job postings,
interview processes, and offers) and retention and advancement practices (from
cultivating psychological safety to ensuring pay equity), and policy enforcement.
Learning Outcomes and Assessment
Underlying each of these learning goals are learning objectives or skills. Smith and
Ragan (2004) describe a learning objective as “subparts of goals” (p. 77) or as “a statement that
tells what learners should be able to do when they have completed a segment of instruction” (p.
96). Again, similarly, Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick describe “Level 2: Learning” as “the degree to
which participants acquire the intended knowledge, skills, attitude, confidence and commitment
based on their participation in the training” (p. 15). For example, within the first learning goal to
engage emotions and facilitate constructive conversations about race with supervisees as it
relates to racial climate, racial power dynamics, policies, and practices in one-on-one and team
meetings on a minimum monthly basis, the following learning objectives should be observable:
(a) Co-construct a brave learning space by using mutually-agreed upon guidelines for
engagement; (b) Reflect on personal and team member racial identities and positionality; and (c)
Define and utilize key terms, concepts, and emotions related to racial equity. When and how
each learning goal and objective will be achieved is shared in more detail in Chapter 4.
Just as there will be multiple levels of learning happening throughout the program, there
14

will also be multiple levels of assessment over time. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) might
refer to this as a “Blended Evaluation
Ⓡ
Approach” or “an approach in which multiple levels are
evaluated from numerous perspectives” (p. 95). For example, different types of assessment
methods will be employed like brief surveys immediately following each session, one-on-one
coaching between each session, and ultimately through the development and implementation of a
coachable action plan. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) describe four evaluation levels as
follows: Level 1: Reaction, Level 2: Learning, Level 3: Behavior, and Level 4: Results. Levels 4
and 3 have already been described, including how the stakeholders will hold each other
accountable to perform and measure the critical behaviors. Level 2: Learning is “the degree to
which participants acquire the intended knowledge, skills, attitude, confidence, and
commitment” (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016, p. 42). Level 1: Reaction is “the degree to which
participants find the training favorable, engaging, and relevant to their jobs” (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016, p. 39). Level 1 evaluation would happen after each session to ensure that
learners are engaged and motivated. Some learning objectives related to motivation could be how
confident managers are in performing each critical behavior, if managers attribute success to
effort, or developing a mastery approach to learn from racial mistakes. Table 1 and Table 2
provide a preview of the program assessment plan to be covered in detail in Chapter 5 utilizing
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2016) model.

15

Table 1
Managing for Racial Equity Assessment Plan
Methods Evaluation levels
1: Reaction 2: Learning 3: Behavior 4: Results
Individual online survey
! !
One-on-one coaching and action
plan monitoring
! ! !
Key business and HR metrics
!

Table 2
Summary of the Curriculum Design Process for Managing for Racial Equity
Curriculum component Description
Organizational goal for racial
equity
Each unique organizational mission and racial equity statement will be used to craft organizational
goal(s) for racial equity as a starting place to best align the Managing for Racial Equity
curriculum accordingly. For example, “The central mission of the University of Southern
California is the development of human beings and society as a whole through the cultivation
and enrichment of the human mind and spirit” (University of Southern California, 1993). While
no explicit racial equity statement seemed readily available online, the USC Diversity, Equity,
and Inclusion website reads, “Embracing the Inclusive Spirit: Fostering a community of diverse
viewpoints in order to build a generation of innovators, leaders, visionaries, and creators is one
of USC’s highest priorities” (University of Southern California, n.d.). Preparatory work with
USC managers would be required here in order to surmise from these two statements an
organizational goal for racial equity.
Organizational outcomes Internal leading indicators External leading indicators
Increase in job satisfaction
Increase in employee retention
Increase in the hiring and promotion of racially
minoritized individuals
Decrease in racially biased behaviors
Decrease in formal complaints related to racial
bias
Increase in interest and applications by job
seekers of racially minoritized backgrounds.
Increase in positive media mentions about the
organization’s inclusive working
environment.
Increase in position of the organization among
diversity rankings.
Curriculum purpose To empower managers to recognize the racial climate of their organizational context, to interrogate
and disrupt the institutionalized racism that shape their organization’s policies and practices, and
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Curriculum component Description
ultimately to change their own management behaviors to be explicitly antiracist in their
supervision of others on a daily basis.
Course learning goals and
critical behaviors informed
by cognitive task analysis
Engage emotions and facilitate constructive conversations about race with supervisees as it relates
to racial climate, racial power dynamics, policies, and practices in one-on-one and team meetings
on a monthly basis.
Implement equitable management strategies (receiving feedback, building trust, engaged humility,
strategic empathy, and interrupting and correcting microaggressive behaviors, stereotype threat,
and imposter syndrome) to counteract racial dynamics that may be negatively affecting the work
climate and racially minoritized supervisees.
Use equity-mindedness and checklist tools to strengthen and sustain an antiracist approach to
recruitment and hiring (job posting, interview process, and offers) and retention and
advancement practices (cultivating psychological safety and ensuring pay equity), and policy
enforcement.
Unit level learning
objectives/Skills
Co-construct a brave learning space by using mutually-agreed upon guidelines for engagement.
Critically reflect on personal and team member racial identities and positionality.
Define and utilize key terms, concepts, and emotions related to racial equity.
Build genuine trust with and amongst supervisees.
Recognize and identify the ways in which institutional racism manifests in racial dynamics of
workplace culture and climate.
Utilize strategies for receiving feedback to cultivate an inclusive work climate.
Practice engaged humility and strategic empathy.
17

Curriculum component Description
Recognize how microaggressions, stereotype threat, and imposter syndrome operate and affect
racially minoritized supervisees.
Interrupt and correct microaggressive behaviors, mitigate stereotype threat, and foster a sense of
value and belonging for supervisees
Demonstrate antiracist hiring and retention processes.
Recognize how policies can impact racial groups differently and rewrite them to be antiracist.
Write a coaching plan with racial equity goals including key action steps to manage their team
with racial equity and alternative behaviors to rectify their own problematic behaviors.
Motivational learning
objectives
Value performing each critical behavior
Show confidence in performing each critical behavior.
Feel positive about performing each critical behavior
Attribute success to effort
Develop a mastery approach to learn from racial mistakes (i.e., microaggressions,
misunderstanding racial power dynamics)
18
19

Learning Environment
In addition to analyzing the learning context, considering the learning environment is also
crucial. The Managing for Racial Equity curriculum is intended as a synchronous, nonformal
program to take place over the course of one calendar year that aligns with an organization’s
racial equity goals. The instructors will be diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) professionals
with significant experience in the field in a variety of settings. Content can be delivered in person
or virtually over a platform such as Zoom. If being held in person, a space large enough for a
maximum of 30 people with natural lighting and round tables with chairs to facilitate small
group discussion is desirable. If being held virtually, learners should be in a physically
comfortable, private setting with reliable internet connection. Figure 1 conceptualizes the format
of the program as a spiral staircase beginning with Unit 1 one at the bottom on how to recognize
your racial identity and positionality all the way up to Unit 8 on how to hold yourself and others
accountable to racial equity. The spiral staircase represents the progression of the curricular
topics as they increase in height as well as the idea that the topics continue to build upon one
another as higher steps eventually come around to cover the lower steps again. This intentionally
progressive and scaffolded approach is supported by in-person sessions, virtual sessions, and
virtual one-on-one coaching between each session.

20

Figure 1
Managing for Racial Equity Curriculum Topics

Beyond the physical and technology requirements of the learning environment,
instructors will also be well-versed in tools and techniques for crafting what professionals in the
diversity, equity, and inclusion field describe as a brave space (Arao & Clemens, 2013). A brave
space is not to be confused or conflated with a safe space, which might be more appropriate for
racial affinity groups where members can connect over a shared racial identity in confidence.
Simon et al. (2022) note the shift from a safe space to a brave space in the literature “to promote
respectful, constructive, and intentional disagreement because safe space is contextual, not
always possible, and can sometimes have contradictory meanings” (p. 38). Rather, a brave space
is a learning environment that is likely diverse in an array of identities and a level of discomfort
is expected as participants are pushed to their learning and growth edges. Cultivating such a
21

learning environment requires strong facilitation and mutually agreed-upon guidelines for
engagement.
Potential Barriers to Racial Equity
Having a comprehensive understanding of an organization’s racial history and current
racial climate is critical to the adaptation of this curriculum. While the curriculum is designed to
help mid-level managers lead their teams with antiracist and equitable practices, the
sustainability and success of their efforts will be highly dependent on if and how racial equity is
prioritized into the overarching mission and goals of the organization. Oftentimes organizations
can postpone taking action for a variety of reasons—waiting for executive leadership to set a
direction, waiting to see what other organizations are doing to see if it works, or, potentially the
worst of these, waiting for a racial crisis to occur. All of these delays can contribute to the status
quo and thus the perpetuation of institutional racism in our organizations. Starting anywhere is
better than starting nowhere on the road to racial equity. Doing nothing is not just doing
nothing—it is, in fact, allowing racism to dictate our organizations (Kendi, 2019).
Furthermore, racial equity within our organizations is unlikely unless there is also pay
equity. According to the National Women’s Law Center (2020), Black women working full-time
earn only 63 cents per dollar paid to their White man counterpart (p. 1). Imagine that you are a
mid-level manager and have inherited a team on which one member is a Black woman earning
that much less than her White man counterpart. How meaningful or effective can antiracist
supervisory strategies be under such conditions? “Pay inequities occur on many different fronts:
from unequal pay for equal work, to opportunity gaps preventing people of color from attaining
leadership roles, and even unequal wage growth widening pay gaps at higher age groups and job
levels. Throughout all of these metrics, White men maintain an edge over other groups”
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(Payscale, 2021, para. 1). Therefore, in addition to the prioritization of racial equity goals,
tangible commitments like conducting pay equity audits and investing to close wage gaps can
work in tandem with this curriculum.
Definition of Key Terms
● Antiracist is described by Kendi “one who is supporting an antiracist policy through
their actions or expressing an antiracist idea” (Kendi, 2019, p. 13). Being antiracist
also implies that it is action-oriented and that doing nothing or maintaining the status
quo is, actually, racist.
● Disaggregated data is when data is broken down into categories or subgroups. Data
can be disaggregated by race and/or ethnicity. For example, Asian American data
could potentially be disaggregated into many ethnic categories including but not
limited to: Chinese American, Filipino American, Hmong American, Indian
American, Japanese American, Korean American, Thai American, Vietnamese
American, etc. Disaggregating data can reveal previously hidden racial dynamics and
patterns.
● Diversity as operationalized in this curriculum refers to the different social identities
that may be held by a group of people that is usually communicated through
demographic data.
● Implicit bias can be described as “automatic, relatively unconscious mental
associations”, “unconscious beliefs,” and are “often framed in individualistic,
psychological terms” (Beeghly & Madva, 2020, pp. 5–6). However, De Houwer
(2019) would push us to consider implicit bias as behavior rather than an individual
cognitive task.
23

● Inclusion refers to the active ways in which individuals and organizations can work to
help people who are likely to feel excluded otherwise. Cultivating a climate and
community that nurtures a sense of belonging amongst racially minoritized members
is one example of inclusion.
● Intersectionality. Crenshaw (1991) “used the concept of intersectionality to denote
various ways in which race and gender interact to shape the multiple sions of Black
women's employment” (p. 1244). The term has since been used to describe the
myriad ways social identities, and their associated experiences of privilege or
oppression, interlock in particular ways and shape the way we exist in society.
● Microaggressions are “verbal and nonverbal interpersonal exchanges in which a
perpetrator causes harm to a target, whether intended or unintended” (Sue &
Spanierman, 2020, p. 8).
● Minoritized. Harper (2012) uses “minoritized” instead of “minority” .... to signify the
social construction of underrepresentation and subordination in U.S. social
institutions, including colleges and universities. Persons are not born into a minority
status nor are they minoritized in every social context (e.g., their families, racially
homogeneous friendship groups, or places of worship). Instead, they are rendered
minorities in particular situations and institutional environments that sustain an
overrepresentation of Whiteness” (p. 9).
● People of color is an umbrella term used to describe a group of people who may
identify as Asian, Black, Indigenous or Native American, Latinx, Pacific Islander, or
some combination thereof.
● Positionality. Villaverde’s (2008) definition of positionality is “how one is situated
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through the intersection of power and the politics of gender, race, class, sexuality,
ethnicity, culture, language, and other social factors” (as cited by Douglas & Nganga,
2015, pp. 60–61).
● Racial equity is used to describe equal outcomes for different racial groups and
acknowledges that different strategies for racial groups may be required to achieve
this.
● Racism. Bowser (2017) describes racism as existing on individual, institutional, and
cultural levels and manifests as racial beliefs and justified actions, the production and
maintenance of a racial hierarchy, and white superiority, accordingly (p. 582).
Similarly, Ray (2019) outlines three levels of analysis in the study of race and
ethnicity: individual level (micro), organizational level (meso), and institutional
(macro) (p. 28).
● White supremacy is “a global system that confers unearned power and privilege on
those who become identified as White while conferring disprivilege and
disempowerment on those who become identified as people of color (Allen, 2001, p.
476).
Organization of the Design Blueprint
This dissertation is organized into five chapters. In Chapter 1, racism and institutional
racism are defined and described in the context of organizations within the United States. The
current failure of diversity training is presented and a call to action for a more effective and
targeted organizational change strategy is made. An overview of the Managing for Racial Equity:
How Mid-Level Managers Can Transform Organizations is provided by sharing its purpose,
goal, and plans for assessment and accountability. Finally, a preliminary analysis of the learning
25

environment, potential barriers to racial equity, and definitions of key terms are provided.
Chapter 2 delves into a review of the literature relevant to the roots and evolution of
diversity training itself and then dabbles a bit into the topic of each unit planned for the
curriculum with particular attention to types of knowledge. Chapter 3 provides an overview of
the intended learning environment and attempts to capture a profile of the expected learners who
are mid-level managers. In Chapter 4, I walk through the rationale behind the curriculum design
based on cognitive task analysis all the way through to instructional approaches. And finally,
Chapter 5 outlines the plan for evaluation to ensure learning goals are achieved.
Author’s Positionality and Theoretical Foundations
Growing up as a fourth generation Asian American, solidly middle class, third generation
college-goer, I was positioned well to succeed through school. In fact, these social factors have
continued to privilege me through college and well into my career. For example, as a fourth
generation Asian American, I am highly assimilated to “American” culture (the tremendous loss
being out of touch with my ethnic cultural heritage) and am usually given the benefit of the
doubt due to the model minority myth. Li (2005) describes the stereotype that is associated with
this myth, “Asian American students are problem–free and can succeed with little institutional
support and/or special services” (as cited by Shih, et al., 2019, p. 422).
This stereotype is a complicated one to reconcile with my identity as one could argue that
my lived experience perpetuates the myth. Furthermore, as a middle class third generation
college student, I had and still have access to financial resources and social networks that have
given me more freedom, navigational skills, and ultimately more access to opportunities. I
currently work as the Chief Learning Officer at the University of Southern California Race and
Equity Center where I continue to benefit from these specific identities. And yet, I am also
26

marginalized by the forever foreigner stereotype, the fact that I am a womxn, an Asian American
womxn specifically, a mother, and in a higher education setting, do not yet hold a doctoral
degree.
My leadership trajectory reflects the growth of my own racial identity development in
concert with how our society based in the United States continues to frame and reframe the
conversation. From president of Troy Philippines at USC as an undergraduate to my first job out
of college at Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc., to Director of the Cross-Cultural
Center at the University of California, Irvine and my current role at the USC Race and Equity
Center, I have always approached the work of what we would now call racial equity from a place
of tension where we are simultaneously dismantling white supremacy and building inclusive
communities. Ultimately, I am hopeful that social change and restorative justice are possible.
This hope has been born out of the acute pain and trauma in the wake of the COVID-19
pandemic and the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd. I have borne
witness to changes I never before believed I would see in my lifetime because of the global
pandemic and racial reckoning in the United States stoked by the murders of Breonna Taylor,
Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd like defunding the police and a Vice President who is a
Black and South Asian woman.
Reflecting back on my career trajectory, there are three main theories that inform my
approach to this curriculum: social justice theory, critical race theory, and organizational learning
theory. In the sections that follow, I will highlight the major tenets of the first two theories that
inform not only this curriculum but also serve as the foundation of my current daily practice of
racial equity work. Of course, my daily practice evolves over time and contexts as needed much
like the branches of a tree; these theories are the roots.
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Social Justice Theory
First and foremost, one of the most well-loved books on my bookshelf is Paulo Freire’s
Pedagogy of the Oppressed, which was first published in Portuguese in 1968 and then in English
in 1970 (Freire, 2021). Freire (2021) contended that critical reflection and action, or praxis, is
required to transform the world (p. 125). “Those who authentically commit themselves to the
people must re-examine themselves constantly” (Freire, 2021, p. 60). Consequently, most social
justice education curriculum begins with critical self-reflection and ends with action-planning.
Freire (2021) also provides insight to privilege and positionality when he says:
Professional women and men of any specialty, university graduates or not, are individuals
who have been “determined from above” by a culture of domination which has
constituted them as dual beings …. they not only could be, but ought to be, reclaimed by
the revolution. (p. 158)
Here, Freire succinctly describes the unique position that professionals or college graduates have
to enact social change and provides a bridge to more modern concepts of social justice.
Capeheart and Milovanovic (2020) trace today’s concepts of social justice from
philosophical and religious beginnings through to being influenced by movements including but
not limited to liberation theology, Black liberation theology, and feminist ethics of care. Social
justice has since evolved towards two distinct and related strands: restorative and transformative
justice. While restorative justice aims to attend to the immediacy of a conflict or harm,
transformative justice also acknowledges the broader framework that the conflict or harm is
occuring in (Capeheart & Milovanovic, 2020). Both intend to support healing processes of
individuals and communities harmed. Transformative justice begs the question of what do we
want our world to transform to? If with one hand we are dismantling institutional racism, what
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are we building with the other?
In adrienne maree brown’s (2017) book Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing
Worlds, she believes that “it is our right and responsibility to create a new world” (p. 19). While
beautiful and succinct, the approach she calls emergent strategy is a bit more difficult to define.
Emergent strategy is a community-based, collaborative approach to imagining and creating a
more just world. Some of the core principles include the following ideas: small is good and
solutions can be scalable; change is constant; people must trust each other; and that the work
moves at the speed of trust (brown, 2017, pp. 41–42). Social justice theory has evolved and
expanded over the decades, but Freire, transformative justice, and emergent strategy are the
underpinnings of this curriculum. While social justice theory seeks to humanize and liberate the
oppressed in general, I look to critical race theory in education for further guidance as to how.
Critical Race Theory in Education
Critical race theory (CRT) has been under attack. On July 14, 2021, Republican Senator
Tom Cotton from Arkansas introduced the “Stop CRT Act” which aims to “prohibit federal
funds from going to schools that teach students that one race is inherently inferior or superior to
another, that someone is inherently oppressive or racist because of his or her racial identity, that
America is a fundamentally racist country, or that promote critical race theory in general”
(Ujifusa, 2021, para. 2). Born out of legal scholarship, critical race theory has become a hot
button issue of 2021. But what is it exactly?
Of these claims, the nearest to the truth is perhaps that “America is a fundamentally racist
country” (Ujifusa, 2021, para. 2). However, when illuminated with a legal light, critical race
theory supposes that the “law tends to enforce, reflect, constitute, and legitimize the dominant
social and power relations through social actors who generally believe that they are neutral and
29

arrive at their decisions through an objective process of legal reasoning” (Brown & Jackson,
2013, p. 12). Furthermore, Derrick Bell, one of the original thought leaders of critical race
theory, said that “racism is an integral, permanent and indestructible part of American society”
(Brown & Jackson, 2013, p. 14). Due to the inherent racism to America, Black communities can
only make progress when their interests align with those of White elites—a concept within
critical race theory known as interest convergence (Brown & Jackson, 2013).
Another cornerstone concept related to critical race theory was coined by Kimberlé
Crenshaw in 1991 called intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1991). Crenshaw describes, “The failure of
feminism to interrogate race means that the resistance strategies of feminism will often replicate
and reinforce the subordination of people of color, and the failure of antiracism to interrogate
patriarchy means that antiracism will frequently reproduce the subordination of women”
(Crenshaw, 1991, p. 1252). That is to say that while on one hand we may recognize and attempt
to rectify the inequitable outcomes understood through the lens of race and racism, we need not
and should not lose sight of the fact that individuals hold multiple identities that make up their
lived experiences. At any given moment in any given context a person might be experiencing
simultaneous privilege related to one identity and discrimination related to another.
And finally, the application of critical race theory as it applies to the field of higher
education is the space in which most of my work experience has lived. Harper (2012) describes,
“One central argument of CRT is that racism is normal and endemic to U.S. social institutions,
including colleges and universities” (p. 25). According to Harper (2012), the ways in which
studying race without the context of racism in published research in higher education is “unlikely
to lead to racial equity and more complete understandings of minoritized populations in
postsecondary contexts” (p. 15). So even in our sincerest attempts to “color” in race to our
30

educational landscape and knowledge, we are still perpetuating a kind of racelessness in the
absence of understanding how race relates to power and structures. Critical race theory is
therefore a crucial lens we must always have in focus should we truly be committed to rectifying
racial injustice. How do we also, then, connect the dots from individual understandings and
actions to lever power and change at organizational and institutional levels?

31

Chapter Two: Review of the Literature
As evident in this chapter, the literature on managing for racial equity in the workplace
has evolved over time. Beginning with prior attempts, I offer an overview of diversity training
since the 1960s and an analysis of the literature highlighting what has and has not worked in the
past. Then, through a search of procedural knowledge, I attempt to weave together both the
underlying research and practical steps of how to be an antiracist manager. Finally, the chapter
ends with a summary of curriculum content.
Prior Attempts
This section provides a brief overview of how diversity trainings were established in an
attempt to comply with anti-discrimination legislation born of the Civil Rights Movement of the
1960s provides the foundation upon which this field was built (Anand & Winners, 2008). Over
time, underlying motivations and language related to diversity training change, but the way in
which diversity training has been delivered has not. A brief analysis offers some guidance for
shaping a more effective curriculum.
Professional Development and Workplace Trainings
“Rooted in social justice philosophy, civil rights legislation, and more recently, business
strategy, diversity has evolved into a rather amorphous field where the very word itself invokes a
variety of meanings and emotional responses” (Anand & Winters, 2008, p. 1). Since the early
1960s, Anand and Winters (2008) identified five phases marked by different goals in the
evolution of diversity training up until the late 1990s summarized in Table 3.

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Table 3
Diversity Training from 1964 to Late 1990s
Years Phase Description
1960s–1970s Precursor to
diversity: Focus on
compliance

Most of the diversity training at this time were one-
time events based on anti-discrimination legislation.
Key terms: Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC)
Early 1980s Focus on
assimilation

Affirmative action and compliance training are scaled
back in part due to President Reagan’s deregulation
policies on companies.
Key terms: Assimilate, self-efficacy for minorities and
women
Late 1980s The diversity field is
born
Hudson Institute releases Workforce 2000 that predicts
(erroneously) that women and ethnic minorities will
be increasing in the workforce in large numbers
which shifted thinking to how to manage diversity
and workforce trends.
Key terms: Workforce diversity, managing diversity
Late 1980s–
late 1990s
A decade of
fostering
sensitivity

Focus shifts from women and racial ethnic minorities
to include everyone, including White men, under
“diversity”. Training grew to include various
approaches and levels of impact.
Key terms: Thomas & Ely’s (1996) model:
Discrimination and fairness, access and legitimacy,
and learning and effectiveness paradigms
1999– New millennium
paradigms for
diversity learning

Diversity and inclusion are viewed as competencies
that can be developed and linked to business success.
Key terms: Inclusion, diversity learning

Note. Adapted from A Retrospective View of Corporate Diversity Training From 1964 to the
Present (pp. 357–362), by Anand & Winters (2008).
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Once diversity competencies were accepted as necessary to stay competitive, at least in
the corporate landscape, academic researchers began to ask questions such as the following:
1. How are the diversity and firm performance constructs defined and measured?
2. What are the findings of research linking workplace diversity and firm performance?
3. What factors, if any, mediate and/or moderate the diversity-performance relationship?
(McMahon, 2011, p. 38)
According to McMahon (2011), a review of research studies from 2000 to 2009 revealed
that the definition of diversity continues to expand beyond race, gender, or education status that
may typically come to mind (p. 43), financial performance is not the only indicator of success as
researchers seek metrics like “quality of results, social integration, decision making, creativity
and problem-solving” (p. 44), and a myriad of factors ranging from moderating, mediating, to
contextual can ultimately impact the relationship between workplace diversity and firm
performance (p. 46). Morukian (2022) characterizes diversity and inclusion work from 2000 to
mid-2010s on changing behaviors and from the mid-2010s to the present marked by ideas of
progress, politics, and polarization. Still, many organizations continue to implement diversity
training and attempt to find a best practice for doing so in spite of rising cynicism (Chung, 2013).
Reputation management can be a driver like when Starbucks “faced calls for a boycott in
2018 after the controversial arrest of two [Black] men at one of the coffee chain’s locations in
Philadelphia” (Nathoo, 2021) and closed stores for 175,000 employees to take part in racial bias
training (Lowe, 2018). More recently and in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, diversity
training is included in organizations’ attempts to make good on what their diversity or racial
justice statements have espoused. Read (2021) describes:
Many contemporary DEI agencies are now focused on helping companies that profess to
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have progressive values live up to those ideals. This is referred to in DEI parlance as
“alignment:” The idea is to jerk system operations into sync with make-the-world-better
branding, like a diversity chiropractor. (p. 56)
While the impact of more recent efforts like Starbucks and others has yet to be seen, why has
diversity training thus far fallen short of achieving racial equity in organizations?
Analysis of Prior Attempts
While the timeline shows the evolution and growth of diversity training, “companies are
basically doubling down on the same approaches they’ve used since the 1960s—which often
make things worse, not better” (Dobbin & Kalev, 2016). Research has pointed to a variety of
potential strategies to improve the effectiveness of diversity training. One common strategy
includes more meaningful facilitation of individual engagement (Abramovitz & Blitz, 2015) that
Chung (2013) might boost with a participant analysis of “motivational, behavioral, and cognitive
readiness for diversity training in order to improve diversity training outcomes” (p. 82). Another
strategy is to address beyond the individual level change and seek organizational change through
more inclusive policies and practices (Abramovitz & Blitz, 2015; Chung 2013). Studies also
show that making diversity training voluntary rather than mandatory may yield better results
(Chung, 2013; Dobbin & Kalev, 2016). Dobbin and Kalev (2016) offer three main
recommendations based on their research: (a) to engage managers in the problem-solving
process; (b) to expose managers to people from various identity groups; and (c) to encourage
social accountability amongst and between managers for change.
In addition to employing the improvements based on research cited here, a blended
theoretical approach, as represented in this proposed curriculum, rooted in social justice theory
and linking critical race, learning and motivation, and organizational learning theories will
35

inform all curricular decisions. Even the research about diversity training tends to conceptualize
organizations as race-neutral rather than racial structures.
Ultimately, racial inequality is not merely “in” organizations but “of” them, as racial
processes are foundational to organizational formation and continuity. A greater
integration of race and organizational theory—focused on sometimes-hidden mechanisms
producing racial stratification—can provide a better guide for potential interventions into
the stunning consistency of racialized organizational inequality. (Ray, 2019, p. 48)
With this in mind, the matter of what content to include in the curriculum is covered in the next
section.
The Content of the Curriculum
A shorter way to describe this curriculum, “Managing for Racial Equity: How Mid-Level
Managers Can Transform Organizations” could simply be “How to be an Antiracist Manager”.
As a starting point for delving into the existing literature on this topic, I entered the phrase “How
to be an Antiracist Manager” in to Google which, unsurprisingly, yielded thousands of results.
Among the top results were guides posted by TIME’S UP (TIME’S UP, n.d.), Nonprofit
Quarterly (Johnson, 2021), and The Muse (Garcia, n.d.). Table 4 summarizes the steps or main
points covered in each article in the order they are written.

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Table 4
“How to Be An Antiracist Manager” Google Results
Site name Title of page Steps
Time’s Up Building an anti-racist
workplace
Own the fight to end systemic racism at work
Do not be silent in this moment
Don’t just signal support. Root out racism at your
workplace.
Hold conversations to bring awareness to racism at
work and create genuinely safe spaces where people
can share their experiences openly
Lead the way on anti-racist efforts while learning from
your BIPOC colleagues
Move into action swiftly to examine and dismantle
racist and sexist practices embedded in all business
functions
Position the fight to end systemic racism as an ongoing
effort that you are committed to in the long run
(TIME’S UP, n.d.)
Nonprofit
Quarterly
How to be an antiracist
supervisor: Start
with changing what
you call yourself

“The [management] system was designed to demand
productivity and profit for the benefit of the slave
owner at the physical, mental, and emotional expense
of the enslaved”
What if we did the exact opposite of what being a
supervisor was created to do?
What if we not only abandoned the term altogether but
intentionally centered the well-being of our people
first?
What if being antiracist meant focusing on the health of
Black lives and Black livelihood, not as an
afterthought or a statement on our website, but as the
primary reason we work together, for our collective
healing and liberation? (Johnson, 2021)
The Muse 11 anti-racist actions
you can take at
work—Today and
every day
1. First, look inward
2. Solicit honest feedback
3. Educate yourself and share your learnings
4. Always be recruiting
5. They’re in the door—Now keep them there
6. Push your company to ask employees how it’s doing
7. Be prepared to report illegal or overt discrimination
8. Call out microaggressions
9. Acknowledge (and fix) your own microaggressions
37

Site name Title of page Steps
10. Amplify others
11. Understand being an ally is an ongoing process
(Garcia, n.d.)

While the examples in Table 4 may vary in tone and approach, the following themes
emerge in a progression that starts from the individual level and grows to the organizational level
over time. First, a manager must recognize their own racial identity and positionality, analyze
their own workplace culture and racial climate, be able to facilitate constructive conversations
about race, and specifically mitigate microaggressions, stereotype threat, and imposter syndrome.
Then, managers can leverage their power and authority to rectify racial privilege and power
dynamics, transform hiring and retention practices, transform retention and advancement
policies, and hold themselves and others accountable to racial equity. Here I offer more
comprehensive overviews of each theme along with supporting literature related to both
conceptual and procedural knowledge that will eventually serve as eight different session topics
within the Managing for Racial Equity curriculum.
Recognize Your Racial Identity and Positionality
Critical self-reflection of one’s own racial identity and positionality is a crucial starting
point for understanding how to manage for racial equity. Both conceptual knowledge of identity
formation and intersectionality (Abes et al., 2007; Douglas & Nganga, 2015) as well as
procedural knowledge around how to practice self-reflection (Kelly & Bhangal, 2018), cultivate
brave spaces (Arao & Clemens, 2013), and develop these as leadership skills (Gotsis & Grimani,
2016) are required. To begin co-constructing a brave learning space, introducing and establishing
a set of ground rules for discussion or community agreements is a critical starting point for social
38

justice learning activities (Arao & Clemens, 2013; Simon et al., 2022). Furthermore, Arao and
Clemens (2013) use “brave space” rather than “safe space” intentionally to “emphasize the need
for courage rather than the illusion of safety” and “better position ourselves to accomplish our
learning goals and more accurately reflect the nature of genuine dialogue regarding these
challenging and controversial topics” (Arao & Clemens, 2013, pp. 141–142).
Leaning into a brave space can also encourage more nuanced personal reflection or
critical reflection of our social identities. Kelly and Bhangal (2018) provide “critical reflection as
the purposeful unveiling and disruption of assumptions, norms, and universal truths dealing with
knowledge, power, social identities, and their subsequent role in the continuation of hegemony”
(p. 43). Group discussion around racial identities, intersectionality, positionality, power,
privilege, and the emotions that those conversations may conjure can be supported by
community agreements previously described. Omi and Winant (1994) describe that racial
identities can be socially, historically, politically, and socially constructed at the individual and
institutional levels (as cited by Abes et al., 2007, p. 2). Furthermore, intersectionality
conceptualizes social identities existing simultaneously and contextually, not hierarchically or
separately (Crenshaw, 1991; McCann & Kim, 2002 as cited by Abes et al., 2007). Once power
and privilege are layered into the conversation, then positionality as it relates to one’s racial
identity within a system of oppression can be further explored. Villaverde (as cited in Douglas &
Nganga, 2015, p. 61) describes positionality as “how one is situated through the intersection of
power and the politics of gender, race, class, sexuality, ethnicity, culture, language, and other
social factors.” Ultimately, Douglas and Nganga (2015) recommend that “members of the
learning community will need to see the intersections between power, oppression, and pedagogy,
identify their complicity in the status quo, and embrace their responsibility to act” (p. 61).
39

As for the emotions that may arise in discussions throughout this curriculum, it is
important to recognize, name, and facilitate them as emotions can affect learning in both positive
and negative ways (Pekrun, 2014). Pekrun (2014) describes topic emotions as emotions
pertaining to the topic at hand and social emotions as emotions related to teachers and peers in a
classroom setting (p. 8). Furthermore, it is necessary to recognize and name the pain and trauma
caused by racism experienced by people of color and Black people in particular (Quaye et al.,
2020). For example, topic emotions could range from the discomfort of a White learner to the
pain of a Black learner. Similarly, social emotions could range from anger to compassion.
Pekrun (2014) warns that “emotions involve subjective experiences that vary between
individuals. Different students can experience different emotions, even in the same situation” (p.
10). So while the racial identities of learners do not necessarily correlate to their emotional
responses when discussing racism, it is still important to be aware of the potential racial
dynamics of the conversation. It is possible, however, to support students in harnessing any
negative or unpleasant emotions towards learning by positioning the program as an opportunity
to learn from mistakes rather than a personal failure (Pekrun, 2014).
And finally, since the Managing for Racial Equity curriculum is intended for mid-level
managers, Gotsis and Grimani (2016) point out that “paying attention to the perceptions and
expectations of diverse leaders by diverse followers has now become an imperative” (p. 242).
Furthermore, Gotsis and Grimani (2016) posit that “inclusive leadership styles are in a position
to drastically eliminate inequities and eradicate stereotypes that pose impediments to diverse
employees’ success” (p. 257). The shifting racial demographics of the United States workforce
may serve as motivation in and of itself for mid-level managers to develop a skill set to manage
for racial equity if they aspire to higher level positions and to transform organizations. Perhaps
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Kelly and Bhangal (2018) describe the potential for managers best:
If you practice critical self-reflection with an awareness of your social identities and their
connection to systems of power, it is likely that what you say and do will foster spaces for
liberation, inspiration, and healing necessary for social change. (p. 51)
Once a critical self-reflection on racial identity has been developed as an ongoing practice,
shifting the critical lens with a focus on racial dynamics in an organization’s workplace culture
and climate must be observed and analyzed.
Analyze Your Workplace Culture and Climate
The workplace culture and racial climate of an organization with regards to racial
identities and patterns can help or hinder an organization from achieving its racial equity goals.
Schein (2004) describes “culture is to a group what personality or character is to an individual.
We can see the behavior that results, but often we cannot see the forces underneath that cause
certain kinds of behavior” (p. 8). More tangibly, organizational culture can be evident through
things like group rules or norms, espoused values, and habits of thinking (Schein, 2004).
Similarly and more specific to race, racial climates in a college campus context can be observed
through things like if and how race is talked about, racial segregation patterns, racially
minoitized student experiences, or the pervasiveness of whiteness (Harper & Hurtado, 2007).
Some of these racial dynamics can also be observed in other organizational settings. For
example, Hewlett et al. (2016) found that “the vast majority of Latinos (76%) repress parts of
their personas at work” (para. 2) and “More than half (53%) of Latinas and 44% of Latinos say
that [executive presence] at their company is defined by conforming to traditionally White, male
standards” (para 4). Ultimately, that type of required white assimilation will stifle the potential
benefits of diversity and can be “taxing for people of color, who may spend precious cognitive
41

and emotional energy assimilating” (Padamsee & Crowe, 2017, p. 6).
Understanding and activating a manager’s unique role in creating a racially inclusive
culture and climate can result in better retention of people of color and better organizational
performance (Hewlett et al., 2016; Padamsee & Crowe, 2017). Schein (2004) points out:
The bottom line for leaders is that if they do not become conscious of the cultures in
which they are embedded, those cultures will manage them. Cultural understanding is
desirable for all of us, but it is essential to leaders if they are to lead. (p.23)
An assessment of diversity, equity, and inclusion within an organization, or racial climate, can be
a crucial tool for leaders (Morukian, 2022). Padamsee and Crowe (2017) offer four basic
organizational profiles “for organizational leaders to understand their starting point, or where
they stand in relation to progress around building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive
organization” (p. 62). Based on a number of different diversity, inclusion, and equity indices,
Padamsee and Crowe’s (2017) describe the four organizational profiles early stage (limited
diversity and low on equity and inclusion); diversified (high levels of diversity but low equity
and inclusion); kindred (equitable and inclusive but not diverse); and advanced (high on
diversity, equity, and inclusion) (p. 62).
There is a critical role for managers to model and effectively communicate a genuine
commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion when “leaders are developing multicultural
competence and demonstrating the vulnerability that comes with that work” (Padamsee &
Crowe, 2017, p. 7). Recognizing how and when racism is embedded and perpetuated in the
culture or racial climate of an organization is necessary before it can be effectively addressed.
Once a manager can recognize racial dynamics and patterns, the next step is to develop and hone
the skills for talking about them in appropriate and meaningful ways.
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Engage Emotions and Facilitate Constructive Conversations About Race
According to Singleton (2018), “To systemically transform professional learning to
integrate a racial equity lens, we need to address this paucity of dialogue about race” (p. 29). Too
often, race comes up in conversation as a result of a racial microaggression (Sue, 2013).
Microaggressions are “verbal and nonverbal interpersonal exchanges in which a perpetrator
causes harm to a target, whether intended or unintended” (Sue & Spanierman, 2020, p. 8). Not
surprisingly, a range of negative feelings can emerge from fear to anger that are then exacerbated
by racial power dynamics depending on the group (Sue, 2013). It is also critical to note that “the
emotions of racism affect individuals in different ways; emotional injuries due to racial relations
are not homogenous. Some have been victims of racism and others are injured because they are
persistently perceived as perpetrators” (Zembylas, 2012, p. 119). According to Pekrun (2014),
research shows that negative emotions can strongly inhibit our ability to learn. Therefore, for
managers, developing the skill to facilitate constructive conversations about race also involves
engaging the emotions that those conversations can evoke for themselves and for others.
Sue (2013) describes “our society implicitly and explicitly discourages race talk through
normative ground rules that ignore and silence honest discussions about race and its impact on
the lives of people of color” (p. 665). And yet, there are a number of different techniques that can
be developed in order to overcome these barriers and engage in meaningful dialogue about race.
For example, Maxwell et al. (2011) identify four communication processes in intergroup
dialogue including appreciating difference, engaging self, critical reflection, and alliance
building that can yield positive change processes like an increased feeling of comfort, an
increased connection among individuals, and an increased understanding of difference
perspectives and identity experiences. To promote positive outcomes, five essential facilitation
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skills are creating a safe [or brave] space, recognizing the signs of negative processes [like
disconnection or resentment], encouraging and supporting depth of personal sharing [as
appropriate to a workplace setting], engaging conflicts as teachable moments [manager as
teacher], attending to [racial] identity differences in awareness and experience (Maxwell et al.,
2011, p. 29). In general, being attuned to and attending to the process unfolding both
intellectually and emotionally amongst participants is more important than the verbatim content
of the conversation (Maxwell et al., 2011; Sue & Spanierman, 2020).
More specifically, the concepts of engaged humility (Sensoy & DiAngelo, 2017) and
strategic empathy (Zembylas, 2012) can be useful tools to facilitate constructive conversations
about race. Engaged humility encompasses a willingness to grapple with complexity, the ability
to differentiate between opinions and informed knowledge, and being mindful of your own
defensive reactions by receiving them as a signal to dig deeper into self-reflection rather than as
a sign to disengage from the conversation (Sensoy & DiAngelo, 2017, p. 8). For example, as a
manager, facilitating a conversation about race may also open up an avenue for that manager to
receive feedback about how they might actually (even if unintentionally) be perpetuating racism
through microaggressions. Engaged humility would require that the manager receive that
feedback as an invitation for critical self-reflection rather than respond defensively. As for
grappling with complexity, strategic empathy can allow one to “engage in in-depth critical
inquiry of troubled knowledge, that is, an emotional willingness to engage in the difficult work
of empathizing with views that one may find unacceptable or offensive” (Zembylas, 2012,
p.122). An example of troubled knowledge might be a White person who truly believes that their
success in life is a direct result of their own merit and hard work without having anything to do
with their racial identity as a White person or the associated white privilege. Strategic empathy
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would call upon a facilitator in this instance to empathize with that White person who might be
feeling indignant or in denial for the purpose of making a connection with that person to then
engage in critical inquiry of that problematic belief with.
While highly nuanced and requiring practice, Singleton (2018) urges us to develop the
skill for talking about race and to “Build the capacity to interrogate how systems operate to
institutionalize beliefs about race; and summon the will to interrupt systems that yield unwanted,
racially predictable, and disproportionate results” (p. 29). As managers, facilitating constructive
conversations about race is possible by implementing different communication strategies,
fostering trust and authentic dialogue, and recognizing and intervening if and when racial
microaggressions occur. In addition to microaggressions, there are other racial dynamics that
managers should be able to recognize and mitigate including stereotype threat and imposter
syndrome.
Mitigate Microaggressions, Stereotype Threat, and Imposter Syndrome
One way to think about microaggressions is how racism is manifested at the individual
level by perpetrators and towards targets (Sue & Spaneriman, 2020). Using intersectional theory,
Nadal et al. (2021) propose that microaggressions can increase an individual’s level of
internalized oppression that can result in stereotype threat and imposter phenomenon (or
imposter syndrome). As a manager, mitigating microaggressions is one potential strategy that
could also decrease stereotype threat and/or imposter syndrome that any supervisees of color
may be experiencing. While all of these racialized experiences are related, it can be useful to be
able to identify each separately so that one can then employ an appropriate strategy for
mitigating.
Microaggressions are perhaps the most commonly heard of. A racial microaggression can
45

be a verbal or nonverbal, intentional or unintentional, interaction that happens between two
people in which one person (the perpetrator) harms another (the target) (Sue & Spanierman,
2020, p. 8). For example, as an Asian American woman, I have been asked “Where are you
from?” to which I answer “San Jose, California” because that is where I was born and raised.
However, that is not the answer most people want to know when they are asking me where I am
from. What they really want to know is what my ethnicity is (which is Filipino and Chinese). But
in asking “Where are you from?”, while seemingly polite enough, they are assuming or implying
that I am not from here or not a citizen of the United States which can make me feel as if I do not
belong (even though my family immigrated through Hawai’i before it was even declared a state).
This interaction would be considered a microaggression that is based on the forever foreigner or
perpetual foreigner stereotype that many Asians and Asian Americans encounter in the United
States (Lee et al., 2009). Another manifestation of the perpetual foreigner stereotype shows up in
the alarming number of anti-Asian incidents reported—over 9,000—since the pandemic began as
Asians and Asian Americans have been seen by some as scapegoats for the coronavirus
originating from China (Associated Press, 2021).
In order to address microaggressions, Sue and Spanierman (2020) describe that
educators must: feel secure in who they are as racial/cultural beings; seriously explore
their own biases and prejudices; confront their own fears and apprehensions about
addressing racism; and actively develop the awareness, knowledge and skills to
successfully facilitate difficult racial dialogues. (pp. 216–217)
The same could be said of managers truly committed to being inclusive and antiracist.
Some “microinvention strategies” for addressing microaggressions in the moment can be making
the “invisible” visible, disarming the micro or macroaggression, or educating the offender (Sue
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& Spanierman, 2020, p. 259). For example, if a manager observed one person asking an Asian or
Asian American colleague “Where are you from?”, that manager might intervene by asking for
clarification, asking the question back to the person who asked, or disclosing their own answer.
A manager’s response will always depend on their own racial identity, positionality and the level
of trust amongst and between the colleagues present. And yet, vigilance is key. The effects of
racial microaggressions can build up over time and “create severe emotional turmoil, have
negative health and physical effects, and pressure recipients to deny their own racial reality in
exchange for that of the perpetrator” (Chakraborty & McKenzie, 2002; Smedley & Smedley,
2005; Williams, Neighbors, & Jackson, 2003 as cited by Constantine et al., 2007).
According to Nadal et al. (2021), stereotype threat and imposter phenomenon (or
imposter syndrome) are two forms of internalized oppression that are heavily cited in academic
literature (p. 2). Stereotype threat “can be triggered whenever a person is concerned that their
actions or performance may confirm a negative stereotype about their group” (Godsil et al.,
2014, p. 31). In their research specific to the workplace, Roberson and Kulik (2007) found that
“societal stereotypes can have a negative effect on employee feelings and behavior, making it
difficult for an employee to perform to his or her true potential… When stereotype threat is
present, performance declines” (p. 25). More specifically, the mental and energy that is expended
towards worrying about whether or not one will fulfill a negative stereotype diverts that effort
away from the task at hand and can lead to negative physiological and psychological effects
(Nadal et al., 2021; Roberson & Kulik, 2007; Schmader et al., 2008).
Some strategies to reduce stereotype threat rely on understanding and changing the
conditions under which stereotype threat is most likely to occur (Roberson & Kulik, 2007;
Schmader et al., 2008). Simply being able to recognize and honestly acknowledge stereotype
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threat as a potential factor in one’s work conditions is a critical first step. Although Roberson and
Kulik (2007) admit these types of conversations may be risky, “explicit discussion about
stereotypes can be useful in reducing their impact. If supervisors and subordinates trust one
another, it can be a good strategy” (p. 38). Other strategies include providing a successful task
strategy, alternative reasons for task difficulty other than stereotype threat, and connecting
supervisees to diverse role models (Roberson & Kulik, 2007).
Nadal et al. (2021) describe imposter phenomenon or imposter syndrome as “a form of
internalized oppression by which negative societal messages about one’s identity group are
internalized–leading to thoughts and feelings of inadequacy and fraudulence in the face of
success” (p. 2). Like stereotype threat, research shows there can be negative consequences
beyond the toll on one’s mental health. For example, “there is robust literature that describes the
harmful association between impostor feelings and job performance, job satisfaction, and
burnout among various employee populations, including healthcare professionals” (Bravata et
al., 2019, p. 1272). Given the high stakes of not addressing imposter syndrome, managers are
once again charged with the responsibility to change the conditions or work environment to be
more inclusive and antiracist. Strategies to reduce imposter syndrome include being able to name
and acknowledge it, “creating healthier expectations and a culture where mistakes are not
interpreted as failures and publicly acknowledging and celebrating employee accomplishments”
(Bravata et al., 2019, p. 1272).
Finally, understanding trauma can be a useful framework for managers to work from
when employing strategies to mitigate microaggressions, stereotype threat, and imposter
syndrome. Imad (2021) says “Being in combat or getting into a car accident is traumatic, as is
experiencing daily microaggressions (Nadal, 2018); in both cases, there is a physiological
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impact” (pp. 5–6). Imad (2021) goes on to offer five principles for educational development that
could also serve managers well in addressing these particular topics with their supervisees: (a)
reduce uncertainty to help foster a sense of safety; (b) leverage communication to help forge
trust; (c) re-affirm or re-establish goals to create meaning; (d) make intentional connections to
cultivate community; and (e) center well-being and care. For example, reducing uncertainty and
leveraging communication (Imad, 2021) could work hand-in-hand with defining a successful
task strategy (Roberson & Kulik, 2007) in the attempt to reduce stereotype threat around a
specific task.
Ultimately, a deep, conceptual knowledge of microaggressions, stereotype threat, and
imposter syndrome can enable managers to mitigate them and better support their supervisees,
especially supervisees of color, on an individual basis. While support offered at the individual
level is necessary to combat the effects of racism, so too is the rectification of racial privilege
and power dynamics at the organizational level.
Rectify Racial Privilege and Power Dynamics
Managers must be able to recognize how privilege and power dynamics perpetuate
racism within their organizations in order to rectify them—especially as far as their own
influence and authority radiates. Jaser (2021) discusses the unique position that managers are in
to influence in two directions towards the people they manage and towards the people who
manage them thereby “shrink[ing] hierarchical distance and bring[ing] multiple levels of an
organization together.” However, a manager’s position can quickly become more tenuous than
tactical as “management and leadership are formulated as White prerogatives, replicating the
hierarchy of the antebellum plantation” (Collins, 1993, as cited in Ray, 2019). In crude terms, a
manager is responsible for extracting labor from their supervisees as efficiently as possible in a
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way that perpetuates racial hierarchies in organizations with White leaders at the top. The bottom
line is “race shapes occupational attainment in the United States” (Ray, 2019, p. 33).
Understanding the roots of white supremacy and white privilege in organizations can
provide a different perspective for managers to consider in their supervision of others. For
example, “Given that White people continue to be overrepresented in positions of greater power,
their anxiety can have significant consequences for members of other racial and ethnic groups”
(Godsil et al., 2014, p. 27). So for a manager who identifies with a White racial identity, they
may want to carefully consider if and how their emotions adversely affect racially minoritized
members of their team in particular. Another thought to consider is that:
By obscuring the racial tasks Whites perform—that is, expectations of deference, or the
assumption of menial status for people of color—focusing on the racial tasks of people of
color (unintentionally) reinforces the sense that racial identity and conflict are things non-
Whites bring into otherwise race-neutral organizations. (Ray, 2019, p. 37)
So, again, as a White manager or a manager performing whiteness, critical questions to
interrogate one’s own management approach might be: Do I expect deference from the people
who report to me? Do I assume a menial status for racially minoritized people in our
organization? Am I reluctant to recognize racial dynamics because I associate anything race-
related as a conflict? Do I operate based on the false assumption that our organization is race-
neutral? Price (2021) observes that “managers who embrace diversity acknowledge it
themselves. Conversations about race, gender, and disability are interwoven into regular
organizational discussions, rather than set aside for special days and events” (para. 11).
Beyond managerial behavior and practices, Bensimon (2020) offers four criteria for
assessing if policies in the higher education realm are antiracist which could be useful across
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different organization types:
1. Does the policy identify its intended outcomes as anti-racist?
2. Does the policy explain the problem it seeks to address from an anti-racist
standpoint?
2. Does the policy offer solutions/practices that are identifiably anti-racist?
3. Does the policy provide guidance on anti-racist implementation? (p. 10).
For example, Ferguson, Jr. and Dougherty (2022) highlights the various ways that notions of
professionalism are used to enforce white ideas and standards in the workplace. From the
experiences of Black professionals, Ferguson, Jr. and Dougherty (2022) discuss the different
ways Black professionals either conformed to or resisted “professional” standards of hair or
attire. While standards of professionalism can still operate unspoken or unwritten, Bensimon
(2020) would ask of any policy around professionalism, “Does the policy explain the problem it
seeks to address from an anti-racist standpoint?” Being able to make the invisible visible and
antiracist could be a strategic leverage point for managers to toggle. Managers need not act
alone; “By mindfully considering organizational members' meanings, organizations can better
construct clear professionalism guidelines that abandon the race and gender assumptions guiding
current understandings of this term” (Ferguson, Jr. & Dougherty, 2022, p. 25). Once managers
can recognize the racial patterns of their organizations, they can leverage their own privilege and
power to make decisions that will advance racial equity. Some key decisions will be related to
recruitment and hiring practices.
Transform Recruitment and Hiring for Racial Equity
In a field experiment on labor market discrimination, Bertrand and Mullainathan (2004)
found that White-sounding names received 50% more callbacks for interviews than African-
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American-sounding names based on their résumés regardless of occupation, industry, or
employer size. Even when they do get a callback, “applicants with African-American names find
it hard to overcome this hurdle in callbacks by improving their observable skills or credentials”
(Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2004, p. 1011). Some might point towards implicit bias as the
underlying reason for this racial gap. However, implicit bias can be a misnomer because it
implies unconscious, unintentional bias that may or may not lead to biased behaviors. FitzGerald
et al. (2019) explains, “The term implicit bias is typically used to refer to both implicit
stereotypes and implicit prejudices and aims to capture what is most troubling for professionals:
the possibility of biased judgment and of the resulting biased behavior” (p. 1). When we consider
implicit bias in terms of behavior, it may be easier to counteract (De Houwer, 2019; Godsil et al.,
2014).
While research has shown some strategies for reducing implicit bias, a one-time training
on implicit bias may be a critical first step but not enough to address negative impacts from
behaviors due to implicit bias (FitzGerald et al., 2019; Godsil et al., 2014). Devine et al. (2012)
take on the perspective of implicit bias as a habit to break. Devine et al. (2012) explain “First,
people must be aware of their biases and, second, they must be concerned about the
consequences of their biases before they will be motivated to exert effort to eliminate them” (p.
1268). Once motivation is established, strategies for reducing implicit bias include replacing
stereotypical responses with non-stereotypical responses; counter-stereotypic imaging;
individuation or taking the time to consider individuals separately from group-based attributes
they may be associated with; perspective taking; and increasing contact with people from outside
of one’s own group membership (Devine et al., 2012; Godsil et al., 2014).
Strategies beyond addressing implicit bias for improving the recruitment and hiring
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processes for racially minoritized applicants include a range of possibilities from reviewing job
descriptions to make them more equitable (Johnson, 2021; Liera, 2020), to diversity sourcing
(Woods et al., 2021) or identifying and attracting qualified talent from diverse populations
(Ribeiro et al., 2021; Walton, 2022), to re-writing equitable interview questions, hiring and
evaluation criteria (Liera, 2020). For example, in terms of job criteria:
Specific skills acquired in a degree program may be important for success with an
employer. However, explicitly requiring a degree for a position instead of those skills
exacerbates the effect of racial disparities in educational achievement and eliminates
workers who may have acquired those skills in other ways. (National Skills Coalition,
2019, p. 36)
Collecting data on the applicant pool disaggregated by race and observing how it shifts
from each stage of the recruitment and hiring process to the next can illuminate potential
opportunities for improvement. The National Skills Coalition (2019) recommends “Develop
education and workforce data systems capable of tracking program access and outcomes-focused
data by race and ethnicity, disaggregated by major subgroup” (p. 23). On one hand, data is
important to inform decision-making. On the other, people are important in making those
decisions and being attuned to interrupt the ways implicit biases affect decision-making. Liera
(2020) highlights ways to manage the racial dynamics of a hiring committee describing the role
of an Equity Advocate to “informally strategize with allies to overcome organizational
constraints and resistance from committee members” (p. 4).
And finally, the last stage of a hiring process typically involves a job offer. Woods et al.
(2021) warn:
Inequitable offers can also be devastating for culture and morale. When we extend a job
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offer, we want the candidate to feel welcome and empowered. But the intricacies of that
offer—how it's structured, how it's negotiated and finalized, how it compares to others—
can leave a candidate feeling undervalued. (Why equitable job offers matter section, para.
8)
Ensuring an equitable job offer to racially minoritized candidates is crucial for setting them up
for retention and advancement within an organization.
Transform Retention and Advancement for Racial Equity
As Green et al. (2021) report that in corporate America, Black and Hispanic people are
still underrepresented in management and women represent less than 50% of executive roles in
most companies. Beyond numeric representation, “In the [United States], history is replete with
accounts of racial discrimination in pay and other conditions of employment” (Buttner & Lowe,
2017, p. 623). Thus, while improvements to the hiring process may help diversify an
organization in terms of the racial demographics of its employees, impactful diversity efforts
cannot end there (Price, 2021). Hughes (2021) calls attention to the “need for companies to pay
just as much attention to attrition and promotion as they do to hiring. That may be more time-
consuming and costly. But get it right, and the returns may be higher” (para. 5). Retention and
advancement can encompass attending to the everyday experiences of discrimination in the
workplace (Deitch et al., 2003) and psychological safety (Singh et al., 2013), to coaching and
mentoring (Ribeiro et al., 2021; Walton, 2022) and pay equity (Buttner & Lowe, 2017) designed
to promote racial equity in the workplace. Managers have a unique role in employing strategies
on these three fronts.
Mitigating everyday experiences of racial discrimination in the workplace can help
cultivate a positive racial climate (Deitch et al., 2003) and thus support the psychological safety
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of employees (Singh et al., 2013). Psychological safety is when one perceives the freedom to
truly express themselves free from fear of negative consequences (like rejection, or in a
workplace context, failure to advance) (Singh et al., 2013). Singh et al. (2013) found that
“organizational climates may also help mitigate individual fears associated with identity
expression, paving the way for individual performance. Thus, organizations need to proactively
eradicate racial intolerance and create a climate that supports diversity” (p. 259). Thus,
employing strategies previously discussed in engaging emotions and facilitating constructive
conversations about race and mitigating microaggressions, stereotype threat, and imposter
syndrome can all work towards cultivating psychological safety for racially minoritized
employees. Inability to do so may “adversely affect minority psychological safety and
significantly lower their performance behaviours” (Singh et al., 2013, p. 259).
Mentoring and coaching are popular strategies for managerial approaches (Ribeiro et al.,
2021; Walton, 2022). Walton (2022) emphasizes the need to mentor high potential “minority”
employees by having a mentor designated from day one and ensuring mentors also have training
in order to be effective mentors (pp. 25–26). As for coaching, Ribeiro et al. (2021) describe four
effective coaching characteristics which can ultimately lead to increased employee commitment,
performance and organizational success:
• maintaining effective and open communication;
• focusing on teams;
• valuing people over tasks; and
• accepting the ambiguous nature of working environments in order to enhance
employees’ development and improve their performance (p. 2165).
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More specific to racially minoritized employees, Equity in the Center (2020) lift up the
manager’s unique role to:
Ensure that people of color have equal access to leadership opportunities and promotions
by supporting their professional growth; Have a promotion process that anticipates and
mitigates biases about people of color serving in leadership positions; and Hire and
promote staff members who demonstrate proficiency in how to address racism and race
equity with coworkers and in their programs. (p. 14)
Finally, pay equity is a key factor in the retention and advancement of racially
minoritized employees. Buttner and Lowe (2017) found that “both diversity climate and
perceived pay equity are relevant concerns for minority professionals of color and that these
variables singly and interactively influence turnover intentions” (p. 630). When racially
minoritized employees perceived pay as equitable then turnover was lower; when racially
minoritized employees perceived pay as inequitable, they were more likely to be thinking about
leaving their organization (Buttner & Lowe, 2017). The highest turnover intentions were of those
professionals of color who perceived inequitable pay and an unfavorable racial climate (Buttner
& Lowe, 2017). Conducting pay audits, not asking applicants about their past earnings, and
updating technology to assist with automating compensation decision-making can all be ways to
eliminate the racial inequity in pay (Miller, 2020). In conducting pay audits, this can even be
done internally by “statistical self-audits of pay decisions and review [of] policies regarding
starting pay, allowable pay differences, merit pay increases and promotional pay increases to
root out patterns of racial bias that may be unintentional on the part of managers” (Miller, 2020).
Managers can ensure pay equity for racially minoritized supervisees and implement other
aforementioned concrete strategies to dismantle barriers to retain racially minoritized supervisees
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and support their advancement in the organization. In order to do so, mid-level managers must
hold themselves and others accountable to achieving racial equity goals.
Hold Yourself and Others Accountable to Racial Equity
Unlearning racism and practicing antiracism are ongoing efforts required at the
individual, managerial, and organizational level. Many of the themes thus far have highlighted
skills that individuals can develop to dismantle some aspect of racism from organizations.
Additionally, conceptualizing implicit bias as automated cognitive knowledge may provide some
insights as to how to correct it on the individual level. Clark (2009) posits that the challenge of
unlearning unconciscous or automated knowledge undermines organizational change. On one
hand, “the benefit of procedural knowledge is that it allows us to express effective routines while
leaving working memory space to handle the non-automated components of tasks” (Clark, 2009,
p. 81). On the other hand, if implicit bias and stereotypes are automated knowledge that results in
biased behaviors that have negative effects on racially minoritized colleagues, then that needs to
be unlearned. Clark (2009) offers three possibilities to unlearn: (a) overlearning the new to
unlearn the old; (b) strengthening intentions to change and goal substitution; and (c) automating
unlearning processes (requiring frequent unlearning of negative behavior and replacing it with a
more positive goal). For example, while the Managing for Racial Equity curriculum is scheduled
on a monthly basis over the course of a year, individuals should still continue to learn about how
to manage for racial equity on a regular basis.
At the managerial level, the responsibility of accountability to racial equity is three-fold:
holding supervisees accountable, holding themselves accountable, and holding their leaders
accountable. Managers must demonstrate commitment to racial equity or else risk what “[Boston
Consulting Group] found that employees were nearly three times more likely to look for jobs
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elsewhere if they perceived a lack of commitment by direct managers to diversity and inclusion”
(Hughes, 2021). Managers can demonstrate commitment by setting individual level racial equity
goals (like changing behaviors perceived as microaggressions or committing to staying current
on racial issues) together and holding their supervisees accountable vis-à-vis ongoing coaching.
Towler (2019) suggests establishing frequent short-term goals that are both challenging and
meaningful to support supervisees in achieving their goals. Sonnentag et al. (2021) specify
supporting self-regulatory strategies and vigilant monitoring as effective means for conquering
unwanted habits at the workplace (p. 19).
Managers can hold themselves accountable by practicing critical self-reflection of their
racial identity and positionality and being transparent and communicative about their own racial
equity goals. Silverthorn (2021) offers:
If you are committing to this work as an antiracist leader, there are 10 questions I would
like you to answer, specifically when it comes to what much of the antiracist
conversation has centered on: Black people in the American workplace.
1. How do you define an antiracist organization?
2. Who are your antiracist initiatives supporting?
3. Are you centering this work on those who are marginalized, not on those who
have succeeded?
4. Are you leading the work yourself or relying on your Black employees to do
the work for you?
5. Do you know who the supporters and the detractors are on your team?
6. Have you stopped doing what’s not working?
7. Does your data demonstrate inequity?
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8. Have you set your goals?
9. Have you set out competencies for success?
10. Do you have the courage to do the work? (pp.36–38)
Seriously considering these questions can illuminate opportunities and lead to some concrete
action steps for advancing racial equity. Holmes (2016) recommends five steps in connecting
diversity to performance including: (a) clarify the benefits of diversity (or racial equity,
specifically); (b) identify SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timebound)
goals; (c) develop action plans; (d) define performance expectations; and (e) evaluate impact on
performance. For example, one racial equity goal may be to clarify the benefit of pay equity and
take two specific actions aimed at supporting pay equity such as publicly posting the salary range
in job descriptions and not asking job applicants for salary history. A date could be set by which
every job description should include salary information and the questions asking job applicants
about salary history removed. The expectation could be for 100% compliance from every
manager posting a position. The impact could be measured by comparing the applicant pools and
new hires disaggregated by race prior to the change being implemented to the same data after the
change is implemented.
Finally, managers can hold their leaders of their organizations accountable to racial
equity goals by shaping and enforcing antiracist policies and practices related to the recruitment,
hiring, retention, and advancement of racially minoritized employees. At the organizational
level, examples of racial equity goals could be linking goals to executive compensation and
hiring goals (Estrada, 2020), elevating Black women to leadership positions and comprehensive
anti-bias training for all employees (Frye, 2020). For example, Starbucks linked executive
compensation to DEI goals beginning in the 2021 fiscal year and “set a goal of Black,
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Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) representation of at least 30% at all corporate levels
and at least 40% at all retail and manufacturing roles by 2025” (Estrada, 2020). While Starbucks
succinctly provides examples of racial equity goals, the work required to achieve those goals
should not be underestimated. Patel (2021) puts is best:
Anti-racism remains a collective imperative; it is everyone's business, and collective
responsibility, genuine solidarity and participation are essential –declarations of allyship
and good intent simply do not suffice. It demands a collective drive for change and a
long-term commitment, which requires courage, humility and stamina. Institutionalizing
anti-racism praxis is meant to take time, and it is meant to be hard work. (p. 17)
By conceptualizing racism as automated knowledge, we can supplant antiracist behaviors
through a multidimensional approach combining aspects of effective performance management
including SMART goal setting, continuous coaching and feedback, and linking racial equity
goals to individual performance and organizational goals.
Summary of the Curriculum Content
In summary, an overview of the Managing for Racial Equity curriculum is useful through
the framework of different types of knowledge, as each type of knowledge is taught and assessed
differently. Krathwohl (2002) offers a revised taxonomy of educational objectives that has two
dimensions—the knowledge dimension and the cognitive process dimension (p. 214). The
cognitive process dimension includes six categories in order from simple to complex including
remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create (Krathwohl, 2002, p. 215). Along the
knowledge dimensions, Krathwohl (2002) outlines four knowledge types:
1. Factual knowledge includes basic elements like knowledge of terminology and
specific details (p. 214). For example, in Managing for Racial Equity, learners will
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need to know the term “racial equity”.
2. Conceptual knowledge includes knowledge of the “interrelationships among the basic
elements within a larger structure that enable them to function together” (Krathwohl,
2002, p. 214). For example, simply talking about race without also talking about
racism denies the ways in which the two are inextricably linked (Harper, 2012). Or,
as Coates (2015) describes, “race is the child of racism, not the father” (p. 7).
3. Procedural knowledge includes “how to do something” (Krathwohl, 2002, p. 214). In
the most simplified terms, the Managing for Racial Equity curriculum is about how to
be an antiracist manager. Although, as we will see, the curriculum in its entirety will
encompass all types of knowledge and not just procedural.
4. Metacognitive knowledge is “knowledge of cognition in general as well as awareness
and knowledge of one’s own cognition” which can include strategic, contextual, and
self-knowledge. (Krathwohl, 2002, p. 214)

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Table 5
Managing for Racial Equity Content: Knowledge Types
Knowledge type
Topic Factual Conceptual Procedural Metacognitive
Recognize your racial identity and
positionality
✔ ✔ ✔
Analyze your workplace culture
and climate
✔ ✔
Engage emotions and facilitate
constructive conversations about
race
✔
Mitigate microaggressions,
stereotype threat, and imposter
syndrome
✔
Rectify racial privilege and power
dynamics
✔ ✔
Transform recruitment and hiring ✔
Transform retention and
advancement
✔
Hold yourself and others
accountable to racial equity
✔ ✔

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Chapter Three: The Learning Environment and the Learners
A critical step in designing curriculum is to analyze the learning environment and the
learners. According to Smith and Ragan (2004), the learning environment or learning system is
made up of “all factors that affect and are affected by the learning that takes place” (p. 49). The
learning environment can include but is not limited to the learners themselves, the facilitators,
the curriculum content, the equipment needed (computers, tables, and chairs, etc.), the space
(whether physical or virtual), and how all of this is situated within a particular organizational
context. Similarly, considering the learner characteristics of your intended audience is necessary
to ensure your design and content are appropriate (Smith & Ragan, 2004, p. 58).
Description of the Learning Environment
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, a tidal wave of companies were readily declaring
“Black Lives Matter” and making various racial justice pledges and statements (Friedman, 2020;
Jan et al., 2021). Pledges ranged from Adidas saying it will fill at least 30% of all their open
positions with Black or Latinx candidates to YouTube investing $100 million to fund Black
creatives (Friedman, 2020). An analysis by the Washington Post found that the 50 biggest, public
companies in the United States pledged an unprecedented $49.5 billion since Floyd’s murder in
May of 2020—although there is no overarching entity holding companies accountable to their
commitments or requiring them to show impact (Jan et al., 2021). While some organizations
espouse racial justice as a value and others can make significant financial commitments
supposedly intended to invest and lift up Black people and communities, diversity, equity, and
inclusion topics are on trend right now. However, Krauss et al. (2022) argue that the narrative of
racial progress in the United States can actually limit real progress toward DEI goals in four
distinct ways by: (a) envisioning organizations as race neutral; (b) creating barriers to complex,
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cross-racial discussions about racial equity; (c) advancing less effective policy changes; and (d)
reducing urgency towards DEI goals (p. 109). This unique moment in time is perhaps the most
critical consideration for the learning environment.
Some additional considerations would be: What is the racial composition of the facilitator
team in comparison to that of the learners? What do racial justice statements or commitments by
the organization say (if any)? And what are some of the racial narratives that occur within the
organization? Answers to these questions would need to be known ahead of time in order to
customize the Managing for Racial Equity curriculum.
Instructor Characteristics
As for the instructors of the Managing for Racial Equity curriculum, they will need to be
on one hand experts in current racial literacy, have significant experience in the diversity, equity,
and inclusion landscape, and highly skillful at intergroup dialogue. On the other hand, instructors
must see themselves as a facilitator responsible for the learning of the group, an agent for social
justice and racial justice specifically, and an active ally to minoritized communities. Instructors
will also need to practice and role model cultural humility. Foronda (2020) describes cultural
humility as one’s ability to “[recognize] diversity and power imbalances among individuals,
groups, or communities, with the actions of being open, self-aware, egoless, flexible, [exude]
respect and supportive interactions, [and focus] on both self and other to formulate a tailored
response” (Foronda, 2020, p. 9). Finally, instructors would have to be fairly adept at working
with technology that supports the synchronous, virtual learning environment.
Existing Curricula/Programs
Organizations that sponsor the proposed curriculum may or may not have existing
programs relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion. If there is an existing DEI program, the
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content of the existing curriculum would have to be reviewed to determine whether or not the
Managing for Racial Equity (MRE) curriculum is complimentary or not. If the MRE curriculum
complements the existing DEI curriculum, then the next decision would be to determine how to
offer each program and to whom so as not to be duplicative but rather intentional and strategic. If
the MRE curriculum does not complement the existing DEI curriculum, then a plan for phasing
out the DEI curriculum and phasing in the Managing for Racial Equity curriculum would have to
be created in collaboration with the organization. The following questions can serve as a starting
point to determine if and how the Managing for Racial Equity curriculum and existing DEI
curriculum will work together.
● Does the existing DEI curriculum focus on race?
● Is the existing DEI curriculum explicitly designed to best serve learners in mid-level
manager roles?
● Does the existing DEI curriculum define racial equity?
● Is one of the goals of the existing DEI curriculum to inspire antiracist organizations?
Equipment, Technology and Classroom Facilities
Different equipment and technology are required for the in-person and virtual
components of the proposed program. Ideally, each participant would have their own computer
with a camera and microphone, reliable, high speed internet access, and access to the same
virtual meeting platform like Zoom or something similar for the virtual part of the program. As
for the in-person portion, a room equipped with a computer or station to connect a computer
attached to a large screen that all participants can view is necessary. Tables and chairs set up in a
way conducive to small group discussions and activities is also desirable for direct
communication and collaboration. A well-ventilated space with temperature control and natural
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light are also preferred. And finally, all spaces, virtual and physical, must be compatible to and
compliant with the American Disabilities Act (ADA). Digital accessibility will adhere to the
guidelines put forth for “Creating Accessible Content” and in-person accessibility of the content
will adhere to guidelines put forth for “Effective Communication” by the University of Southern
California (University of Southern California, n.d.).
Learner Characteristics
According to Smith and Ragan (2004), “information on learner characteristics may help
the designer create effective, efficient, and interesting instructional materials” (p. 70). While
some learner characteristics specific to a particular organization may be informative, the
following section offers the broadest stroke of insight into who mid-level managers are in the
United States in 2022. To start with, there are over 1.5 million managers currently employed in
the United States (Zippia, 2021), and is expected to grow 9% from 2020 to 2030 which translates
to approximately 906,800 new jobs (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021). As of December
2021, the top five industries hiring managers were retail, Fortune 500 companies, hospitality,
professional, and finance (Zippia, 2021).
Primarily based on Smith and Ragan’s (2004) outline of learner characteristics, an
overview of some cognitive, physiological, affective, and social characteristics are described
next (pp. 69–70).
Cognitive Characteristics
Cognitive characteristics can range from general aptitudes to specific prior knowledge
(Smith & Ragan, 2004, p. 69). For the purposes of this curriculum, I have included some general
aptitudes associated with the mid-level manager role and specific prior knowledge related to
racial equity.
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General Aptitudes
Whether based on single or multiple factors, “an aptitude is an ability related to readiness
or facility to learn or achieve” (Smith & Ragan, 2004, p. 61). Some general aptitudes we might
expect from mid-level managers are their abilities to communicate effectively and navigate
power dynamics within organizations. For example, Jaser (2021) describes, “a manager in the
middle of hierarchical layers builds relationships with those at the top (from a position of
followership and lower power) and with the people at the bottom (from a position of leadership
and higher power)”. There are at least four types of middle managers or “connecting leaders”:
the Janus (empathizes with both sides), the Broker (negotiates with both sides), the Conduit
(speaks up for others), and the Tightrope Walker (critical thinker who appraises both sides of
dilemmas) (Jaser, 2021).
Similarly, Ancich and Hirsh (2017) conceptualizes the power dynamic that mid-level
managers find themselves caught in as “a bidirectional vertical orientation is frequently engaging
in vertical code-switching, which we define as the act of alternating between behavioral patterns
directed toward higher-power and lower-power interaction partners” (p. 663) The constant
pivoting and uncertainty can, in some cases, lead to role conflict and anxiety—and even
potentially to negative health outcomes (Ancich & Hirsch, 2017).
Specific Prior Knowledge
One of the most important considerations in designing this curriculum is what learners
already know about the subject matter or what is their specific prior knowledge (Smith & Ragan,
2004, p. 69). For example, Berraies (2020) says managers need to develop cultural intelligence
(CQ) or “an individual’s ability that helps [them] to recognize the specificities of a multitude of
cultures, to understand and to adapt to cross-cultural contexts” (p. 1017). CQ exists at cognitive,
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metacognitive, motivational, and behavioral levels and can enable middle managers to cultivate a
collaborative climate, increase effective knowledge sharing, and ultimately result in increased
innovation (Berraies, 2020). While CQ might be one way to gauge a learner's specific prior
knowledge, another could be a simple survey asking participants to share what they know about
key concepts like diversity, racial equity, and inclusion.
Self-Efficacy
According to Bandura (1995) “perceived self-efficacy refers to beliefs in one's
capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective
situations. Efficacy beliefs influence how people think, feel, motivate themselves, and act” (p. 2).
Self-efficacy takes specific prior knowledge a step further in gauging not only what they might
know about the subject area, but how confident they are about what they know. Some sample
questions to ask potential participants could be: How comfortable or confident are you in being
able to talk about race and racism in the workplace? How comfortable or confident are you in
taking action to mitigate racism in the workplace?
Physiological Characteristics
Physiological characteristics can include sensory perception, general health, and age
(Smith & Ragan, 2004, p. 70). For example, the average age of an employed manager is 44 years
old (Zippia, 2021). While age is a physiological characteristic, “an individual’s age is one of the
most common predictors of differences in attitudes and behaviors” (Pew Research Center, 2015,
para. 2). Based on the average manager’s age of 44 years old, managers are likely part of
Generation X or the millennial generation (Pew Research Center, 2018), or even the
microgeneration between those known as xennials (Lebowitz & Akhtar, 2019).

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Affective Characteristics
According to Smith and Ragan (2004), affective characteristics can range from interests
or motivation to anxiety levels and attributions of success (p. 70). According to the Society for
Human Resource Management (SHRM), middle managers are not happy (Wilkie, 2020). For
example, a study conducted by researchers from Columbia University found that 18% of
supervisors and managers reported symptoms of depression as compared to 12% of blue collar
workers and 11% of owners and executives (Wilkie, 2020).
Social Characteristics
Social characteristics of learners for this curriculum that are critical to consider include
(in alphabetical order) gender identity, racial identity, and socioeconomic status. Not only should
each individual social identity be considered, but also the unique intersection of them and how
that may inform the lived experiences of the learners.
Gender Identity
According to Zippia (2021), “46.1% of all managers are women, while 50.2% are men”
(Zippia, 2021). Gender identity, however, can also include categories beyond women and men.
Matsuno and Budge (2017) describe gender identity as “a person’s internal sense of one’s own
gender, as it is privately experienced in one’s self-awareness of being along/outside a gender
continuum” (p.117).
Racial Identity
Again according to Zippia, the racial demographic breaks down as follows from the
smallest to largest representation: Unknown (2.1%), Black or African American (6.0%), Asian
(6.2%), Hispanic or Latino (14.4%), and White (70.8%) as shown in Figure 2 (Zippia, 2021).

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Figure 2
Managers by Race

Note. Adapted from https://www.zippia.com/manager-jobs/demographics. Copyright 2022 by
Zippia, Inc.

Socioeconomic Status
According to the American Psychological Association (2022), socioeconomic status “is
the social standing or class of an individual or group… often measured as a combination of
education, income and occupation” (para. 1). With regards to education, 49% of managers have a
Bachelor's Degree, 18% of managers have an Associate Degree, and 17% of managers have a
High School Diploma” (Zippia, 2021). With regards to income, the average manager salary is
$72,000, but can greatly vary by state; the average salary for managers in Utah is just under
$47,000 but over $105,000 in New Jersey (Zippia, 2021). It is also critical to note that there are
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differences in the median manager income by race with Asian managers leading with a median
income of $68,695, followed by White managers at $66,957, Latinx managers at $64,608, and
Black or African American managers at $62,404 (Zippia, 2021).
Implications for Design
In light of the previous sections on the learning environment and learner characteristics,
the following implications for curriculum design are discussed: (a) grouping and racial power
dynamics; (b) practice and feedback; and (c) reinforcement and support.
Grouping and Racial Power Dynamics
Given that the name of the curriculum is Managing for Racial Equity, we want to ensure
that we are managing the implementation of the curriculum to achieve equity by the way we
work with learners. To that end, I will be using what Goodman and Jackson (2011) call a “race-
centered, limited intersectional approach” so as not to lose the salience of race and acknowledge
and practice the concept of intersectionality (p. 226). Knowing the racial demographics of the
group will likely be majority White, it will be critical to have strong discussion agreements so
that white fragility does not consume the majority of the time or obstruct the learning process for
racially minoritized participants. White fragility can be an array of defensive reactions that White
people can have when racialized worldviews, positions, or advantages are questioned or
challenged (DiAngelo, 2018). Whenever breakout groups are utilized, it will be important to
balance creating racially diverse breakout groups with not allowing groups with only one person
of color to avoid feelings of isolation or tokenization.
Practice and Feedback
Practice and feedback in sessions will be critical, especially if the self-efficacy of learners
on the subject matter is low. Opportunities to invoke the discussion agreements in session will be
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role modeled by facilitators and practiced by participants. Furthermore, facilitators can role
model giving constructive feedback in session to themselves to demonstrate vulnerability and of
learners within the context of having cultivated a brave learning space. Learners should also have
the opportunity to practice giving feedback to the facilitator and to their peers as well. This type
of practice and feedback embedded into the curriculum aims to achieve some strategies offered
by Jaser (2021) aimed to mitigate challenges faced by managers: embracing a culture of
transparency and humility, fostering a culture of psychological safety, and encouraging safe
critical thinking spaces for peer discussions.
Reinforcement and Support
Another strategy that Jaser (2021) offers for mitigating potential burnout and emotional
labor that managers face is coaching and psychological support. The in-between and follow-up
coaching sessions will provide participants with an opportunity for one-on-one reinforcement of
what was covered in past sessions as applicable to their current management situations and
ongoing support. Facilitators can also play a key role in providing confidential and/or
anonymous feedback to senior–level leadership in order to ensure their support for the necessary
risk-taking (Jaser, 2021) as managers experiment with new behaviors to apply their learning.
Finally, facilitators may also aid organizations throughout the implementation of this curriculum
to “benefit from tailoring mid-level role descriptions and onboarding procedures to help develop
an integrated and coherent identity [for mid-level managers]. Explicitly tying middle-power
duties to the broader organizational mission may help in this regard” (Ancich & Hirsh, 2017, p.
676).

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Chapter Four: The Curriculum
After considering the learning environment and the learners, the next step is to design the
actual curriculum. This chapter seeks to lay the foundation for the curriculum based on the
literature and expert knowledge and experience and analyze the curriculum from an overall
standpoint as well as by each individual module. First, I drafted a preliminary list of potential
module topics based on my own experience and supported by the literature. Then, I sought the
knowledge not necessarily of experts in racial equity or antiracism, but instead of those who
were known to be effective managers of racially diverse teams as identified by their team
members. While some teams of mid-level managers might not be racially diverse at the time this
program is being taken, the curriculum is based on the assumption that any organization that
implements this program aims to recruit and retain more racially diverse teams if they have not
done so yet already.
Cognitive Task Analysis
According to Clark et al. (2009), cognitive task analysis (CTA) is a collection of methods
to elicit information from experts. Most often, the process of CTA begins with “bootstrapping”
by conducting a literature search on the topic to inform the next stage of conducting interviews
with experts (Clark et al., 2009). Based on the bootstrapping process, a progressive model from
awareness and knowledge, to skills-building, to organizational change, the list of preliminary
module topics included: racial identity and positionality; workplace culture and climate; how to
talk about race; understanding microaggressions; understanding racial privilege and power
dynamics in the workplace; reducing implicit bias in hiring and retention practices; how to
establish and utilize inclusive policies to advance racial equity; and how to hold yourself and
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others accountable. With these topics in mind, I sought the on-the-ground perspectives of
colleagues in my network through informal, unstructured interviews for cognitive task analysis.
According to Clark et al. (2009), cognitive task analysis is useful in the training design
process to “facilitate the alignment between learning objectives, knowledge (declarative and
procedural) necessary for attaining the objectives, and instructional methods appropriate to the
required knowledge” (p. 587). Knowing that there would likely be automated, unconscious
expert knowledge within each person I met with, I decided to go with an unstructured interview
style and prepared to dig deeper as knowledge related to my initial list of curriculum topics came
up. Collectively, three interviews of subject matter experts garnered the following list of specific
learning tasks and supportive information when asked the question: how do you manage teams
with racial equity?
1. Understand your racial identity and positionality, especially as it relates to the racial
identities of the people you supervise.
a. Self-awareness of your own racial identity and positionality must be regularly
reflected upon and communicated to your team. Be explicit about what your
racial identity and positionality is and the ways you use it.
2. Understand the workplace culture and climate. Recognize and utilize your power to
affect it.
a. Celebrate and appreciate racial differences.
b. Cultivate an environment where people feel like they can authentically be
themselves.
c. Make space to receive feedback and celebrate successes on a regular basis.
d. Assess your racial climate. Use data from surveys to inform your decisions.
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3. Facilitate constructive conversations about race.
4. Establish trust in relationships. Work to earn trust from your team members.
a. Make time to connect one-on-one on a regular basis. Get to know them on
both a personal and professional level. Know peoples’ stories. Check in once a
week on the self-care practices, successes, strengths, and challenges of your
direct reports.
b. Ask, what are their challenges and pain points? Understand what healing may
be required that you can help to facilitate. Refer to support services as needed.
c. Understand how the various racial and intersectional identities of each person
and how they may impact their lived experience and career success. What are
the possible implications on their ability to work and quality of work? What
do they need to be equitably accommodated?
d. Role model vulnerability. Be vulnerable with one another so you can lean on
one another.
5. Be mindful of stereotype threat and imposter syndrome that your team members may
be experiencing, especially for women and people of color. Do what you can to
mitigate microaggressions and stereotype threat.
6. Manage privilege and power dynamics with special attention to racial dynamics.
a. Provide a balance of coaching and supervision.
i) Give professional development, support, and ability to try new things
to grow.
ii) Manage up and out if needed.
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iii) Empower your team members to speak their truths by cultivating voice
and autonomy.
iv) Help your team recognize what agency they have to create change.
Incorporate their voices into your vision.
b. Defend your team members.
i) Educate your team members and others about the intersection of race,
power, and privilege in the workplace.
ii) Interrupt microaggressions that your people might be experiencing.
c. Uplift your team members.
i) Provide opportunities for your people to shine.
ii) Share decision-making and be prepared for differing mindsets and
worldviews. Foster collaborative decision-making through one-on-one
conversations and more structured group meetings.
iii) Extend your social privilege and political capital when and where you
can empower others.
7. Transform hiring and retention practices
a. Develop a local hiring pipeline from volunteer, to promotora/promotoro
(volunteer leader), to paid staff member.
b. Consider how institutional racism may have affected what is or isn’t on a
candidate’s resume.
c. Ensure everyone involved in the hiring process has implicit bias training or
understanding, specifically as it pertains to race.
d. Discuss the work benefits of racial diversity with your team.
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e. Leverage networks to increase racial diversity and access expertise.
8. Establish and utilize inclusive policies to advance racial equity.
a. Include diversity, equity, and inclusion responsibilities in every job
description.
b. Examine policies and practices to ensure that none privilege one person or
group over another.
c. Understand the root and rationale behind why policies exist. Ask if it really
serves the intended community. Check in with those being served about it.
9. Continuously center and be in community and thought partnership with (and have
your team be in community and thought partnership with) the most marginalized and
disproportionately impacted communities of those you aim to serve.
10. Follow-up to hold yourself and others accountable.
Overview of the Units
After conducting the cognitive task analysis of subject matter experts (SME), I grouped
and sequenced the tasks in order from individual awareness and knowledge about racial equity
(Units 1 and 2), to specific skills required to be an antiracist manager (Units, 3, 4, and 5), to
strategic practices and policies for organizational transformation (Units 6, 7, and 8). Then, I
vetted each unit in accordance with the literature reviewed in Chapter 2. For example, each SME
discussed the importance of understanding their own racial identity and how it relates to their
team members and Unit 1 encompasses critical self-reflection (Kelly & Bhangal, 2018). Finally,
the position of each unit in the curriculum is also in alignment as much as possible with
cognitive load theory, sociocultural theory, and social cognitive theory which work together to
inform the learning approach described later in this chapter. For example, Units 4 and 5 work in
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tandem to deliver the factual and conceptual knowledge related to microaggressions, stereotype
threat, and imposter syndrome in Unit 4 and then time in Unit 5 to practice the related procedural
knowledge. Finally, Units 6, 7, and 8 move participants towards organizational transformation,
sustainability, and accountability in accordance with organizational learning theory. The list of
units includes a brief description of potential learning outcomes for each unit. Figure 1 is a visual
overview of the units.
List of Units
1. Recognize your racial identity and positionality. In the introductory unit to this
curriculum, learners will co-construct a brave learning space, reflect on their racial
identities and positionality, and be able to define and utilize key terms, concepts, and
emotions related to managing for racial equity. Learners will also begin to draft their
monthly and long-term coaching plans.
2. Analyze your workplace culture and climate. In the second unit, learners will gain
insights into the racial dynamics of their workplace culture and racial climate, be able
to utilize strategies for receiving feedback from their supervisees, and activate their
own agencies to intentionally cultivate inclusion.
3. Engage emotions and facilitate constructive conversations about race. Through this
unit, learners will gain strategies for building genuine trust with and amongst
supervisees, practice engaging emotions and utilizing key terms related to racial
equity, and develop skills like engaged humility and strategic empathy.
4. Mitigate microaggressions, stereotype threat and imposter syndrome. In this unit,
learners will understand how microaggressions, stereotype threat, and imposter
syndrome operate and affect racially minoritized supervisees. Learners will gain
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strategies for interrupting and correcting microaggressive behaviors, mitigating
stereotype threat, and fostering a sense of value and belonging.
5. Rectify racial privilege and power dynamics. In this unit, learners will understand
organizations as racialized structures, recognize their own privilege and power within
that structure, and understand how to leverage that privilege and power for racial
equity. Learners will practice strategies for interrupting and correcting
microaggressive behaviors, mitigating stereotype threat, and fostering a sense of
value and belonging.
6. Transform recruitment and hiring. Here the curriculum begins to transition from
developing individual skill sets to activating agency for organizational change. In this
unit, learners will gain strategies for more inclusive and racially equitable hiring
practices from job announcements, to interview processes, and job offers.
7. Transform retention and advancement. Here the curriculum continues to activate
learner agency for organizational change. In this unit, learners will gain strategies for
more inclusive and racially equitable retention and advancement practices from
fostering psychological safety, to coaching and mentoring, and ensuring pay equity.
8. Hold yourself and others accountable to racial equity. In the final unit of this series,
managers will understand how racial equity goals and accountability can exist at
individual, managerial, and organizational levels. Managers will identify SMART
racial equity goals for themselves, identify key action steps they can take to manage
their team with racial equity, and identify organizational racial equity goals to
prioritize and support.

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Scope and Sequence
A scope and sequence chart is a critical tool in the curriculum development process
(Smith & Ragan, 2004, p. 290). The scope of topics, or specific skills, and the sequence or order
in which they will be covered are summarized in Table 6.
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Table 6
Scope and Sequence for Managing for Racial Equity

Skill Unit
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Co-construct a brave learning space. I R R R R R R R
Critically reflect on racial identities and positionality. I R R R R R R R
Define and utilize key terms, concepts, and emotions
related to racial equity.
I R R R R R R R
Build genuine trust with and amongst supervisees. I R R R R R R
Recognize racial dynamics of workplace culture and racial
climate.
P I R R R R R
Utilize strategies for receiving feedback to cultivate a
racially inclusive work climate.
I R R R
Practice engaged humility and strategic empathy. I R R
Recognize how microaggressions, stereotype threat, and
imposter syndrome operate and affect racially
minoritized supervisees.
I R R R R
Interrupt and correct microaggressive behaviors, mitigate
stereotype threat, and foster a sense of value and
belonging for supervisees.
I R R R R
Demonstrate antiracist hiring and retention processes. I R R
Recognize how policies can impact racial groups
differently and rewrite them to be antiracist.
I R R
Write a coaching plan with racial equity goals including
key action steps they can take to manage their team with
racial equity and alternative behaviors to rectify their
own problematic behaviors.
I R R R R R R R

Note. Previewed (P), introduced (I), or reinforced (R)
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Program Timeline
Table 7 provides an overview of the Managing for Racial Equity program including the
workshops, follow up one-on-one coaching sessions, and points for skill reinforcement and
formative evaluation.

Table 7
Managing for Racial Equity Formative Evaluation Timeline
Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Unit 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Online
survey
! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Coaching
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

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Formative Evaluation
There are two types of evaluation: formative and summative evaluation. In short,
formative evaluation is a process that might occur prior to or during a program which allows a
designer or instructor to make changes to instructional materials to be more effective and
efficient (Smith & Ragan, 2004, p. 327). On the other hand, summative evaluation is typically
implemented after the program and the data is likely used to decide if and how to repeat the
program (Smith & Ragan, 2004, p. 327). Summative evaluation will be covered in more detail in
Chapter 5.
Smith and Ragan (2004) suggest that formative evaluation is especially important under a
number of circumstances including when “the audience is new to the designer” and when “task
performance is critical” (p. 328). To that end, the individual online surveys and one-on-one
coaching sessions are intended as formative evaluation with an underlying structure to measure
learner reaction and learning following each unit. For example, Table 8 provides a visual
representation of the structure behind the individual online survey for unit one. Given that there
will also be a homework assignment following the first unit, the first individual online survey
will be kept as brief as possible to avoid cognitive overload or survey fatigue. A full version of
the online survey appears in Appendix B based on Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) sample
survey (p. 101).

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Table 8
Unit 1: Recognize Your Racial Identity and Positionality Individual Online Survey Planning
Level Component Rating scale item or open-ended question
Level 2: Learning Declarative knowledge I can describe the key terms and concepts
presented during this session.
Procedural skills I can identify action steps that I will take as
a result of what I learned during this
session.
Confidence I feel confident about applying what I
learned to my management approach.
Commitment I am committed to applying what I learned
to my management approach.
Level 1: Reaction Relevance What I learned from this course will help me
manage others with racial equity in mind.
Customer satisfaction How could today’s session be improved?
Terminal learning
objectives
Critically reflect on their
own racial identities and
positionality
Evaluated via homework assignment to write
their own positionality statement.
Be able to define and
utilize key terms and
concept
See Level 2: Learning declarative
knowledge
Be able to identify
emotions related to
racial equity in order to
establish and build
genuine trust with and
amongst supervisees
What emotions came up for you during
today’s session and why?

While the individual online survey serves as an opportunity for formative evaluation
immediately following each unit, follow-up one-on-one coaching serves as an opportunity for
additional formative evaluation and skills reinforcement. Kirkpatrick and Kirpatrick (2016)
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recommend focusing on Levels 3 and 4 in delayed evaluations by focusing on how learners have
applied what they have learned and what results they have accomplished. Within two weeks
following each unit, every participant will have a one-on-one coaching session with a Managing
for Racial Equity instructor which will begin to assess Levels 3 and 4 by providing a confidential
space for learners to seek and receive feedback on their individual management situations and
support for their action plan development and implementation. The coaching session also allows
an opportunity for learners and coaches to revisit learning outcomes from Levels 1 and 2 as
needed which can avoid time being taken away from the synchronous learning session with other
participants who may not need it. Motivational outcomes can also be assessed during one-on-one
coaching sessions, especially important early on in the program and revisited as needed. Similar
to the online survey planning process, Table 9 provides an overview of the evaluation structure
behind a coaching template.

Table 9
One-on-one Coaching Session Planning
Level Component Rating scale item or open-ended question
Level 3: Behavior Action plan development How have you used what you learned in this
past unit in your approach to managing
others so far?

What are some specific action steps you
would like to take to improve your
managerial approach before the next unit
(in two weeks)?

What challenges do you foresee and what
are possible strategies to overcome them?
Required drivers What else do you need to successfully apply
what you have learned in this past unit?
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Level Component Rating scale item or open-ended question
Level 4: Results Internal leading
indicators

Applicable after Unit 5
I have seen an impact in the following areas
as a result of applying what I learned
(check all that apply):

Increase in job satisfaction
Increase in employee retention
Increase in the hiring and promotion of
racially minoritized individuals
Decrease in racially biased behaviors
Decrease in formal complaints related to
racial bias
Motivational
outcomes
Value performing each
critical behavior

Applicable after Unit 3
I value engaging emotions and facilitating
constructive conversations about race with
supervisees as it relates to racial climate,
racial power dynamics, policies, and
practices.

I talk about race, racism, and/or racial
climate in one-on-one and team meetings
on a monthly basis.
Applicable after Units 4
and 5
I value equitable strategies like (check all
that apply):
Receiving feedback
Building trust
Practicing engaged humility
Strategic empathy
Interrupting and correcting
microaggressive behaviors
Mitigating stereotype threat
Mitigating imposter syndrome
Applicable after Units 6
and 7
I value practicing equity-mindedness and
using checklist tools to strengthen and
sustain an antiracist approach to (check all
that apply):
Recruitment and hiring (job posting,
interview process, and offers)
Retention and advancement practices
(cultivating psychological safety and
ensuring pay equity)
Policy enforcement
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Level Component Rating scale item or open-ended question
Show confidence in
performing each critical
behavior
How confident are you in your ability to
perform (enter critical behavior here)?
Feel positive about
performing each critical
behavior
How do you feel about performing (enter
critical behavior here)?
Attribute success to effort Describe what success you have seen as a
result of your efforts.
Develop a mastery
approach to learn from
racial mistakes (i.e.,
microaggressions,
misunderstanding racial
power dynamics)
Learning from racial mistakes is an ongoing
effort.

Delivery Media Selection
After having an overview of the units and skills to be developed over the course of the
curriculum, this section now turns to the delivery media selection. Delivery media can range
from a white board and markers to a computer with internet access to virtual reality. While there
are constantly new technologies being developed, that does not necessarily mean that they are
any more effective at motivating or supporting learners (Clark et al., 2010, p. 264).
Media methods are not to be conflated with instructional methods (Clark et al., 2010).
According to Clark et al. (2010), instructional methods are informed by efficiency or time to
learn, learning, and motivation, while media methods are informed by access, development and
delivery costs, and efficiency or time to learn. In fact, “media are not the active ingredients in
instruction that cause learning, but simply the vehicles by which it is delivered” (Clark et al.,
2010, p. 266). Media can provide affordances to the content and methods of a curriculum in three
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areas: access, consistency, and cost. The Managing for Racial Equity curriculum can be
delivered using a blended media approach.
Access
Online media provides the best way to give the greatest number of participants access to
the course materials. With regards to access, all curricular materials will be made available
online while the content of each unit can be delivered synchronously by one or two facilitators
for up to 30 participants either in-person, or virtually. In-person instruction will likely be more
possible for teams that are geographically located in the same place and thus are more
accustomed to face-to-face interaction and will not require travel. However, virtual instruction
may likely be a better fit for organizations who are already working from multiple geographic
locations and thus accustomed to virtual interactions. In either case, I would recommend that the
first two sessions be held in person if at all possible. While cost implications are described in
more detail later, true face-to-face interaction can be a more conducive space for facilitators to
establish trust with and amongst partners which is a crucial foundation for the program.
While research on whether or not diversity training is more effective in person is limited,
Borneman et al. (2020) observed shifting mindsets in employing digital clinical simulations
(DCSs) with an in-person component; no shift in mindsets were found when a DCS was
conducted without an in-person component.
Findings suggest that the in-person, facilitator lead debriefs following DCSs may be
crucial for learners to not only identify, but to re-imagine their equity teaching mindsets
and practices, such that they may apply these mindsets in future practice. One possibility
is that learners in MOOC [massive open online courses] did not have the opportunity to
explore the mindsets in depth since they did not have a chance to explain and receive
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feedback to a facilitator and peers about equitable teaching. Participants, on average, only
spent 7 minutes in the debrief part of the simulation in the MOOC while they spent 120
minutes in the in-person facilitation (p. 376).
So, it appears that in the case of this particular study, feedback and length of time were key
factors towards shifting mindsets.
Consistency
Generally speaking, both in person and online media provide the opportunities to deliver
the same content and pedagogy to learners across all types of organizations whether they are
delivered in person or virtually, synchronously. However, there will be an organic customization
that I expect to evolve that will depend on who the participants are, how engaged and vulnerable
they are willing to be, and consequently, how the cohort of participants will coalesce (or not).
Furthermore, there will be some key places throughout the curriculum where the content will
need to be customized based on information or data collected beforehand for the following units:
Analyze Your Workplace Culture and Climate and Transform Recruitment and Hiring.
Cost
As for costs, one-time costs may include a fee for program delivery and travel costs for
facilitators and/or participants depending on in-person instruction choices. Organizations will
also need to consider potential recurring costs of meeting space for in-person instruction and the
use of computer equipment and internet access needed to access virtual instruction. In the case of
organizations interested in running multiple cohorts (more than 30 participants), additional
design and development fees may apply in order to refresh the curriculum and customize it to
each group of learners.
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Specific Instructional Platform Selection in Terms of Restrictions
Beyond access, consistency, and cost considerations, there are three factors that can
restrict media selection, especially as it relates to the learning content: conceptual authenticity,
immediate feedback, and special sensory requirements (Clark et al., 2009). As for conceptual
authenticity, either an in-person or synchronous, virtual setting can provide the necessary
conditions for learners to be able to apply their new learning. Similarly, immediate corrective
feedback can be given either in-person or virtually. And finally, there are no special sensory
requirements beyond visual and audio so, again, either in-person or virtual instruction will
suffice.
Client Preferences and the Great Resignation
After considering the implications of media selection based on affordances and
restrictions, client preference will, of course, be a critical factor. Also, so will the ways in which
organizations are choosing to respond to the Great Resignation. The Great Resignation is a term
that has been used to describe the wave of people quitting their jobs under pandemic conditions;
in July 2021 alone 4 million Americans quit their jobs (Cook, 2021). Kropp and McRae (2022)
predict that beyond the Great Resignation, fairness and equity will be the defining issues for
organizations and that diversity, equity, and inclusion outcomes will worsen in a hybrid world
without intervention. As such, clients may weigh the value of offering a fully in-person version
of the program if their managers should so desire and/or the potential appeal of flexibility in
offering a fully virtual version of the program. Should physical health and safety still be a
concern, then a fully virtual option may be best.
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Specific Media Choices
Given the various considerations examined thus far, I propose the following media
selections. For the first two units, I recommend that they be delivered in-person as this option
allows facilitators the opportunity to observe firsthand the workplace climate of the organization
and can be more conducive for facilitators to establish trust with participants. Additionally,
should an organization be able to afford the travel costs of facilitators and participants coming
together, being able to travel may be considered a perk for participants. There is also the
possibility of additional, informal team building over meals and other activities. For the
remaining units and one-on-one coaching between units, I recommend using a synchronous,
virtual platform such as Zoom. Delivering part of the program in this format can reduce the
burden of cost and time of traveling, making the content and coaching easier to access for
participants. Also, it is possible that some organizations are dispersed geographically and
participants who manage remotely would have the added benefit of practicing new skills through
a virtual platform. And finally, all curricular materials and other asynchronous activities to
support learning between units will be made easily accessible via an online file sharing platform
like Google drive or Dropbox. Table 10 summarizes the recommended media, purpose, and
benefits of each.

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Table 10
Media Choices in Managing for Racial Equity
Media Purpose Benefits
In-person
instruction
To deliver units 1 and 2 Allows an opportunity for
facilitators to observe the
workplace climate
Conducive to establishing trust with
and between participants
May be seen as a “perk” for
participants traveling
Synchronous,
virtual
instruction via
Zoom or similar
online platform
To deliver units 3 through 8
To facilitate one-on-one coaching
between units
Can reduce travel costs
May emulate some managerial
settings if participants are also
managing remotely
More accessible and flexible
Online file sharing
platform like
Google drive or
Dropbox
To provide curricular materials and
asynchronous activities
Consistency
Easily accessible

General Instructional Methods Approach
The overall approach to instruction will aim to balance generative and supplantive
strategies, as informed by cognitive load theory, sociocultural theory, social cognitive theory,
and organizational learning theory. Other factors critical to determining how best to balance
generative and supplantive strategies will depend on learners’ characteristics, context
characteristics, and the learning tasks at hand (Smith & Ragan, 2004, p. 145). At the unit level, a
“guided experiential learning” (GEL) design method will be used wherein each convening and
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subsequent coaching session will include the following seven elements in sequence: (a)
objectives; (b) reasons for learning; (c) an overview; (d) conceptual knowledge; (e)
demonstration of procedural knowledge; (f) part and whole-task practice of procedures with
feedback; and (g) challenging, competency-based tests that include reactions and learning
performance (Clark et al., 2009, pp. 277–278). Alternatively, this last element might be
described as assessment (Smith & Ragan, 2004, p. 139). Appendix A provides a lesson plan and
instructor’s guide for each unit of the curriculum reflective of the following strategies.
Generative Strategies
Smith and Ragan (2004) describe generative strategies as when learners are “encouraged
or allowed to construct their own idiosyncratic meanings from the instruction by generating their
own educational goals, organization, elaborations, sequencing and emphasis of content,
monitoring of understanding, and transfer to other contexts” (p. 141). Similarly, Albert
Bandura’s social cognitive theory emphasizes the importance of the social environment in which
learning occurs and the consequent highly influential role of context (Schunk, 2020, p. 125).
With this in mind, generative learning strategies will be especially employed in the early units of
the curriculum as learners engage the topics of their own racial identities and positionality and
their own workplace racial climate and culture. For example, the process of a learner reflecting
on and sharing their own racial identity and what it means to them is a generative strategy that
could also fall within a culturally-responsive and -relevant education (CRRE) framework.
According to Kumar et al. (2018), “within the CRRE [culturally-responsive and -relevant
education] framework, learning is meaningful when the curricular content reflects students’
cultural diversity” (p. 82).
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Another key component of social cognitive theory as identified by Schunk and
DiBenedetto (2020) are around goals and self-evaluations of progress as a personal process.
First, it is important to “develop a sense of agency to attain goals” (Schunk & DiBenedetto,
2020, p. 1). Also, goals should be specific, short-term, and attainable rather than vague, too far
into the future, or perceived to be too difficult or impossible. Furthermore, it’s important to set
learning goals and performance goals differently. For example, learning goals are more geared
towards acquiring knowledge and skills whereas performance goals would be more task-oriented
(Schunk & DiBenedetto, 2020). All of these understandings would be applied to the generative
strategy of learners developing their own coaching plans throughout the course of the
curriculum.
Similar but distinct from social cognitive theory, sociocultural theory can also offer some
powerful generative strategies for instruction. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory highlights the
social environment, which can include cultural objects, language, symbols, and even social
institutions, as a key facilitator for learning (Schunk, 2020, p. 356). For example, the Managing
for Racial Equity curriculum will likely be introducing new language for learners including the
meaning of racial equity itself. Furthermore, Schunk (2020) stresses the role of social mediation
in Vygotsky’s theory and describes, “through social interactions, children are taught concepts by
others (e.g., teachers, parents, older siblings)” (p. 341). In applying these concepts to a
workplace setting, we can begin to see how crucial it is for managers to understand their
organization’s specific racial climate and culture—and what needs to change about it. Schein
(2004) describes, “The bottom line for leaders is that if they do not become conscious of the
cultures in which they are embedded, those cultures will manage them” (p. 23). Mid-level
managers must be attuned to the culture in which they are working in order to create change.
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Facilitators will role model understanding an organization’s culture as it informs the Managing
for Racial Equity curriculum to demonstrate how participants can utilize a deeper understanding
of their organization’s racial climate and culture to more effectively manage their teams.
Supplantive Strategies
While there will be a balance between generative and supplantive strategies in each unit,
the curriculum will definitely incorporate more supplantive strategies for later topics around
hiring and retention, inclusive policies, and accountability. Smith and Ragan (2004) describe
supplantive strategies as tending to “scaffold more of the information processing for the learner
by providing elaborations that supply all or part of the educational goal” (p. 142). The way an
instructor organizes, elaborates, sequences and emphasizes content are examples of supplantive
strategies (Smith & Ragan, 2004, p. 142). Many supplantive strategies can be viewed as
beneficial through the lens of the cognitive load theory. According to Schunk (2020), cognitive
load theory points to at least two types of cognitive loads (intrinsic and extrinsic) that both utilize
working memory which has a limited capacity (p. 211). Intrinsic cognitive load refers to space
taken up in our working memories by required in the acquisition of knowledge whereas extrinsic
cognitive load refers to space taken up in our working memories by unnecessary information or
distractions (Schunk, 2020, p. 211).
For example, Clark et al. (2010) suggest that our minds cannot hold more than three to
four “chunks” of information at a time without diverting our attention (p. 272). This is especially
significant to remember when the content is as complex and multifaceted as institutional racism.
In addition to being complex, the learning at hand also requires some unlearning to happen.
Clark (2009) suggests that the challenge of unlearning automated knowledge could be one reason
why organizations and societies often fail to change. For instance, if the topic of institutional
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racism is approached without first scaffolding some prior knowledge around concepts like race,
power, and privilege, a mind pushed to cognitive overload may disengage. When the mind
disengages, not only will the new knowledge about institutional racism not be acquired, but
automated knowledge around the topic could be enabled like, “Race is an uncomfortable topic to
talk about and should be avoided.” Clark (2009) describes automated unlearning processes
requiring “that we unlearn a frequently applied but negative behavior and replace it with a more
positive goal” (p. 88). To that end, the follow up, one-on-one coaching sessions between units is
intended to provide those frequent opportunities for participants to reflect on potential negative
behaviors and replace them with more positive goals.
Continuing in the vein of supplantive strategies and coaching, feedback can be an
effective tool for learning and suggesting how one could transfer knowledge to other contexts.
Shute (2008) prescribes a number of recommendations for feedback that can help to eliminate
extrinsic cognitive load including but not limited to: (a) presenting elaborated feedback in
manageable units; (b) being specific and clear; and (c) reducing uncertainty between
performance and goals (p. 177). These are some examples of the guidelines that the concurrent
coaching process will abide by.
Organizational Learning Theory
Finally, one overarching theory recognizes that participants are not only learning as
individuals, but as managers within and for an organization. Dixon (2019) defines organizational
learning theory as “the intentional use of learning processes at the individual, group and system
level to continuously transform the organization in a direction that is increasingly satisfying to its
stakeholders” (p. 6). There are at least three points I would like to highlight from the literature on
organizational learning: (a) the process is cyclical (Dixon, 2019); (b) trust and psychological
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safety are required (Child & Rodrigues, 2012); and (c) when organizational learning theory is
overlaid by critical race theory, a strategy for dismantling institutional racism from our
organizations emerges.
First, the process of organizational learning could be thought of in four cycles as
proposed by Dixon (2019) to include the generation, integration, and interpretation of
information into an organizational context (p. 7). The last step before feeding back into the first
step is that members of the organization are then authorized to “to take responsible action based
on the interpreted meaning” (Dixon, 2019, p. 7). In observations based on my work experience,
however, even when the final step is authorized there is still some level of risk involved for those
seeking to create a chance in the organizational culture. To that end, I offer second Child and
Rodrigues’s (2012) approach of “establishing constructive relationships between the various
participating groups based on trust and the preservation of what Edmondson (1999b) calls
‘psychological safety’ for the persons involved” (p. 315). The two aspects from organizational
learning theory that can be considered supplantive in that there is a prescribed cycle to the
organizational change that mirrors the content of the curriculum in sequence. Also, cultivating a
brave space to support trust development and the psychological safety of learners will be
intentional through the use of discussion agreements established at the outset of the program and
role modeled throughout—another supplantive measure.
Finally, the overall trajectory of the Managing for Racial Equity curriculum could be
considered a supplantive strategy scaffolded towards the specific end of dismantling institutional
racism within our organizations. Ray (2019) points out that:
Management and leadership are formulated as White prerogatives, replicating the
hierarchy of the antebellum plantation (Collins 1993) …. From the deep segregation of
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emerging organizations (Ferguson & Koning, 2018) to the enduring Whiteness of
university presidents (Gagliardi et al., 2017) and corporate leaders (Embrick, 2011), race
shapes occupational attainment in the United States. (p. 33)
Given the historical context of racism as it has been replicated in and through our organization,
efforts like the Managing for Racial Equity curriculum are required for organizations serious and
committed to change and social justice. Put another way, Chun and Evans (2018) describe this
“Inclusive Excellence” model approach to organizational learning in a higher education setting
as “[requiring] reframing and deframing of White racial, masculine, heterosexist, ableist
frameworks historically reinforced by practices that perpetuate privilege through informal
practices, processes, and networks” (p. 100).

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Chapter Five: Implementation and Evaluation Plan
Like bookends, intentional implementation and a well-developed evaluation plan can
support the effectiveness of the Managing for Racial Equity curriculum from the beginning,
throughout, to the end, and beyond in practice. In this chapter, key considerations for how the
program will be implemented as a catalyst for organizational change are discussed. Then, an
evaluation plan to ensure feedback and iteration throughout implementation as well as the
monitoring of organizational outcomes, learning outcomes, and learning goals outlined in
Chapter 1.
Implementation Plan
Smith and Ragan (2004) describe instructional design implementation as “successfully
putting designs into use in the contexts for which they are intended” (p. 304). As the Managing
for Racial Equity curriculum design is intended for organizations that have already demonstrated
some level of commitment towards racial equity, awareness of the issue of racial inequity and an
interest in advancing racial equity within the organization should already be present. Awareness
is a prerequisite and interest is the second stage of the adoption of an innovation (Smith &
Ragan, 2004, p. 305). The MRE curriculum is an innovation and not intended for organizations
unaware of the specific ways institutional racism may be living in their organizations. Examples
of demonstrated awareness could be from workplace climate survey data disaggregated by race
or the retention, promotion, and turnover rates of employees.
At the inception of the partnership between the facilitators of the MRE curriculum and
the senior leaders of an organization, a co-development phase involving key stakeholders begins.
Stakeholders are people with a vested interest in the innovation (Smith & Ragan, 2004, p. 304).
During this phase of co-development, the key stakeholders would be senior leaders including
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senior leaders from the human resources department in order to discuss the status of racial equity
within the organization, racial equity goals, the learning and development system in place, a
strategic plan, or any other context that might be critical opportunities to leverage momentum
with the Managing for Racial Equity curriculum. For example, existing data around workplace
climate could be used to inform the content of Unit 2: Analyze Your Workplace Culture and
Climate. Another example could be weaving in the existing recruitment, hiring, retention, and
advancement processes into the corresponding Units 6 and 7. And finally, the organizational
performance management system could be used as a framework for Unit 8: Hold Yourself and
Others Accountable to Racial Equity.
This co-development phase can also serve as a time of evaluation and trial by senior
leaders and leaders from human resources. Smith and Ragan (2004) identify as evaluation and
trial as stages three and four of adoption. This time of vetting by organizational leaders is also an
opportunity for the MRE facilitators to garner buy-in from key stakeholders and manage
expectations. It would also be prudent of the MRE facilitators to determine “(a) the
organizational and decision-making structure; (b) the rules and policies regarding adoption of
instructional material; and (c) the resources available in the adopting system such as time,
money, and expertise” to encourage the adoption process (Smith & Ragan, 2004, p. 306).
Throughout the content delivery of Units 1–8, the diffusion and dissemination of the
Managing for Racial Equity curriculum will occur via the priority key stakeholders of that phase
and intended participants of the program—mid-level managers. Diffusion is the natural spread of
the innovation while dissemination is the formally planned spread of the innovation (Smith &
Ragan, 2004, p. 304). For example, diffusion may show up as key terms from the curriculum like
racial equity or microaggressions begin to become more commonly (and accurately) used in
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conversations throughout the organization. The formal dissemination plan of the skills mid-level
managers gain will be monitored through the monthly one-on-one coaching sessions. Also
during this time, the aim is to garner the full adoption of the skills from the MRE curriculum by
mid-level managers. Smith and Ragan (2004) describe adoption succinctly as “a decision to
make full use of a new idea as the best course of action available” (p. 308).
Finally, between the time of the final unit and the 4 months of one-on-one coaching that
follows, the key stakeholders expand to include senior leaders, human resources, mid-level
manager participants, and their direct supervisees for a final push for an adaptation and
integration of the Managing for Racial Equity curriculum. Adaptation is a phase that involves
identifying what works best for the given context while integration is the use of an innovation
until it becomes routine (Smith & Ragan, 2004, p. 308). For instance, the key stakeholders would
help to identify what worked best from the MRE curriculum and what needs to evolve to work
better in order to fully adapt and integrate the learning outcomes into the organization. Figure 3
provides a visual representation of the amount of effort over time that can be expected through
the implementation process.

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Figure 3
Managing for Racial Equity Implementation Model

Evaluation Plan
Curriculum Purpose, Need and Outcomes
The purpose of the Managing for Racial Equity program it to empower managers to
recognize the racial climate of their organizational context, to interrogate and disrupt the
institutionalized racism that shape their organization’s policies and practices, and ultimately to
change their own management behaviors to be explicitly antiracist in their supervision of others
on a daily basis. More specifically, there are three learning goals that underpin this overarching
purpose. First, managers will engage emotions and facilitate constructive conversations about
race with supervisees as it relates to racial climate, racial power dynamics, policies, and practices
in one-on-one and team meetings on a monthly basis. Second, managers will implement
equitable strategies (like receiving feedback, building trust, engaged humility, strategic empathy,
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and interrupting and correcting microaggressive behaviors, stereotype threat, and imposter
syndrome) to counteract racial dynamics that may be negatively affecting the work climate and
racially minoritized supervisees. Third, managers will use equity-mindedness and checklist tools
to strengthen and sustain an antiracist approach to recruitment and hiring (job posting, interview
process, and offers) and, retention and advancement practices (cultivating psychological safety
and ensuring pay equity), and policy enforcement.
Summative Evaluation Framework
As introduced in Chapter 1, the Kirkpatrick model for evaluating training programs has
four levels: Level 1: Reaction; Level 2: Learning; Level 3: Behavior; and Level 4: Results
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016, p. 10). The evaluation framework for the Managing for Racial
Equity program will be based on the “New World Kirkpatrick Model” which recommends that
the four levels be considered in reverse order during the planning phase (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2015, p. 11). As evident in the sections to follow, the implementation of the
evaluation plan will generally happen in order from levels 1–4, although each level is happening
on a different cycle of time depending on which part of the program it pertains to.
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators
Level 4 Results are the degree to which an organization’s highest level outcomes occur as
a result of the training (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016, p. 60). For example, Recreational
Equipment, Inc. (REI) is a specialty outdoor retailer based out of the Seattle area with a purpose
“to awaken a lifelong love of the outdoors, for all” (Recreational Equipment, Inc., 2022). While
it may seem difficult to link a single training to such a high level, long-term organizational
mission, Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) recommend using leading indicators, or “shorter-
term observations and measurements that suggest that critical behaviors are on track to create a
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positive impact on the desired results” (p. 60). Leading indicators can be either external or
public-facing, or internal and privy only to members within the organization (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Determining Level 4 Results and leading indicators for an organization as it relates to the
Managing for Racial Equity (MRE) program would be a very early conversation at the inception
of the partnership between the senior leadership and MRE facilitators. As mentioned in Chapter
1, an organizational mission and racial equity statement could serve as a useful basis for
determining a clear and concise Level 4 Results statement. For example, given REI’s mission “to
awaken a lifelong love of the outdoors, for all” and REI’s racial equity commitments, there are a
number of leading indicators that could be extrapolated (Recreational Equipment, Inc., 2022).
Table 11 offers some potential indicators, metrics, and methods for external and internal
outcomes related to the Managing for Racial equity curriculum.

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Table 11
Indicators, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes
External outcomes Metric(s) Method(s)
Increase in interest and
applications by job
seekers of racially
minoritized
backgrounds.

Number and percentage of job
applications submitted by
racially minoritized job
seekers

By collecting job applicants’
racial identity information
Increase in positive
media mentions about
the organization’s
inclusive working
environment.

Number of views or likes of
positive media mentions about
the organization’s inclusive
working environment
By using a web-based analytics
tool like Google Analytics
Increase position of the
organization among
diversity rankings.

Rank By participating in a ranking
process like Best Workplaces
for Diversity
(https://www.greatplacetowor
k.com/best-
workplaces/diversity)

Internal Outcomes Metric(s) Method(s)
Increase in job
satisfaction

Number and percentage of
employees reporting an
increase in job satisfaction
By surveying employees about
climate on a regular basis
Increase in employee
retention

Length of time employees stay
with an organization
By tracking start and end dates
as employees give their notice
to leave
Increase in the hiring and
promotion of racially
minoritized individuals

Number and percentage of
racially minoritized
individuals being hired and
promoted
By tracking racial identity of
all employees being hired and
promoted
Decrease in racially
biased behaviors

Number of observed racially
biased behaviors
By surveying employees about
climate on a regular basis
Decrease in formal
complaints related to
racial bias

Number of formal complaints
related to racial bias
By tracking formal complaints
related to racial bias

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Level 3: Behavior
Level 3 Behavior is “the degree to which participants apply what they learned during
training when they are back on the job” (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016, p. 49). Similarly,
Schunk (2020) describes behavioral objectives as “the actual behaviors students are to perform
as a consequence of instructional activities” (p. 110). Taking a cognitive view, Mayer (2011)
offers that while a learner’s knowledge is what changes when something is learned, that
knowledge can be inferred from observed behaviors (p. 16). Defining what those behaviors, or
critical behaviors, are and how they are tied to the overarching outcomes is a crucial step in the
curriculum planning process (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Critical Behaviors Required to Perform the Course Outcomes
According to Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016), a critical behavior needs to be
“specific, observable, and measurable” or pass what they might call a “video test” (p. 51). For
example, in defining the critical behaviors of the Managing for Racial Equity curriculum, some
questions to consider are: What are the specific, observable, and measurable behaviors that a
manager could do to advance racial equity? Can the number of times, quality, or accuracy of that
manager’s behavior be captured and assessed by video? While the intent is not necessarily to
surveil managers, the point remains that there could be a noticeable change in behavior as a
result of the Managing for Racial Equity program. Table 12 provides an overview of the critical
behaviors for the Managing for Racial Equity outcomes along with the metrics, methods, and
timing for evaluation purposes.

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Table 12
Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation
Critical behavior for course
outcomes
Metric(s) Method(s) Timing
Engage emotions and
facilitate constructive
conversations about race
with supervisees as it relates
to racial climate, racial
power dynamics, policies,
and practices in one-on-one
and team meetings on a
monthly basis.

Comfort level of
supervisees when
participating in a
discussion about race
facilitated by their
manager

Number of meetings
when race was
discussed.
Survey of
supervisees
comfort level

Coaching

Self-monitoring

Monthly

Monthly over
the course of
one year

Ongoing on a
daily or
weekly basis

Implement equitable strategies
(receiving feedback,
building trust, engaged
humility, strategic empathy,
and interrupting and
correcting microaggressive
behaviors, stereotype threat,
and imposter syndrome) to
counteract racial dynamics
that may be negatively
affecting the work climate
and racially minoritized
supervisees.

Quantity and quality of
receiving feedback,
building trust,
demonstrating
strategic empathy, and
interrupting and
correcting
microaggressive
behaviors, stereotype
threat, and/or imposter
syndrome with
supervisees
Coaching

Self-monitoring
Monthly over
the course of
one year

Ongoing on a
daily or
weekly basis
Use equity-mindedness and
checklist tools to strengthen
and sustain an antiracist
approach to recruitment and
hiring (job posting,
interview process, and
offers) and retention and
advancement practices
(cultivating psychological
safety and ensuring pay
equity), and policy
enforcement.
Number of racially
minoritized job
applicants and new
hires

Length of time racially
minoritized employees
stay with the
organization

Time to promotion for
racially minoritized
employees promoted

Data collected
via job
application

Data monitored
by HR
Quarterly
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Critical behavior for course
outcomes
Metric(s) Method(s) Timing
Percentage of racially
minoritized employees
promoted

Turnover rate

Required Drivers and Organizational Support
In order to ensure the adoption of critical behaviors, Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016)
highlight the importance of required drivers, or “processes and systems that reinforce, monitor,
encourage, and reward performance of critical behaviors on the job” (p. 53). Reinforcement,
encouragement, and reward are all supportive required drivers while monitoring is a required
driver related to accountability (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). For the Managing for Racial
Equity curriculum, the one-on-one coaching aspect of it aims to fulfill the reinforcement and
encouragement of all three critical behaviors, as described in Table 13. One-on-one coaching
also aims to draw upon triadic reciprocality, a key concept of social cognitive theory which
refers to a model of reciprocal interactions between personal, behavioral, and environmental
processes (Schunk & DiBenedetto, 2020). MRE coaches can be uniquely positioned to reinforce
critical behaviors via coaching using personal, behavioral, and environmental insights gained
through the planning phase, by facilitating the curriculum, and developing one-on-one
relationships with participants. MRE coaches will also be able to encourage participants to
cultivate motivation and self-efficacy.
Self-efficacy is assumed to be situationally specific, dynamic, fluctuating, and
changeable (Schunk, 2020, p. 153). As such, the contextual knowledge amassed by MRE
coaches can support learners in developing self-efficacy for each critical behavior as it relates to
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specific and dynamic situations on-the-job. Furthermore, the one-on-one check-ins between units
allows MRE coaches to gauge learner motivation levels and emotional experience. Linnenbrink-
Garcia et al. (2016) discuss the role of motivation and emotions in learning. Generally, positive
emotions can result in an increase in self-efficacy, interest and value, and persistence
(Linnenbrink-Garcia et al., 2016, p. 230). While the topic of racial equity can engender negative
emotions, like anxiety around talking about race, MRE coaches can help to encourage learners to
work through those emotions and channel that energy towards reinforcing critical behaviors.
As for rewarding and monitoring, the extent to which either or both can be woven into
existing performance structures is key during the co-development phase. Kirkpatrick and
Kirpatrick (2016) recommend, “obtain confirmation from managers and perhaps human
resources during the program design phase that existing reward systems are compatible with
what training graduates will be asked to do on the job” (p. 55). For example, upon completion of
the MRE program and after demonstration of critical behaviors have been identified by MRE
coaches, is a monetary reward appropriate compared to other bonuses offered? While bonuses
may be a more formal type of reward, there are also important types of reward that MRE
facilitators can recognize during sessions. For example, when a participant is accurately
practicing a critical behavior in session, praise and recognition can be meaningful and
motivating.
As for monitoring, self-monitoring can be encouraged and supported by MRE coaches in
the learner’s self-articulated coaching plan. Learners themselves will be asked to identify goals
related to each unit topic and will be expected to report their progress on a regular basis to MRE
coaches. Also, quarterly dashboards with metrics related to internal and external outcomes can
be another monitoring tool and serve as a reminder of how managers' adoption of the critical
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behaviors are designed to achieve those outcomes. As Kirkpatrick and Kirpatrick (2016) note, “If
something is measured, it means it is important” (p. 54).

Table 13
Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors
Method(s) Timing
Critical
behaviors
supported
Reinforcing
Key takeaway checklist for each
unit
Immediately after each unit;
reviewed with a coach within 2
weeks after each unit
1, 2, 3
Feedback and analysis of racial
moments
Discussed with a coach within 2
weeks after each unit
1, 2
All curricular content and
worked examples provided to
participants
Ongoing throughout the program 1, 2, 3
Expert feedback provided During each session 1, 2, 3
Peer feedback provided

During each session 1, 2, 3
Encouraging
Expert feedback provided Provided by a coach within 2 weeks
after each unit
1, 2, 3
Peer feedback provided

During each session 1, 2, 3
Rewarding
Recognition from MRE
facilitators and peers
During each session 1, 2, 3
Monetary bonus

Upon completion of the program 1, 2, 3
Monitoring
Self-monitoring At least weekly, supported by self-
articulated coaching plan
1, 2, 3
Dashboard of metrics related to
internal and external
outcomes

Quarterly 2, 3

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Level 2: Learning
Level 2 Learning is “the degree to which participants acquire the intended knowledge,
skills, attitude, confidence, and commitment based on their participation in the training”
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016, p. 42). This will be monitored using a two-pronged approach
of an individual online survey including open-ended written responses begun within each unit
and completed prior to each follow-up coaching session paired with a one-on-one follow-up
coaching session for action planning monitoring in which learners and coaches together can
discuss and triangulate data from the written responses and current on-the-job experiences to set
learning goals. It is important for learners to “develop a sense of agency to attain goals” which is
what the coaching approach aims to support (Schunk & DiBenedetto, 2020, p. 1). Also, goals
should be specific, short-term, and attainable rather than vague, too far into the future, or
perceived to be too difficult or impossible. Furthermore, it’s important to set learning goals and
performance goals differently. For example, learning goals are more geared towards acquiring
knowledge and skills whereas performance goals would be more task-oriented (Schunk &
DiBenedetto, 2020). The terminal learning objectives listed by unit in the next section provide an
overview of potential learning and performance goals for learners depending on their own needs
and priorities.
Terminal Learning Objectives
Unit 1: Recognize Your Racial Identity and Positionality. Given the imperative to
manage racially diverse teams, managers will critically reflect on their own racial identities and
positionality and be able to define and utilize key terms, concepts, and emotions related to racial
equity in order to establish and build genuine trust with and amongst supervisees per a rubric.
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Unit 2: Analyze Your Workplace Culture and Climate. Given the imperative to
manage racially diverse teams, managers will gain insights into the racial dynamics of their
workplace culture and racial climate, be able to utilize strategies for receiving feedback from
their supervisees, and activate their own agencies to intentionally cultivate inclusion per a rubric.
Unit 3: Engage Emotions and Facilitate Constructive Conversations About Race.
Given the imperative to manage racially diverse teams, managers will gain strategies for building
genuine trust with and amongst supervisees, practice engaging emotions and utilizing key terms
related to racial equity, and develop skills like engaged humility and strategic empathy per a
rubric.
Unit 4: Mitigate Microaggressions, Stereotype Threat and Imposter Syndrome.
Given the imperative to manage racially diverse teams, managers will understand how
microaggressions, stereotype threat, and imposter syndrome operate and affect racially
minoritized supervisees and interrupt and correct microaggressive behaviors, mitigate stereotype
threat, and foster a sense of value and belonging.
Unit 5: Rectify Racial Privilege and Power Dynamics. Given the imperative to manage
racially diverse teams, managers will understand organizations as racialized structures, recognize
their own privilege and power within that structure, recognize how policies can impact racial
groups differently and rewrite them to be antiracist.
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Unit 6: Transform Recruitment and Hiring. Given the imperative to manage racially
diverse teams, managers will recognize how implicit bias operates and demonstrate inclusive and
racially equitable hiring practices from writing antiracist job descriptions, to conducting
antiracist interview processes, and making equitable job offers.
Unit 7: Transform Retention and Advancement. Given the imperative to manage
racially diverse teams, managers will understand how fostering psychological safety, coaching
and mentoring, and ensuring pay equity can increase the likelihood of racially minorities
supervisees’ retention and advancement.
Unit 8: Hold Yourself and Others Accountable to Racial Equity. Given the
imperative to manage racially diverse teams, managers will be able to identify SMART racial
equity goals for themselves, identify key action steps they can take to manage their team with
racial equity, and identify organizational racial equity goals to prioritize and support.
Components of Learning Evaluation
In addition to the two-pronged approach of evaluating learning via written responses and
follow-up coaching sessions, instructors will also engage in a number of different formative
evaluation methods to monitor not only what knowledge is being acquired and what skills are
being developed, but to also gauge attitude, confidence and commitment. Kirkpatrick and
Kirkpatrick (2016) recommend at Level 2 learning to “incorporate a variety of activities into the
training that inherently test participant knowledge” (p. 44). For example, each unit will include
time for instructors to conduct a prerequisite knowledge check and review knowledge as needed.
Also, a practice and feedback portion will follow every main learning activity because
“providing students with feedback on the usefulness of skills and strategies makes transfer more
likely to occur” (Schunk, 2020, p. 249). Table 14 provides an overview of how and when
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different evaluation methods and activities will be utilized to ensure participants are acquiring
the knowledge they need, demonstrate their skills adequately, and have the right attitude, level of
confidence, and commitment required to meaningfully follow through (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016, p. 47).

Table 14
Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program
Method(s) or activity(ies) During each
unit
(monthly)
Individual
online survey
following
each unit
(monthly)
Discussed during
one-on-one
coaching
session/Action
plan monitoring
(within 2 weeks
after each unit)
Declarative knowledge: “I know it.”
Knowledge test/check
! ! !
Discussion
!

!
Individual/group learning activity
!

Role play
!

Procedural skills: “I can do it right now.”
Action planning
! !
Demonstration
!

Attitude: “I believe this is worthwhile.”
Temperature check on emotions
!

!
Discussion
!

!
Confidence: “I think I can do it on the job.”
Survey
!

Discussion
!
Commitment: “I will do it on the job.”
Survey
!

Discussion
!
Action planning
! !
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Level 1: Reaction
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) identify three components of Level 1 Reaction
including engagement, relevance, and customer satisfaction (p. 39). Measuring these three
components will occur primarily during each unit with perhaps one or two related questions on
the survey distributed immediately after each unit. Table 15 summarizes which methods and
tools will be utilized and when.

Table 15
Components to Measure Reactions to the Program
Method(s) or tool(s)
During each
unit
(monthly)
Individual
online survey
following
each unit
(monthly)
Discussed during one-
on-one coaching
session/Action plan
monitoring (within 2
weeks after each unit)
Engagement
Instructor observation
! !
Pulse check
!
Relevance
Instructor observation during the
review of big ideas
!
Survey question
! !
Customer satisfaction
Survey question
!
Rapid what worked well/What
could be better
!

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Summative Evaluation Tools
Summative evaluation is an opportunity to collect, analyze, and summarize data to gauge
the effectiveness and efficiency of instruction (Smith & Ragan, 2004, p. 342). To that end, the
summative evaluation process will include an online survey and coaching plan immediately
following the last unit and an exit interview conducted via one-on-one coaching session 4
months after the last unit.
Immediately Following Unit 8
Immediately following the final Unit 8, learners will be asked to assess their own skills
via online survey. Additionally, learners will be required to submit a completed coaching plan
that would have been started during the synchronous session. Learners will receive coaching
support for four months following the final unit to help monitor, achieve, and be held
accountable to goals set in their coaching plans. An example of the summative evaluation to
immediately follow Unit 8 appears in Appendix E based on Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2016)
sample survey (p. 102).
Delayed Evaluation of the Program
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2021) emphasize that having a well-defined Level 3
behavioral plan is crucial to an organization’s successful diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
To that end, the coaching that occurs between the last unit of the curriculum in the 4 months that
follow, directed by a learner’s own action plan, providea space for practice and feedback for this
behavioral plan. Most importantly, helping managers learn directly from their on-the-job
experiences can be highly effective (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2021). Furthermore, as was
discussed at the beginning of Chapter 1, diversity training alone does not work. In addition to the
coaching support via monthly one-on-one coaching sessions, learners will also participate in an
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exit interview during their final coaching session which will occur approximately 4 months after
the final session. An example of the exit interview guide appears in Appendix F based on
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2016) Level 3: Behavior Rating Scale (p. 114).

Table 16
Managing for Racial Equity Summative Evaluation Timeline
Activity Month
8 9 10 11 12
Unit
!

Online survey
!

Submit coaching plan
!

Coaching
! ! ! ! !
Exit interview
" " " " !"

Data Analysis and Reporting
For data analysis and reporting, a simple and effective way to share and visualize data
can be through using a dashboard (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016, p. 143). Kirkpatrick and
Kirkpatrick (2016) recommend focusing on Levels 3 and 4 to drive, track and report program
status (pp. 143–144). The specific context of an organization’s racial equity goals can determine
which behaviors or results are prioritized and included on the dashboard. Figure 4 represents
potential visual representations of Level 3 data in the left column and potential visual
representations of Level 4 data in the right column.

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Figure 4
Managing for Racial Equity Sample Dashboard
Level 3: Behavior Level 4: Results

I utilize strategies for receiving feedback to
cultivate a racially inclusive work climate.
Job Satisfaction

I cultivate psychological safety and ensure
pay equity.
Employee Retention

I sustain an antiracist approach to recruitment
and hiring (job posting, interview process, and
offers).
New Hires

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Conclusion
Institutional racism continues to be the architecture and foundation from which most of
our organizations are built (Ray, 2019). Simply doing nothing to change this is complicity in the
perpetuation of racism. The impacts of racism are insidious, real, and profoundly detrimental to
the health and well-being of our racially minoritized communities, colleagues, friends, and
families in particular (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). And yet, I remain
hopeful that dismantling racism is possible as demonstrated through the progression of the topics
covered in this curriculum. The Managing for Racial Equity program is an opportunity for
leaders to learn, develop, and implement strategies to transform organizations from racist ones to
antiracist ones from the inside out. Through a combination of synchronous cohort learning
experiences and one-on-one coaching over the course of a year, the effectiveness of this program
will be measured by the actual change in critical behaviors of managers in the short term.
Achieving organizational outcomes like an increase in the job satisfaction and retention of
employees of color will mark the program’s success in the long term. This curriculum is an open
invitation to all organizational leaders committed to advancing racial equity.

119

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138

Appendix A: Lesson Plan and Instructor’s Guide
Unit 1, Recognize Your Racial Identity and Positionality
Unit Duration: 2 hour synchronous session (ideally in-person)

Introduction: This is the first unit in an eight unit program to empower managers to recognize
the racial climate of their organizational context, to interrogate and disrupt the institutionalized
racism that shape their organization’s policies and practices, and ultimately to change their own
management behaviors to be explicitly antiracist in their supervision of others on a daily basis..
The purpose of this unit is to begin with a critical self-reflection of racial identity and prepare
learners for the curriculum ahead through the following learning objectives:

Learning Objective(s)
Terminal Objective:
● Given the imperative to manage racially diverse teams, managers will critically reflect on
their own racial identities and positionality and be able to define and utilize key terms,
concepts, and emotions related to racial equity in order to establish and build genuine
trust with and amongst supervisees per a rubric.

Enabling Objective(s):
● For a given workplace scenario, managers will be able to:
○ Describe the meaning of race, racism, and racial equity
○ Describe the meaning of a brave learning space
○ Describe the meaning of intersectionality, positionality, power, and privilege
○ Be able to critically reflect on their own racial identities and positionality

Learning Activities
● After attention and introduction activities, establish community agreements.
● After introducing learning objectives, assess prior knowledge of the meaning of race,
racism, and racial equity
● Teach any necessary prerequisite knowledge by providing definitions and examples and
nonexamples when appropriate
● Provide opportunities for learners to generate their own examples and nonexamples.
● Model the procedure for critically reflecting on one’s own racial identities and
positionality through written reflection and discussion
● Provide practice and feedback in evaluating how intersectionality, positionality, power,
and privilege influence one’s own positionality.
● Provide opportunities to transfer knowledge to critically reflect on one’s own racial
identities and positionality.

Summative Assessment
● Given questions about their own racial identities and positionality, managers will be able
to define and utilize key terms, concepts, and emotions related to racial equity that
influence their managerial style per open-ended written response and via verbal response
in follow up one-on-one coaching session per a rubric.
139

Lesson Materials
● Access to shared learning space
● Writing utensil
● Activity handout

Learner Characteristic Accommodations
Learners will complete this lesson synchronously in person. The content has been created with
accessibility in mind. All participants will be asked if there are specific accommodations they
require upon enrollment.

Facilitator’s Notes
Introducing and role modeling the community agreements and how to build trust with and
amongst learners is paramount in this first unit.

Table A1 provides the instructional activities and details the instructional sequence, duration,
descriptions of the learning activities, instructor actions/decisions (supplantive events of
instruction) and learner actions/decisions (generative events of instruction).

Table A1

Instructional Activities, Unit 1

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
Gain attention 5

Provide actual
examples of
racism from the
learner’s specific
context. Examples
could include
racial
demographics of
staff by level, rates
of hiring or
turnover
disaggregated by
race, or
microaggressions
in the workplace.

Learners are
prompted to reflect
on the following
questions: “How
are these examples
perpetuating
racism? How do
we manage for
racial equity?”
Instructor provides examples
of racism including videos
as appropriate. Instructor
will transition with an
empowering message to
learners that they, as mid-
level managers, are
uniquely positioned to
transform their organization
from a racist one to an
antiracist one.

Learners reflect upon the question of how the
examples perpetuate racism.
They will self-reflect on if and how they
contribute to the perpetuation of racism in
their workplace and with their teams.
140

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
Community
agreements
20 Provide community
agreements
intended to
cultivate and
support a brave
learning space.
Instructor provides a list of
potential community
agreements and describes
each one in detail taking
special care to note and
acknowledge any racial
implications.
Learners are asked to emphasize any
community agreements they feel are
especially important and to offer any
additional ones as needed. The entire group
needs to agree to them and to hold one
another accountable by show of hands
before moving on.
Learning
objectives
5 The learning
objectives for the
lesson are posted
at the beginning of
the course content
in the module.
In order to establish
relevance and to facilitate
learning, ask learners to
read the terminal and
enabling learning
objectives. Ask learners to
share personal objectives
aloud so the instructor can
respond.
Learners read the terminal and enabling
learning objectives for themselves.
Learners share their personal objectives
aloud.
Purpose for
learning,
benefits, risks
avoided
5 The purpose for
learning and risks
and benefits
associated with the
lesson are
presented.

Benefits: Reducing
or eliminating
barriers for
racially
Encourage learners to
personalize the experience
by generating their own
risks and benefits.
Learners personally reflect on the risks and
benefits associated with dismantling
racism.

141

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
minoritized
supervisees.
Recognizing one’s
own positionality
and agency within
the racialized
structure of their
organization.

Risks avoided:
Perpetuating
racism.
Overview: Prior
knowledge,
new
knowledge,
learning
strategies

5 Lesson overview
that includes a
brief content
outline.

Review of prior
knowledge of the
enabling
objectives:

Describe the
meaning of race,
racism, racial
equity,
intersectionality,
positionality,
Summarize the process that
will be followed in this
unit.

Review prior knowledge.

Describe new knowledge that
will be learned, and
conclude with the learning
strategies that will be
followed in the unit.
Learners can share what learning strategies
they find most effective for themselves.
142

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
power, and
privilege.

Prerequisite
knowledge
25 Definition of race,
racism, racial
equity,
intersectionality,
positionality,
power, and
privilege. Learners
conduct self-
checks of
prerequisite
knowledge using
an anonymous
quiz. Examples
and nonexamples
will be identified
by the
participants.

Gaps in prerequisite
knowledge are
identified by the
instructor by
performance on
the quiz.

Have examples and
nonexamples to correct,
clarify, and elaborate each
definition as needed.

Learners conduct self-checks of prerequisite
knowledge using an anonymous quiz
with general feedback provided to the
group in real time.

Learners reflect on how their own racial
identity, power, and privilege influence
their own positionality.
143

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
Main learning
activity
25 Learners will engage
in a critical self-
reflection on their
own racial identity
formation and
practice
community
agreements in
pair-and-share
discussions.

Prompts to reflect
upon one’s own
racial identity and
positionality
within their
organization is
provided.
Instructor will role model a
race story and share: 1)
how and when was the first
time they came to know
what their race was, 2) any
privileges they experience
because of their racial
identity, and 3) any
challenges they experience
because of their racial
identity.
Learners will observe the instructor’s race
story, then reflect individually in writing
and then articulate their race story in pairs
and practice utilizing community
agreements.

Learners consider how these influence their
current positionality.
Practice and
feedback
10 The instructor will
lead a large group
discussion and ask
for learners to
share highlights
from their paired
discussions.
Instructor will role model
utilizing key terms and
concepts and naming
emotions as they arise.

Learners will practice utilizing key terms and
concepts in discussion.

Learners will identify different emotions that
arise throughout the activity.
Authentic
assessment
10

Learners are asked
to begin writing a
brief positionality
Instructor will share their own
positionality statement with
regards to their racial
Learners will demonstrate the knowledge
they learned from the course content by
critically reflecting on their own racial
144

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
statement about
their racial identity
within the context
of their
organization and
teams.

They are also asked
to identify any
questions or
challenges they
have encountered
while defining the
terms and
completing the
positionality
statement.
identity and in the context of
the Managing for Racial
Equity program.
identities and positionality, being able to
define and utilize key terms, concepts, and
emotions related to racial equity by their
verbal response in follow up one-on-one
coaching session with the instructor using a
rubric, and will have the opportunity to ask
questions about the assignment.
Retention and
transfer
4 Learners reflect on
the objectives for
the lesson and
identify and report
on what they have
learned.
Ask learners to think about
how to apply what they have
learned to their management
style.

Learners reflect on the objectives for the
lesson and identify lingering questions they
have about this topic.
Big ideas

4 The opening
questions are
posed again:
“How are we
perpetuating
Ask learners to identify key
takeaways, and share any
questions or challenges they
had during the session.
Learners identify key takeaways, and share
any questions or challenges they had during
the session.
145

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
racism? How do
we manage for
racial equity?”
Advance
organizer for
the next unit
2 Introduce next
month’s topic,
date, time, and
location
information.
Thank learners for their
participation and provide
instructions for when and
how to engage in one-on-
one coaching sessions prior
to the next workshop.
Learners should complete
their positionality statement
prior to their coaching
session.
Learners can write down questions or
challenges they may have had during the
session that were not addressed to discuss
during their one-on-one coaching session.
Total time 120 mins
146
147

Unit 2, Analyze Your Workplace Culture and Climate
Unit Duration: 2 hour synchronous session (ideally in-person)

Introduction: This is the second unit in an eight unit program to build upon learners critical self-
reflection of their own racial identities and positionality and to recognize the racial climate of
their specific organizational context.

Learning Objective(s)
Terminal Objective:
● Given the imperative to manage racially diverse teams, managers will gain insights into
the racial dynamics of their workplace culture and racial climate, be able to utilize
strategies for receiving feedback from their supervisees, and activate their own agencies
to intentionally cultivate inclusion per a rubric.

Enabling Objective(s):
● For a given workplace scenario, managers will be able to:
○ Describe the culture and racial climate of their organization
○ Describe strategies for receiving feedback from supervisees
○ Identify strategies for cultivating an inclusive work environment

Learning Activities
● After attention activities, reiterate community agreements.
● After introducing learning objectives, assess prior knowledge of the culture and racial
climate of their organization
● Teach any necessary prerequisite knowledge by providing definitions and examples and
nonexamples when appropriate
● Provide opportunities for learners to generate their own examples and nonexamples.
● Model the procedure for analyzing the racial climate of the organization
● Provide practice and feedback in strategies for receiving feedback from supervisees
● Provide opportunities to develop strategies for cultivating an inclusive work environment

Summative Assessment
● Given questions about the culture and racial climate of their organization, managers will
be able to describe strategies for receiving feedback from supervisees and identify
strategies for cultivating an inclusive work environment per open-ended written response
and via verbal response in follow up one-on-one coaching session per a rubric.

Lesson Materials
● Access to shared learning space
● Writing utensil
● Activity handouts

Learner Characteristic Accommodations

148

Learners will complete this lesson synchronously in person. The content has been created with
accessibility in mind. All participants will be asked if there are specific accommodations they
require upon enrollment.

Facilitator’s Notes

Continue to role modeling the community agreements and how to build trust with and amongst
learners.

Table A2 provides the instructional activities and details the instructional sequence, duration,
descriptions of the learning activities, instructor actions/decisions (supplantive events of
instruction) and learner actions/decisions (generative events of instruction).

Table A2

Instructional Activities, Unit 2

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
Gain attention 5

Provide actual examples
of workplace culture
and racial climate from
the learner’s specific
context. Examples
could include
microaggressions in the
workplace.

Instructor provides
examples of workplace
culture and racial
climate.
Learners reflect upon the question of
how the examples contribute to a
workplace culture and racial climate
that does not support racially
minoritized employees.
They will self-reflect on how they
contribute to workplace culture and
racial climate.
Community
agreements
5 Remind participants of
community agreements
intended to cultivate
and support a brave
learning space.
Instructor shares again
community agreements
the group voted for in
the first session.
Learners are asked to emphasize any
community agreements they feel are
especially important to this particular
topic.
Learning
objectives
5 The learning objectives
for the lesson are
posted at the beginning
of the course content in
the module.
In order to establish
relevance and to
facilitate learning, ask
learners to read the
terminal and enabling
learning objectives. Ask
learners to share
personal objectives
aloud so the instructor
can respond.
Learners read the terminal and enabling
learning objectives for themselves.
Learners share their personal
objectives aloud.
149

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
Purpose for
learning,
benefits, risks
avoided
5 The purpose for learning
and risks and benefits
associated with the
lesson are presented.

Benefits: Reducing or
eliminating behaviors
that contribute to a
negative workplace
culture or racial
climate.

Risks avoided:
Perpetuating toxic
workplace culture or
racial climate.
Encourage learners to
personalize the
experience by generating
their own risks and
benefits and sharing
aloud with the group
Learners personally reflect on the risks
and benefits associated with shifting
workplace culture and racial climate to
be more inclusive and share aloud
with the group.

Overview:
Prior
knowledge,
new
knowledge,
learning
Strategies

5 Lesson overview that
includes a brief content
outline.

Review of prior
knowledge of the
enabling objectives:
Describe the meaning
of workplace culture
and racial climate..

Summarize the process
that will be followed in
this unit.

Review prior knowledge.

Describe new knowledge
that will be learned, and
conclude with the
learning strategies that
will be followed in the
unit.
Learners can share what learning
strategies they find most effective for
themselves.
150

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
Prerequisite
knowledge
25 General definition of
workplace culture and
racial climate. Learners
will construct a
description of their
particular workplace
culture and racial
climate together.
Examples and
nonexamples will be
identified by the
participants.

Gaps in prerequisite
knowledge are
identified by the
instructor using culture
or climate data
provided by the
organization.

Have data, examples and
nonexamples to correct,
clarify, and elaborate the
learners description of
workplace culture and
racial climate as needed.

Learners co-construct a description of
their particular workplace culture and
racial climate together in real time.

Learners reflect on how their own racial
identity, power, and privilege
influence their own positionality.
Main learning
activity
30 Learners will engage in
an organizational
assessment based on
formal DEI policies and
practices.

Prompts to reflect upon
one’s own racial
Instructor will present
Padamsee and Crowe’s
(2017) four
organizational profiles:
1) Early Stage; 2)
Diversified; 3) Kindred;
and 4) Advanced and
demonstrate how to
Learners will observe the instructor’s
assessment of an organization, then
conduct an assessment of their
organization’s DEI policies and
practices and discuss in small groups
which of the organizational profiles
fits their organization best.

151

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
identity and
positionality within
their organization is
provided.
assess what stage an
organization could be in
Learners will identify ways they can
elicit feedback from supervisees about
how they are experiencing workplace
culture and racial climate.
Practice and
feedback
20 The instructor will lead a
large group discussion
and ask for learners to
share highlights from
their small groups.
Instructor will role model
utilizing key terms and
concepts and naming
emotions as they arise.

Learners will practice utilizing key
terms and concepts in discussion.

Learners will identify different emotions
that arise throughout the activity.
Authentic
assessment
10

Learners are asked to
identify specific
opportunities and
challenges their
organization faces in
progressing from one
profile to the next.
Instructor will share
observations and
highlight the Managing
for Racial Equity
program as an
opportunity to move the
organization from one
stage to the next towards
antiracist.
Learners will demonstrate the
knowledge they learned from the
course content by recognizing and
describing the culture and racial
climate of their organization,
describing strategies for receiving
feedback from supervisees and
identifying strategies for cultivating an
inclusive work environment per open-
ended written response and via verbal
response in follow up one-on-one
coaching session per a rubric.

152

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
Retention and
transfer
4 Learners reflect on the
objectives for the
lesson and identify and
report on what they
have learned.
Ask learners to think
about how to apply what
they have learned to
their management style.

Learners reflect on the objectives for the
lesson and identify lingering questions
they have about this topic.
Big ideas

4 Reiterate big ideas: How
to recognize workplace
culture and racial
climate and how to
elicit feedback from
supervisees to improve
workplace culture and
racial climate on a
regular basis.
Ask learners to identify
key takeaways, and
share any questions or
challenges they had
during the session.
Learners will identify ways they can
elicit feedback from supervisees
about how they are experiencing
workplace culture and racial climate.

Learners identify key takeaways, and
share any questions or challenges
they had during the session.
Advance
organizer for
the next unit
2 Introduce next month’s
topic, date, time, and
location information.
Thank learners for their
participation and provide
instructions for when
and how to engage in
one-on-one coaching
sessions prior to the next
workshop. Learners
should think about how
to best elicit feedback
from supervisees prior to
their coaching session.
Learners can write down questions or
challenges they may have had during
the session that were not addressed
to discuss during their one-on-one
coaching session.
Total time 120 mins
153
154

Unit 3, Engage Emotions and Facilitate Constructive Conversations About Race
Unit Duration: 2 hour synchronous session (virtual)

Introduction: This is the third unit in an eight unit program to build upon learners critical self-
reflection of their own racial identities and positionality, to recognize the racial climate of their
specific organizational context, and to engage emotions and facilitate constructive conversations
about race.

Learning Objective(s)
Terminal Objective:
● Given the imperative to manage racially diverse teams, managers will gain strategies for
building genuine trust with and amongst supervisees, practice engaging emotions and
utilizing key terms related to racial equity, and develop skills like engaged humility and
strategic empathy per a rubric.

Enabling Objective(s):
● For a given workplace scenario, managers will be able to:
○ Describe strategies for building genuine trust with and amongst supervisees
○ Recognize emotions that arise during conversations about race
○ Identify opportunities to practice engaged humility and strategic empathy

Learning Activities
● After attention activities, reiterate community agreements.
● After introducing learning objectives, assess prior knowledge of how to facilitate
conversations about race
● Teach any necessary prerequisite knowledge by providing definitions and examples and
nonexamples when appropriate
● Provide opportunities for learners to generate their own examples and nonexamples.
● Model the procedure for engaging emotions and facilitating constructive conversations
about race
● Provide practice and feedback for engaging emotions and facilitating constructive
conversations about race
● Provide opportunities to identify when to practice engaged humility and strategic
empathy

Summative Assessment
● Given questions about how to talk about race, managers will be able to describe strategies
for building genuine trust with and amongst supervisees, describe how to engage
emotions related to talking about race, and describe engaged humility and strategic
empathy per open-ended written response and via verbal response in follow up one-on-
one coaching session per a rubric.

Lesson Materials
● Access to a computer with high speed internet access

155

Learner Characteristic Accommodations

Learners will complete this lesson synchronously in person. The content has been created with
accessibility in mind. All participants will be asked if there are specific accommodations they
require upon enrollment.

Facilitator’s Notes

Continue to role modeling the community agreements and how to build trust with and amongst
learners.

Table A 3 provides the instructional activities and details the instructional sequence, duration,
descriptions of the learning activities, instructor actions/decisions (supplantive events of
instruction) and learner actions/decisions (generative events of instruction).

Table A3

Instructional Activities, Unit 3

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
Gain attention 5

Provide examples of the
different reasons we
don’t readily talk
about race at work and
the related emotions.

Instructor provides examples
of reasons and emotions
using videos as appropriate.
Transition to why we must
be able to talk about race
and racism if we truly want
to be antiracist.
Learners contribute reasons and
emotions specific to themselves
and/or their organization.
Community
agreements
5 Remind participants of
community
agreements intended to
cultivate and support a
brave learning space.
Instructor shares again
community agreements the
group voted for in the first
session.
Learners are asked to emphasize any
community agreements they feel are
especially important to this
particular topic. Are there any
additional agreements needed given
the transition to a virtual platform?
Learning
objectives
5 The learning objectives
for the lesson are
posted at the beginning
of the course content
in the module.
In order to establish relevance
and to facilitate learning,
ask learners to read the
terminal and enabling
learning objectives. Ask
learners to share personal
objectives aloud so the
instructor can respond.
Learners read the terminal and
enabling learning objectives for
themselves. Learners share their
personal objectives aloud.
Purpose for
learning,
5 The purpose for learning
and risks and benefits
Encourage learners to
personalize the experience
Learners personally reflect on the
risks and benefits associated with
shifting workplace culture and racial
156

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
benefits, risks
avoided
associated with the
lesson are presented.

Benefits: Reducing or
eliminating behaviors
that contribute to a
negative workplace
culture or racial
climate.

Risks avoided:
Perpetuating toxic
workplace culture or
racial climate.
by generating their own
risks and benefits.
climate to be more inclusive and
share aloud

Overview: Prior
knowledge,
new
knowledge,
learning
strategies

5 Lesson overview that
includes a brief
content outline.

Review of prior
knowledge of the
enabling objectives:
What do we need to
know or do in order to
have conversations
about race?

Summarize the process that
will be followed in this unit.

Review prior knowledge.

Describe new knowledge that
will be learned, and
conclude with the learning
strategies that will be
followed in the unit.
Learners can share what they know
about having conversations about
race and learning strategies they find
most effective for themselves.
157

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
Prerequisite
knowledge
15 General examples of
emotions related to
conversations about
race, engaged
humility, and strategic
empathy.

Gaps in prerequisite
knowledge are
identified by the
instructor through
anonymous poll
feature.

Instructor has examples of
emotions and shares
definitions of engaged
humility, and strategic
empathy.

Learners co-construct a list of
emotions that they feel themselves
or have observed in others when
talking about race.

Learners reflect on how their own
racial identity and positionality
influence conversations about race.
Main learning
activity
30 Learners will engage in
breakout rooms to
analyze scenarios and
prepare a role play to
share in the large
group demonstrating
engaged humility
and/or strategic
empathy.
Instructor will present one
example scenario and role
model identifying emotions
in the scenario and
strategies for managers to
respond with.
Learners will observe one example
scenario by the instructor, then
engage in breakout rooms to analyze
scenarios (identify emotions and
strategies for responding) and
prepare a role play to share in the
large group demonstrating engaged
humility and/or strategic empathy.
Practice and
feedback
30 Small groups will come
back from breakout
rooms and share their
scenarios via role
playing. Other
Instructor will role model
utilizing key terms and
concepts, naming emotions
as they arise, and when and
how to practice engaged
Learners will practice identifying
emotions and opportunities for
engaged humility and strategic
empathy that arise throughout the
activity.
158

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
participants will offer
comments and further
analysis and/or
strategies.
humility and strategic
empathy.

Authentic
assessment
10

Learners are asked to
identify specific
opportunities and
challenges of
practicing strategic
empathy and engaged
humility.

Instructor will share
observations and highlight
opportunities and challenges
of practicing strategic
empathy and engaged
humility.
Learners will demonstrate the
knowledge they learned from the
course content by describing
strategies for building genuine trust
with and amongst supervisees,
describing how to engage emotions
related to talking about race, and
describing and demonstrating
engaged humility and strategic
empathy per open-ended written
response and via verbal response in
follow up one-on-one coaching
session per a rubric.

Retention and
transfer
4 Learners reflect on the
objectives for the
lesson and identify and
report on what they
have learned.
Ask learners to think about
how to apply what they have
learned to their one-on-one
and team meetings.
Learners reflect on the objectives for
the lesson and identify lingering
questions they have about this topic.
Big ideas

4 Reiterate big ideas. Ask
learners, What is it
that I need to know or
do in order to engage
emotions and have
Ask learners to identify key
takeaways, and share any
questions or challenges they
had during the session.
Learners will identify ways they can
engage their own emotions about
race so as to be a more effective
facilitator of constructive
conversations about race.
159

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
constructive
conversations about
race?

Learners identify key takeaways, and
share any questions or challenges
they had during the session.
Advance
organizer for
the next unit
2 Introduce next month’s
topic, date, time, and
location information.
Thank learners for their
participation and provide
instructions for when and
how to engage in one-on-
one coaching sessions prior
to the next workshop.
Learners can write down questions or
challenges they may have had during
the session that were not addressed
to discuss during their one-on-one
coaching session.
Total time 120 mins
160

161
Unit 4, Mitigate Microaggressions, Stereotype Threat and Imposter Syndrome
Unit Duration: 2 hour synchronous session (virtual)

Introduction: This is the fourth unit in an eight unit program to build upon learners critical self-
reflection of their own racial identities and positionality, to recognize the racial climate of their
specific organizational context, to engage emotions and facilitate constructive conversations
about race, and to recognize and mitigate the negative effects of microaggressions, stereotype
threat, and imposter syndrome.

Learning Objective(s)
Terminal Objective:
● Given the imperative to manage racially diverse teams, managers will understand how
microaggressions, stereotype threat, and imposter syndrome operate and affect racially
minoritized supervisees and interrupt and correct microaggressive behaviors, mitigate
stereotype threat, and foster a sense of value and belonging.

Enabling Objective(s):
● For a given workplace scenario, managers will be able to:
○ Describe microaggressions, stereotype threat, and imposter syndrome
○ Interrupt and correct microaggressive behaviors
○ Mitigate stereotype threat and imposter syndrome
○ Foster a sense of value and belonging

Learning Activities
● After attention activities, reiterate community agreements.
● After introducing learning objectives, assess prior knowledge of microaggressions,
stereotype threat, and imposter syndrome
● Teach any necessary prerequisite knowledge by providing definitions and examples and
nonexamples when appropriate
● Provide opportunities for learners to generate their own examples and nonexamples.
● Model the procedure for interrupting and correcting microaggressive behaviors and
mitigating stereotype threat and imposter syndrome
● Provide practice and feedback for interrupting and correcting microaggressive behaviors
and mitigating stereotype threat and imposter syndrome

Summative Assessment
● Given questions about microaggressions, stereotype threat, and imposter syndrome,
managers will be able to describe microaggressions, stereotype threat, and imposter
syndrome; interrupt and correct microaggressive behaviors, mitigate stereotype threat and
imposter syndrome, and foster a sense of value and belonging per open-ended written
response and via verbal response in follow up one-on-one coaching session per a rubric.

Lesson Materials
● Access to a computer with high speed internet access

162
Learner Characteristic Accommodations

Learners will complete this lesson synchronously in person. The content has been created with
accessibility in mind. All participants will be asked if there are specific accommodations they
require upon enrollment.

Facilitator’s Notes

Continue to role modeling the community agreements and how to build trust with and amongst
learners.

Table A4 provides the instructional activities and details the instructional sequence, duration,
descriptions of the learning activities, instructor actions/decisions (supplantive events of
instruction) and learner actions/decisions (generative events of instruction).

Table A4

Instructional Activities, Unit 4

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
Gain attention 5

Provide examples of
the negative
physiological
consequences of
microaggressions,
stereotype threat,
and imposter
syndrome.

Instructor provides examples
of negative physiological
consequences of
microaggressions, stereotype
threat, and imposter
syndrome. Transition to why
knowledge about how these
operate can equip managers
with the ability to mitigate
them from the work
environment.
Learners share their own experiences
with microaggressions, stereotype
threat, and imposter syndrome.
Community
agreements
5 Remind participants
of community
agreements
intended to
cultivate and
support a brave
learning space.
Instructor shares again
community agreements the
group voted for in the first
session.
Learners are asked to emphasize any
community agreements they feel are
especially important to this particular
topic. Are there any additional
agreements needed given the
transition to a virtual platform?
Learning
objectives
5 The learning
objectives for the
lesson are posted at
the beginning of
the course content
in the module.
In order to establish relevance
and to facilitate learning, ask
learners to read the terminal
and enabling learning
objectives. Ask learners to
share personal objectives
Learners read the terminal and enabling
learning objectives for themselves.
Learners share their personal
objectives aloud.
163

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
aloud so the instructor can
respond.
Purpose for
learning, benefits,
risks avoided
5 The purpose for
learning and risks
and benefits
associated with the
lesson are
presented.

Benefits: Cultivating
a healthier work
environment where
everyone,
including racially
minoritized
comployees, can
thrive.

Risks avoided: Poor
job performance,
Lack of job
satisfaction,
Burnout, or
Turnover
Encourage learners to
personalize the experience by
generating their own risks
and benefits.
Learners personally reflect on the risks
and benefits associated with
mitigating microaggressions,
stereotype threat, and imposter
syndrome

Overview: prior
knowledge, new
knowledge,
learning strategies
5 Lesson overview
that includes a
brief content
outline.
Summarize the process that
will be followed in this unit.

Review prior knowledge.
Learners can share what they know
about having conversations about race
and learning strategies they find most
effective for themselves.
164

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)

Review of prior
knowledge of the
enabling
objectives.

Describe new knowledge that
will be learned, and conclude
with the learning strategies
that will be followed in the
unit.
Prerequisite
knowledge
15 Definitions of
microaggressions,
stereotype threat,
and imposter
syndrome.

Gaps in prerequisite
knowledge are
identified by the
instructor through
anonymous poll
feature.

Instructor has examples of
microaggressions, stereotype
threat, and imposter
syndrome.

Learners reflect on how their own racial
identity and positionality influence
their experience with
microaggressions, stereotype threat,
and imposter syndrome.
Main learning
activity
30 Learners will engage
in breakout rooms
to analyze
scenarios and
prepare a role play
to share in the
large group
demonstrating
Instructor will present one
example scenario and role
model identifying
microaggressions, stereotype
threat, and imposter
syndrome and strategies for
managers to respond with.
Learners will observe one example
scenario by the instructor, then
engage in breakout rooms to analyze
scenarios (identify microaggressions,
stereotype threat, or imposter
syndrome and strategies for
responding) and prepare a role play to
share in the large group
165

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
strategies for
mitigating
microaggressions,
stereotype threat,
and imposter
syndrome.
Practice and
feedback
30 Small groups will
come back from
breakout rooms
and share their
scenarios via role
playing. Other
participants will
offer comments
and further
analysis and/or
strategies.
Instructor will role model
utilizing key terms and
concepts, naming emotions
as they arise, and when and
how to utilize different
mitigation strategies, practice
engaged humility and
strategic empathy.

Learners will practice identifying
strategies and opportunities for
mitigating microaggressions,
stereotype threat, and imposter
syndrome throughout the activity.
Authentic
assessment
10

Learners are asked to
identify specific
opportunities and
challenges of
mitigating
microaggressions,
stereotype threat,
and imposter
syndrome.
Instructor will share
observations and highlight
opportunities and challenges
of mitigating
microaggressions, stereotype
threat, and imposter
syndrome.
Learners will demonstrate the
knowledge they learned from the
course content by describing
microaggressions, stereotype threat,
and imposter syndrome; interrupting
and correcting microaggressive
behaviors; and identifying
opportunities to mitigate stereotype
threat and imposter syndrome per
open-ended written response and via
166

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
verbal response in follow up one-on-
one coaching session per a rubric

Retention and
transfer
4 Learners reflect on
the objectives for
the lesson and
identify and report
on what they have
learned.
Ask learners to think about
how to apply what they have
learned to their one-on-one
and team meetings.
Learners reflect on the objectives for
the lesson and identify lingering
questions they have about this topic.
Big ideas

4 Reiterate big ideas.
Ask learners, What
are mitigating
microaggressions,
stereotype threat,
and imposter
syndrome?
Ask learners to identify
strategies, and share any
questions or challenges they
had during the session.
Learners will identify ways they can
mitigate microaggressions, stereotype
threat, and imposter syndrome

Learners identify strategies, and share
any questions or challenges they had
during the session.
Advance organizer
for the next unit
2 Introduce next
month’s topic,
date, time, and
location
information.
Thank learners for their
participation and provide
instructions for when and
how to engage in one-on-one
coaching sessions prior to the
next workshop.
Learners can write down questions or
challenges they may have had during
the session that were not addressed to
discuss during their one-on-one
coaching session.
Total time 120 mins
167
168

Unit 5, Rectify Racial Privilege and Power Dynamics
Unit Duration: 2 hour synchronous session (virtual)

Introduction: This is the fifth unit in an eight unit program to build upon learners critical self-
reflection of their own racial identities and positionality, to recognize the racial climate of their
specific organizational context, to engage emotions and facilitate constructive conversations
about race, and to recognize and mitigate the negative effects of microaggressions, stereotype
threat, and imposter syndrome, and to recognize how policies can impact racial groups
differently and rewrite them to be antiracist.

Learning Objective(s)
Terminal Objective:
● Given the imperative to manage racially diverse teams, managers will understand
organizations as racialized structures, recognize their own privilege and power within that
structure, recognize how policies can impact racial groups differently and rewrite them to
be antiracist.

Enabling Objective(s):
● For a given workplace scenario, managers will be able to:
○ Describe their organization as a racialized structure
○ Identify their own privilege and power within their organizational structure
○ Recognize how policies can impact racial groups differently rewrite them to be
antiracist

Learning Activities
● After attention activities, reiterate community agreements.
● After introducing learning objectives, assess prior knowledge of organization as
racialized structure, white supremacy, and white privilege
● Teach any necessary prerequisite knowledge by providing definitions and examples and
nonexamples when appropriate
● Provide opportunities for learners to generate their own examples and nonexamples.
● Model the recognizing how policies can impact racial groups differently and rewrite them
to be antiracist
● Provide practice and feedback for recognizing how policies can impact racial groups
differently and rewrite them to be antiracist

Summative Assessment
● Given questions about organizations as racialized structures, white supremacy, and white
privilege, managers will be able to describe organizations as racialized structures,
recognize their own privilege and power within that structure, and recognize how policies
can impact racial groups differently and rewrite them to be antiracist per open-ended
written response and via verbal response in follow up one-on-one coaching session per a
rubric.

169

Lesson Materials
● Access to a computer with high speed internet access

Learner Characteristic Accommodations

Learners will complete this lesson synchronously in person. The content has been created with
accessibility in mind. All participants will be asked if there are specific accommodations they
require upon enrollment.

Facilitator’s Notes

Continue to role modeling the community agreements and how to build trust with and amongst
learners.

Table A5 provides the instructional activities and details the instructional sequence, duration,
descriptions of the learning activities, instructor actions/decisions (supplantive events of
instruction) and learner actions/decisions (generative events of instruction).

Table A5

Instructional Activities, Unit 5

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
Gain attention 5

Ask learners to define
professionalism.

Instructor provides examples
of professionalism
supporting organizations as
a racialized structure and
racist policies.
Learners share their own experiences
with organizations as a racialized
structure and racist policies.
Community
agreements
5 Remind participants of
community
agreements intended
to cultivate and
support a brave
learning space.
Instructor shares again
community agreements the
group voted for in the first
session.
Learners are asked to emphasize any
community agreements they feel are
especially important to this particular
topic. Are there any additional
agreements needed given the transition
to a virtual platform?
Learning
objectives
5 The learning
objectives for the
lesson are posted at
the beginning of the
course content in the
module.
In order to establish relevance
and to facilitate learning, ask
learners to read the terminal
and enabling learning
objectives. Ask learners to
share personal objectives
aloud so the instructor can
respond.
Learners read the terminal and enabling
learning objectives for themselves.
Learners share their personal
objectives aloud.
Purpose for
learning,
benefits, risks
avoided
5 The purpose for
learning and risks
and benefits
associated with the
lesson are presented.
Encourage learners to
personalize the experience
by generating their own
risks and benefits.
Learners personally reflect on the risks
and benefits associated with
recognizing organizations as a
racialized structure and re-writing
racist policies.
170

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)

Benefits: Cultivating a
healthier work
environment where
everyone, including
racially minoritized
comployees, can
thrive.

Risks avoided: Poor
job performance,
Lack of job
satisfaction,
Burnout, or
Turnover

Overview: Prior
knowledge,
new
knowledge,
learning
strategies

5 Lesson overview that
includes a brief
content outline.

Review of prior
knowledge of the
enabling objectives.

Summarize the process that
will be followed in this unit.

Review prior knowledge.

Describe new knowledge that
will be learned, and
conclude with the learning
strategies that will be
followed in the unit.
Learners can share what they know
about organizations as a racialized
structure and learning strategies they
find most effective for themselves.
Prerequisite
knowledge
15 Definitions of
organizations as a
racialized structure,
Instructor has examples of
organizations as a racialized
Learners reflect on how their own racial
identity and positionality influence
their experience with organizations as
171

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
white supremacy,
whiteness,
professionalism.

Gaps in prerequisite
knowledge are
identified by the
instructor through
asking learners for
definitions.

structure, white supremacy,
whiteness, professionalism.

a racialized structure, white
supremacy, whiteness, and
professionalism.
Main learning
activity
30 Learners will engage
in breakout rooms to
analyze scenarios
and policies and
prepare a role play to
share in the large
group demonstrating
strategies for
rewriting racist
policies.
Instructor will present one
example scenario and role
model identifying how a
policy being applied is
actually racist and how to
rewrite it.
Learners will observe one example
scenario by the instructor, then engage
in breakout rooms to analyze scenarios
and policies and prepare a role play to
share in the large group
Practice and
feedback
30 Small groups will
come back from
breakout rooms and
share their scenarios
via role playing.
Other participants
will offer comments
Instructor will role model
utilizing key terms and
concepts, naming emotions
as they arise, and when and
how to enforce (or not) and
rewrite policies to be
antiracist.
Learners will practice identifying
strategies and opportunities for how to
enforce (or not) and rewrite policies to
be antiracist throughout the activity.
172

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
and further analysis
and/or strategies.

Authentic
assessment
10

Learners are asked to
identify specific
opportunities and
challenges of how to
enforce (or not) and
rewrite policies to be
antiracist.
Instructor will share
observations and highlight
opportunities and challenges
of how to enforce (or not)
and rewrite policies to be
antiracist.
Learners will demonstrate the
knowledge they learned from the
course content by describing
organizations as racialized structures,
recognizing their own privilege and
power within that structure,
recognizing how policies can impact
racial groups differently and rewriting
them to be antiracist per open-ended
written response and via verbal
response in follow up one-on-one
coaching session per a rubric.

Retention and
transfer
4 Learners reflect on the
objectives for the
lesson and identify
and report on what
they have learned.
Ask learners to think about
how to apply what they have
learned to their one-on-one
and team meetings.
Learners reflect on the objectives for the
lesson and identify lingering questions
they have about this topic.
Big ideas

4 Reiterate big ideas. Ask learners to identify
strategies, and share any
questions or challenges they
had during the session.
Learners will identify ways they can
enforce policies (or not) and rewrite
policies to be antiracist.

Learners identify strategies, and share
any questions or challenges they had
during the session.
173

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
Advance
organizer for
the next unit
2 Introduce next
month’s topic, date,
time, and location
information.
Thank learners for their
participation and provide
instructions for when and
how to engage in one-on-
one coaching sessions prior
to the next workshop.
Learners can write down questions or
challenges they may have had during
the session that were not addressed to
discuss during their one-on-one
coaching session.
Total time 120 mins
174
175

Unit 6, Transform Recruitment and Hiring
Unit Duration: 2 hour synchronous session (virtual)

Introduction: Here the curriculum begins to transition from developing individual skill sets to
activating agency for organizational change. This is the sixth unit in an eight unit program to
build upon learners critical self-reflection of their own racial identities and positionality, to
understand how implicit bias operates and gain strategies for more inclusive and racially
equitable hiring practices from job descriptions, to interview processes, and job offers

Learning Objective(s)
Terminal Objective:
● Given the imperative to manage racially diverse teams, managers will recognize how
implicit bias operates and demonstrate inclusive and racially equitable hiring practices
from writing antiracist job descriptions, to conducting antiracist interview processes, and
making equitable job offers.

Enabling Objective(s):
● For a given workplace scenario, managers will be able to:
○ Describe how implicit bias operates in the recruitment and hiring process
○ Write antiracist job descriptions
○ Conduct antiracist interview processes
○ Demonstrate equitable job offers

Learning Activities
● After attention activities, reiterate community agreements.
● After introducing learning objectives, assess prior knowledge of implicit bias
● Teach any necessary prerequisite knowledge by providing definitions and examples and
nonexamples when appropriate
● Provide opportunities for learners to generate their own examples and nonexamples.
● Model antiracist job descriptionsModel antiracist interview processes
● Model equitable job offers
● Provide practice and feedback for recognizing how job descriptions, interview processes,
and inequitable job offers can impact racial groups differently and rewrite and design
them to be antiracist

Summative Assessment
● Given questions about implicit bias and the hiring process, managers will be able to
describe how implicit bias operates and demonstrate inclusive and racially equitable
hiring practices from writing antiracist job descriptions, to conducting antiracist interview
processes, and making equitable job offers. per open-ended written response and via
verbal response in follow up one-on-one coaching session per a rubric.

Lesson Materials
● Access to a computer with high speed internet access

176

Learner Characteristic Accommodations

Learners will complete this lesson synchronously in person. The content has been created with
accessibility in mind. All participants will be asked if there are specific accommodations they
require upon enrollment.

Facilitator’s Notes

Continue to role modeling the community agreements and how to build trust with and amongst
learners.

Table A6 provides the instructional activities and details the instructional sequence, duration,
descriptions of the learning activities, instructor actions/decisions (supplantive events of
instruction) and learner actions/decisions (generative events of instruction).

Table A6

Instructional Activities, Unit 6

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
Gain attention 5

Ask learners to
define implicit
bias.

Instructor provides examples
of implicit bias and
resulting behaviors and
impacts.
Learners share their own experiences with
implicit bias.
Community
agreements
5 Remind
participants of
community
agreements
intended to
cultivate and
support a brave
learning space.
Instructor shares again
community agreements the
group voted for in the first
session.
Learners are asked to emphasize any
community agreements they feel are
especially important to this particular
topic. Are there any additional agreements
needed given the transition to a virtual
platform?
Learning
objectives
5 The learning
objectives for
the lesson are
posted at the
beginning of the
course content
in the module.
In order to establish
relevance and to facilitate
learning, ask learners to
read the terminal and
enabling learning
objectives. Ask learners to
share personal objectives
aloud so the instructor can
respond.
Learners read the terminal and enabling
learning objectives for themselves.
Learners share their personal objectives
aloud.
Purpose for
learning,
5 The purpose for
learning and
risks and
Encourage learners to
personalize the experience
Learners personally reflect on the risks and
benefits associated with transforming the
recruitment and hiring process.
177

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
benefits, risks
avoided
benefits
associated with
the lesson are
presented.

Benefits:
Transforming
the recruitment
and hiring
process so
racially
minoritized
applicants can
make it to the
job offer stage.

Risks avoided:
Lack of
diversity.
by generating their own
risks and benefits.

Overview: Prior
knowledge,
new
knowledge,
learning
strategies

5 Lesson overview
that includes a
brief content
outline.

Review of prior
knowledge of
the enabling
objectives.

Summarize the process that
will be followed in this
unit.

Review prior knowledge.

Describe new knowledge that
will be learned, and
conclude with the learning
Learners can share what they know about
implicit bias in the hiring process.
178

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
strategies that will be
followed in the unit.
Prerequisite
knowledge
15 Definitions of
implicit bias
provided.

Gaps in
prerequisite
knowledge are
identified by the
instructor
through asking
learners for
definitions.

Instructor has examples of
implicit bias in the hiring
process.

Learners reflect on how their own racial
identity and positionality influence their
experience with implicit bias in the hiring
process.
Main learning
activity
30 Learners will
engage in
breakout rooms
to analyze
scenarios
(including one
related to a job
description, one
related to an
interview
process, and one
related to an
inequitable job
Instructor will present one
example scenario and role
model recognizing the
differential impact on a
racially minoritzed
candidate and how to
correct it.
Learners will observe one example scenario
by the instructor , then engage in breakout
rooms to analyze scenarios and write an
antiracist job description, conduct an
antiracist interview process, or make an
equitable job offerto share back in the
large group.

179

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
offer) and
prepare a
rewritten or
redesigned job
description,
interview
process, or job
offer to be
antiracist.
Practice and
feedback
30 Small groups will
come back from
breakout rooms
and share their
rewritten or
redesigned job
description,
interview
process, or job
offer. Other
participants will
offer comments
and further
analysis and/or
strategies.
Instructor will role model
utilizing key terms and
concepts, naming emotions
as they arise, and feedback
on the rewritten and
redesigned items.

Learners will practice rewriting and
redesigning a job description, interview
process, and job offer throughout the
activity.
Authentic
assessment
10

Learners are
asked to identify
specific
opportunities
Instructor will share
observations and highlight
opportunities and
challenges of transforming
Learners will demonstrate the knowledge
they learned from the course content by
describing how implicit bias operates,
demonstrating strategies for more
180

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
and challenges
of transforming
the recruitment
and hiring
process.
the recruitment and hiring
process.
inclusive and racially equitable hiring
practices from job descriptions, to
interview processes, and job offers by
rewriting them per open-ended written
response and via verbal response in
follow up one-on-one coaching session
per a rubric

Retention and
transfer
4 Learners reflect
on the
objectives for
the lesson and
identify and
report on what
they have
learned.
Ask learners to think about
how to apply what they
have learned to their one-
on-one and team meetings.
Learners reflect on the objectives for the
lesson and identify lingering questions
they have about this topic.
Big ideas

4 Reiterate big
ideas.
Ask learners to identify
strategies, and share any
questions or challenges
they had during the session.
Learners will identify ways they can
transforming the recruitment and hiring
process.

Learners identify strategies, and share any
questions or challenges they had during
the session.
Advance
organizer for
the next unit
2 Introduce next
month’s topic,
date, time, and
Thank learners for their
participation and provide
instructions for when and
how to engage in one-on-
Learners can write down questions or
challenges they may have had during the
session that were not addressed to discuss
during their one-on-one coaching session.
181

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
location
information.
one coaching sessions prior
to the next workshop.
Total time 120 mins
182
183

Unit 7, Transform Retention and Advancement
Unit Duration: 2 hour synchronous session (virtual)

Introduction: This is the seventh unit in an eight unit program to build upon learners’ ability to
implement strategies for more inclusive and racially equitable hiring practices from job
descriptions, to interview processes, and job offers. In this unit, the curriculum continues to
activate learner agency for organizational change. Learners will gain strategies for more
inclusive and racially equitable retention and advancement practices from fostering
psychological safety, to coaching and mentoring, and ensuring pay equity.

Learning Objective(s)
Terminal Objective:
● Given the imperative to manage racially diverse teams, managers will understand how
fostering psychological safety, coaching and mentoring, and ensuring pay equity can
increase the likelihood of racially minorities supervisees’ retention and advancement.

Enabling Objective(s):
● For a given workplace scenario, managers will be able to:
○ Cultivate psychological safety
○ Demonstrate coaching and mentoring as a managerial approach
○ Implement strategies to ensure pay equity

Learning Activities
● After attention activities, reiterate community agreements.
● After introducing learning objectives, assess prior knowledge of psychological safety,
coaching and mentoring, and pay equity
● Teach any necessary prerequisite knowledge by providing definitions and examples and
nonexamples when appropriate
● Provide opportunities for learners to generate their own examples and nonexamples.
● Model how to support psychological safety through a coaching and mentoring managerial
approach
● Model strategies to ensure pay equity
● Provide practice and feedback for how to support psychological safety through a
coaching and mentoring managerial approach and strategies to ensure pay equity

Summative Assessment
● Given questions about retention and advancement of racially minoritized employees,
managers will be able to cultivate psychological safety, demonstrate coaching and
mentoring as a managerial approach, and implement strategies to ensure pay equity per
open-ended written response and via verbal response in follow up one-on-one coaching
session per a rubric.

Lesson Materials
● Access to a computer with high speed internet access

184

Learner Characteristic Accommodations

Learners will complete this lesson synchronously in person. The content has been created with
accessibility in mind. All participants will be asked if there are specific accommodations they
require upon enrollment.

Facilitator’s Notes

Continue to role modeling the community agreements and how to build trust with and amongst
learners.

Table A7 provides the instructional activities and details the instructional sequence, duration,
descriptions of the learning activities, instructor actions/decisions (supplantive events of
instruction) and learner actions/decisions (generative events of instruction).

Table A7

Instructional Activities, Unit 7

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
Gain attention 5

Share a positive story
that demonstrates
the benefits of
psychological
safety, coaching and
mentoring, and pay
equity.

Instructor provides a positive
story that demonstrates the
benefits of psychological safety,
coaching and mentoring, and
pay equity.

Learners share their own experiences
(or lack thereof) with psychological
safety, coaching and mentoring, and
pay equity.

Community
agreements
5 Remind participants
of community
agreements
intended to cultivate
and support a brave
learning space.
Instructor shares again
community agreements the
group voted for in the first
session.
Learners are asked to emphasize any
community agreements they feel are
especially important to this
particular topic. Are there any
additional agreements needed given
the transition to a virtual platform?
Learning
objectives
5 The learning
objectives for the
lesson are posted at
the beginning of the
course content in
the module.
In order to establish relevance and
to facilitate learning, ask
learners to read the terminal and
enabling learning objectives.
Ask learners to share personal
objectives aloud so the
instructor can respond.
Learners read the terminal and
enabling learning objectives for
themselves. Learners share their
personal objectives aloud.
Purpose for
learning,
5 The purpose for
learning and risks
and benefits
Encourage learners to personalize
the experience by generating
their own risks and benefits.
Learners personally reflect on the
risks and benefits associated with
185

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
benefits, risks
avoided
associated with the
lesson are
presented.

Benefits: Increased
satisfaction,
commitment, and
performance of
racially minoritized
employees.

Risks avoided:
Losing racially
minoritized
employees.
transforming the recruitment and
hiring process.

Overview: Prior
knowledge,
new
knowledge,
learning
strategies

5 Lesson overview that
includes a brief
content outline.

Review of prior
knowledge of the
enabling objectives.

Summarize the process that will
be followed in this unit.

Review prior knowledge.

Describe new knowledge that will
be learned, and conclude with
the learning strategies that will
be followed in the unit.
Learners can share what they know
about psychological safety, coaching
and mentoring, and pay equity.

Prerequisite
knowledge
15 Definitions of
positive story that
demonstrates the
benefits of
Instructor has examples and
nonexamples of psychological
safety, coaching and mentoring,
and pay equity.
Learners reflect on how their own
racial identity and positionality
influence their experience with
186

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
psychological
safety, coaching and
mentoring, and pay
equity.

Gaps in prerequisite
knowledge are
identified by the
instructor through
anonymous quiz.

psychological safety, coaching and
mentoring, and pay equity.

Main learning
activity
30 Learners will engage
in breakout rooms
to analyze scenarios
(including one
related
psychological
safety, one related
to coaching and
mentoring, and one
related to pay
equity) and prepare
a step-by-step
action plan to
manage the scenario
for racial equity.
Instructor will present one
example scenario and role
model analyzing the scenario
and preparing a step-by-step
action plan to manage the
scenario for racial equity.
Learners will observe the instructor’s
demonstration of cultivating
psychological safety then engage in
breakout rooms to analyze scenarios
and prepare a step-by-step action
plan to manage the scenario for
racial equity to share back in the
large group.

Practice and
feedback
30 Small groups will
come back from
Instructor will role model
utilizing key terms and
Learners will practice analyzing
scenarios and preparing a step-by-
187

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
breakout rooms and
share their step-by-
step action plan to
manage the scenario
for racial equity.
Other participants
will offer comments
and further analysis
and/or strategies.
concepts, naming emotions as
they arise, and feedback on the
step-by-step action plans.

step action plan to manage the
scenario for racial equity
Authentic
assessment
10

Learners are asked to
identify specific
opportunities and
challenges of
transforming
retention and
advancement for
racially minoritized
employees.
Instructor will share observations
and highlight opportunities and
challenges of transforming
retention and advancement for
racially minoritized employees.
Learners will demonstrate the
knowledge they learned from the
course content by cultivating
psychological safety, demonstrating
coaching and mentoring as a
managerial approach, and
implementing strategies to ensure
pay equity by implementing
strategies to ensure pay equity per
open-ended written response and via
verbal response in follow up one-on-
one coaching session per a rubric.

Retention and
transfer
4 Learners reflect on
the objectives for
the lesson and
identify and report
Ask learners to think about how
to apply what they have learned
to their one-on-one and team
meetings.
Learners reflect on the objectives for
the lesson and identify lingering
questions they have about this topic.
188

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
on what they have
learned.
Big ideas

4 Reiterate big ideas. Ask learners to identify strategies,
and share any questions or
challenges they had during the
session.
Learners will identify ways they can
transform retention and
advancement for racially minoritized
employees.

Learners identify strategies, and share
any questions or challenges they had
during the session.
Advance
organizer for
the next unit
2 Introduce next
month’s topic, date,
time, and location
information.
Thank learners for their
participation and provide
instructions for when and how
to engage in one-on-one
coaching sessions prior to the
next workshop.
Learners can write down questions or
challenges they may have had
during the session that were not
addressed to discuss during their
one-on-one coaching session.
Total time 120 mins

189
190

Unit 8, Hold Yourself and Others Accountable to Racial Equity
Unit Duration: 2 hour synchronous session (virtual)

Introduction: This is the final unit in an eight unit program to activate learner agency for
organizational change. Learners will identify SMART racial equity goals for themselves, identify
key action steps they can take to manage their team with racial equity, and identify
organizational racial equity goals to prioritize and support.

Learning Objective(s)
Terminal Objective:
● Given the imperative to manage racially diverse teams, managers will be able to identify
SMART racial equity goals for themselves, identify key action steps they can take to
manage their team with racial equity, and identify organizational racial equity goals to
prioritize and support.

Enabling Objective(s):
● For a given workplace scenario, managers will be able to:
○ Identify SMART racial equity goals for themselves
○ Identify key action steps they can take to manage their team with racial equity
○ Identify organizational racial equity goals to prioritize and support

Learning Activities
● After attention activities, reiterate community agreements.
● After introducing learning objectives, assess prior knowledge of setting racial equity
goals and accountability
● Teach any necessary prerequisite knowledge by providing definitions and examples and
nonexamples when appropriate
● Provide opportunities for learners to generate their own examples and nonexamples.
● Model how to set racial equity goals and hold yourself and others accountable
● Provide practice and feedback for how to set racial equity goals and hold yourself and
others accountable

Summative Assessment
● Given questions about racial equity goals and accountability, managers will be able to
identify SMART racial equity goals for themselves, identify key action steps they can
take to manage their team with racial equity, and identify organizational racial equity
goals to prioritize and support per open-ended written response and via verbal response in
follow up one-on-one coaching session per a rubric.

Lesson Materials
● Access to a computer with high speed internet access

Learner Characteristic Accommodations

191

Learners will complete this lesson synchronously in person. The content has been created with
accessibility in mind. All participants will be asked if there are specific accommodations they
require upon enrollment.

Facilitator’s Notes

Continue to role modeling the community agreements and how to build trust with and amongst
learners.

Table A8 provides the instructional activities and details the instructional sequence, duration,
descriptions of the learning activities, instructor actions/decisions (supplantive events of
instruction) and learner actions/decisions (generative events of instruction)

Table A8

Instructional Activities, Unit 8

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
Gain attention 5

Share a positive
story that
demonstrates the
benefits of
setting racial
equity goals and
accountability.
Instructor provides a positive
story that demonstrates the
benefits of setting racial
equity goals and
accountability.
Learners share their own experiences (or
lack thereof) with setting racial equity
goals and accountability.
Community
agreements
5 Remind
participants of
community
agreements
intended to
cultivate and
support a brave
learning space.
Instructor shares again
community agreements the
group voted for in the first
session.
Learners are asked to emphasize any
community agreements they feel are
especially important to this particular
topic. Are there any additional agreements
needed given the transition to a virtual
platform?
Learning
objectives
5 The learning
objectives for the
lesson are posted
at the beginning
of the course
content in the
module.
In order to establish
relevance and to facilitate
learning, ask learners to
read the terminal and
enabling learning
objectives. Ask learners to
share personal objectives
aloud so the instructor can
respond.
Learners read the terminal and enabling
learning objectives for themselves.
Learners share their personal objectives
aloud.
192

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
Purpose for
learning,
benefits, risks
avoided
5 The purpose for
learning and
risks and benefits
associated with
the lesson are
presented.

Benefits:
Becoming an
antiracist
organization.

Risks avoided:
Perpetuating
institutionalized
racism.
Encourage learners to
personalize the experience
by generating their own
risks and benefits.
Learners personally reflect on the risks and
benefits associated with setting racial
equity goals and accountability.

Overview: Prior
knowledge, new
knowledge,
learning
strategies

5 Lesson overview
that includes a
brief content
outline.

Review of prior
knowledge of the
enabling
objectives.

Summarize the process that
will be followed in this
unit.

Review prior knowledge.

Describe new knowledge that
will be learned, and
conclude with the learning
strategies that will be
followed in the unit.
Learners can share what they know about
setting racial equity goals and
accountability.

193

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
Prerequisite
knowledge
15 Definitions of
positive story
that demonstrates
the benefits of
setting racial
equity goals and
accountability.

Gaps in
prerequisite
knowledge are
identified by the
instructor
through
anonymous quiz.
Instructor has examples and
nonexamples of setting
racial equity goals and
accountability.

Learners reflect on how their own racial
identity and positionality influence their
experience with setting racial equity goals
and accountability.

Main learning
activity
30 Learners will
engage in
accountability
pairs to identify
SMART racial
equity goals for
themselves;
identify key
action steps they
can take to
manage their
team with racial
equity, and
identify
Instructor will present a
template and demonstrate
how to set SMART racial
equity goals.
Learners will observe instructor’s
demonstration of how to set SMART
racial equity goals, then engage in
accountability pairs to identify SMART
racial equity goals for themselves; identify
key action steps they can take to manage
their team with racial equity, and identify
organizational racial equity goals to
prioritize and support.

Learners will share their SMART racial
equity goals and develop a community of
accountability with each other.
194

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)
organizational
racial equity
goals to prioritize
and support.
Practice and
feedback
30 Accountability
pairs will come
back from
breakout rooms
and share their
SMART racial
equity goals.
Other
participants will
offer comments
and further
analysis and/or
strategies.
Instructor will provide
feedback on SMART racial
equity goals.
Learners will provide feedback to one
another on their SMART racial equity
goals.
Authentic
assessment
10

Learners are asked
to identify
specific
opportunities and
challenges of
setting and
achieving racial
equity goals.
Instructor will share
observations and highlight
opportunities and
challenges of setting and
achieving racial equity
goals.
Learners will demonstrate the knowledge
they learned from the course content by
identifying SMART racial equity goals for
themselves, identifying key action steps
they can take to manage their team with
racial equity, and identifying
organizational racial equity goals to
prioritize and supportt per open-ended
written response and via verbal response
in follow up one-on-one coaching session
per a rubric.
195

Instructional
sequence
Time
(mins)
Description of the
learning activity
Instructor action/decision
(supplantive)
Learner action/decision
(generative)

Retention and
transfer
4 Learners reflect on
the objectives for
the lesson and
identify and
report on what
they have
learned.
Ask learners to think about
how to apply what they
have learned to their one-
on-one and team meetings.
Learners reflect on the objectives for the
lesson and identify lingering questions
they have about this topic.
Big ideas

4 Reiterate big ideas. Ask learners to identify
strategies, and share any
questions or challenges
they had during the session.
Learners will identify SMART racial equity
goals.

Learners identify strategies, and share any
questions or challenges they had during
the session.
Advance
organizer for
follow up
coaching
2 Introduce timeline
for monthly
follow-up
coaching.
Thank learners for their
participation.
Learners can write down questions or
challenges they may have had during the
session that were not addressed to discuss
during their one-on-one coaching session.
Total time 120 mins
196
197

Appendix B: PowerPoint Slides and Instructor Guide for Unit 1

Brief Introductions

• Instructor and participants will introduce themselves, their pronouns, and their role
within the organization.
198

Gain Attention (5 minutes)

● Provide actual examples of racism from the learner’s specific context. Examples
could include racial demographics of staff by level, rates of hiring or turnover
disaggregated by race, or microaggressions in the workplace.

● Ask, “How are these examples perpetuating racism? How do we manage for racial
equity?”

● Learners reflect upon the question of how the examples perpetuate racism.

● They will self-reflect on if and how they contribute to the perpetuation of racism
in their workplace and with their teams.

● Transition with an empowering message to learners that they, as mid-level
managers, are uniquely positioned to transform their organization from a racist one
to an antiracist one.
199

Community Agreements (20 minutes)

Brave space; accept discomfort.
• Strive to accept the kind of discomfort that happens when you’re on the edge of
learning something new.

Leave the story, take the lesson.
• What’s said here, stays here, but what is learned here can leave here. Do take the
lessons learned away.

Humility and grace
• Let us assume the best intentions of one another and practice some grace for
ourselves and with one another.

Oops & Ouch.
• Say “oops!” when you feel like something you said might have not come out
the way you intended and try again. Say “ouch!” if something happens that
lands on you in a particular way.

“I” statements
200

• Speak from your own truth. Do not expect to speak on behalf of any group
you might represent, nor expect anyone else to do the same.

Use inclusive language.
• If there are any terms we’re unsure of, let’s ask. Let’s offer new terms if we
hear some perhaps outdated terms being used.

Take space, make space.
• Let’s be mindful of the power dynamics that may be at play and may typically
serve to silence some and amplify others.
201

Learning Objectives (5 minutes)

• Introduce each learning objective.
202

Purpose for Learning (5 minutes)

Benefits:
• Reducing or eliminating barriers for racially minoritized supervisees.
• Recognizing one’s own positionality and agency within the racialized
structure of their organization.

Risks Avoided:
• Perpetuating racism.

Encourage learners to personalize the experience by generating their own risks and
benefits. Instructors use this opportunity to evaluate attitude and commitment based on
responses and facial expressions of learners.

This is also a critical opportunity to gauge learner motivation. Ask, “Why are you
here?”
203

If not us, then who?"
204

Overview (5 minutes)

• Share what we know about race, racism, racial equity,
intersectionality, positionality, power, and privilege and expand that
knowledge together.

• Conclude with the learning strategies that will be followed in the unit.
205

Prerequisite Knowledge (25 minutes total)

• Ensure learners that this is a no stakes quiz and designed to share and expand our
collective knowledge on today’s topic.
206

5 minutes

• True or false followed by discussion.
207

5 minutes

• True or false followed by discussion.
208

209

10 minutes

• Large group discussion
210

5 minutes

• Introduce Kimberlé Crenshaw and share quote from Mapping the
Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against
Women of Color:

• “Through an awareness of intersectionality, we can better acknowledge and
ground the differences among us and negotiate the means by which these
differences will find expression in constructing group politics.”

• Rather than go through each of these definitions, instructor will share their own
race story and articulate each key term in the context of their own racial
identit(ies).

• Transition to Main Learning Activity.
211

Main Learning Activity (25 minutes total)

• Instructor will role model a race story and share: 1) how and when was the first
time they came to know what their race was, 2) any privileges they experience
because of their racial identity, and 3) any challenges they experience because of
their racial identity.

• Learners will observe the instructor’s race story, then reflect individually in
writing and then articulate their race story in pairs and practice utilizing
community agreements.

• Learners consider how these influence their current positionality.
212

15–20 minutes
213

Practice and Feedback (10 minutes)

• The instructor will lead a large group discussion and ask for learners to share
highlights from their paired discussions.

• Instructor will role model utilizing key terms and concepts and naming emotions
as they arise.

• Learners will practice utilizing key terms and concepts in discussion.

• Learners will identify different emotions that arise throughout the activity.
214

Authentic Assessment (10 minutes)

• Learners are asked to begin writing a brief positionality statement about their racial
identity within the context of their organization and teams.

• They are also asked to identify any questions or challenges they have encountered
while defining the terms and completing the positionality statement.

• Instructor will share their own positionality statement with regards to their
racial identity and in the context of the Managing for Racial Equity program.

• Learners will demonstrate the knowledge they learned from the course content by
critically reflecting on their own racial identities and positionality, being able to
define and utilize key terms, concepts, and emotions related to racial equity by
their verbal response in follow up one-on-one coaching session with the instructor
using a rubric, and will have the opportunity to ask questions about the
assignment.
215

Retention and Transfer (4 minutes)

• Ask learners to think about how to apply what they have learned to
their management style.

• Learners reflect on the objectives for the lesson and identify lingering questions
they have about this topic.

Big Ideas (4 minutes)

• Ask learners to identify key takeaways, and share any questions or challenges
they had during the session.

• Prompting questions:

o “How are we perpetuating racism? How do we manage for racial equity?”
o Ask for a couple of volunteers to share aloud.
216

Advance Organizer for Next Unit (2 minutes)

• Introduce next month’s topic, date, time, and location information.

• Thank learners for their participation and provide instructions for when and how
to engage in one-on-one coaching sessions prior to the next workshop.

• Learners can write down questions or challenges they may have had during the
session that were not addressed to discuss during their one-on-one coaching
session.

• Learners should complete their positionality statement prior to their
coaching session.
217

218

Appendix C: Unit 1 Online Survey
Unit 1: Recognize Your Racial Identity and Positionality Online Evaluation
Instructions:
● For questions 1–5, please use the following rating scale:
1 = strongly disagree 7 = strongly agree
● Please circle the appropriate rating to indicate the degree to which you agree with each
statement.
● Please provide comments to explain your ratings.
Rating
Strongly disagree Strongly agree

1. I can describe the key terms and concepts
presented during this session.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Comments:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. I can identify action steps that I will take
as a result of what I learned during this
session.
Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3. I feel confident about applying what I
learned to my management approach.
Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4. I am committed to applying what I learned
to my management approach
Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5. What I learned from this course will help
me manage others with racial equity in mind.
Comments:

6. What emotions came up for you during today’s session and why?

7. How could today’s session be improved?

219

Appendix D: One-on-one Coaching Session Template
Unit 1: Recognize Your Racial Identity and Positionality Coaching Session
Name:
1. How have you used what you learned in this past unit in your approach to managing
others so far?

2. What are some specific action steps you would like to take to improve your managerial
approach before the next unit (in two weeks)?

3. What challenges do you foresee and what are possible strategies to overcome them?

4. How do you feel about participating in the Managing for Racial Equity program?

Rating
Not at all Very confident
5. How confident do you feel about
your ability to continue and
successfully complete this program?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

220

Appendix E: Online Survey Completed Immediately After Unit 8
Managing for Racial Equity Online Summative Evaluation
Name:
Instructions:
● For questions 1–12, please use the following rating scale:
1 = strongly disagree 5 = strongly agree
● Please circle the appropriate rating before the program and now (after the program).
● Please provide comments to explain your ratings.
Before the program After the program
1 2 3 4 5 1. I can co-construct a brave learning space. (L2) 1 2 3 4 5
Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 2. I critically reflect on my racial identi(ties) and
positionality. (L2)
1 2 3 4 5
Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 3. I can define and utilize key terms, concepts, and
emotions related to racial equity. (L2)
1 2 3 4 5
Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 4. I can build genuine trust with and amongst
supervisees. (L2)
1 2 3 4 5
Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 5. I recognize racial dynamics of workplace culture and
racial climate. (L2)
1 2 3 4 5
Comments:

221

1 2 3 4 5 6. I utilize strategies for receiving feedback to cultivate
a racially inclusive work climate. (L2)
1 2 3 4 5
Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 7. I practice engaged humility and strategic empathy.
(L2)
1 2 3 4 5
Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 8. I recognize how microaggressions, stereotype threat,
and imposter syndrome operate and affect racially
minoritized supervisees. (L2)
1 2 3 4 5
Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 9. I interrupt and correct microaggressive behaviors,
mitigate stereotype threat, and foster a sense of value
and belonging for supervisees. (L3)
1 2 3 4 5
Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 10. I use equity-mindedness and checklist tools to
strengthen and sustain an antiracist approach to
recruitment and hiring (job posting, interview process,
and offers). (L3)
1 2 3 4 5
Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 11. I use equity-mindedness and checklist tools to
strengthen and sustain an antiracist approach to
retention and advancement practices (cultivating
psychological safety and ensuring pay equity). (L3)

1 2 3 4 5
Comments:

222

1 2 3 4 5 12. I recognize how policies can impact racial groups
differently and rewrite them to be antiracist. (L3)
1 2 3 4 5
Comments:

13. Please describe your coaching plan for the next four months(L3):

14. Which unit did you find to be the most relevant to your job? (L1)

15. How could this program be improved? (L1)

223

Appendix F: Managing for Racial Equity Exit Interview
Managing for Racial Equity Exit Interview Guide
(Final Coaching Session 4 Months after Final Unit)
Name:
Instructions:
● Coaches will facilitate an exit interview with each learner using this guide as a script
and having a printed out copy for the learner to follow along with.
● Coaches will say, “This coaching session is intended to be used as an exit interview for
you as we conclude the program. This guide is designed for us to have a structured,
meaningful, and honest conversation about what you have been able to learn through
this program (or not). Your responses will be kept anonymous and only used for the
purposes of improving this program and deciding if and how this program shall be
implemented again. There are two parts. The first part will focus on reflecting on if and
how the learning goals of the program have been met. Please do feel free to draw on
specific examples of your action plan. The second part consists of two open-ended
questions asking you to reflect on the program overall. I will keep us on track to
conclude within one hour starting now.”
● Using the following rating scale, circle the rating that best describes your current level
of on-the-job application for each listed learning goal:
1 = Little or no application
2 = Mild degree of application
3 = Moderate degree of application
4 = Strong degree of application
5 = Very strong degree of application, and desire to help others do the same
Part 1
Learning Goal #1:
Engage emotions and facilitate constructive conversations about
race with supervisees as it relates to racial climate, racial power
dynamics, policies, and practices in one-on-one and team
meetings on a monthly basis.
1 2 3 4 5
Describe what success you have seen as a result of your efforts in this area. (L4)

224

Describe any challenges you experienced related to this area. (L3)

Learning Goal #2:
Implement equitable strategies (receiving feedback, building
trust, engaged humility, strategic empathy, and interrupting and
correcting microaggressive behaviors, stereotype threat, and
imposter syndrome) to counteract racial dynamics that may be
negatively affecting the work climate and racially minoritized
supervisees.
1 2 3 4 5
Describe what success you have seen as a result of your efforts in this area. (L4)

Describe any challenges you experienced related to this area. (L3)

Learning Goal #3:
Use equity-mindedness and checklist tools to strengthen and
sustain an antiracist approach to recruitment and hiring (job
posting, interview process, and offers) and retention and
advancement practices (cultivating psychological safety and
ensuring pay equity), and policy enforcement.
1 2 3 4 5
Describe what success you have seen as a result of your efforts in this area. (L4)

Describe any challenges you experienced related to this area. (L3)

Part 2
How has your participation in the Managing for Racial Equity program benefited the
organization? (L4)

Looking back, what would you change about this program? (L1)

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Institutional racism is embedded in organizations through policies and practices that ultimately impact the way people are treated. By focusing on mid-level managers or people who supervise others, the curriculum herein seeks to develop individual awareness about racial identi(ties) and positionality, knowledge about racism and the various ways it can manifest, and skill sets to combat institutional racism and manage others for racial equity. Through a series of synchronous workshops and one-on-one coaching sessions over the course of a year, this cohort-based program will support mid-level managers to exhibit the following critical behaviors:
● Engage emotions and facilitate constructive conversations about race with supervisees as it relates to racial climate, racial power dynamics, policies, and practices in one-on-one and team meetings on a monthly basis;
● Implement equitable strategies to counteract racial dynamics that may be negatively affecting the work climate and racially minoritized supervisees; and
● Use equity-mindedness and checklist tools to strengthen and sustain an antiracist approach to recruitment, hiring, retention, advancement, and policy enforcement. Consequently, and collectively, mid-level managers can leverage a critical tipping point necessary for organizations genuinely seeking to be antiracist.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Agua, Jade Keala (author)

Core Title Managing for racial equity: how mid-level managers can transform organizations

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Educational Leadership

Degree Conferral Date 2022-08

Publication Date 08/02/2022

Defense Date 06/29/2022

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag diversity training,OAI-PMH Harvest,organizational change,racial equity

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Yates, Kenneth (committee chair), Harper, Shaun (committee member), Seli, Helena (committee member)

Creator Email jade.agua@gmail.com,jagua@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC111375990

Unique identifier UC111375990

Legacy Identifier etd-AguaJadeKe-11073

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Agua, Jade Keala

Type texts

Source 20220803-usctheses-batch-967 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

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Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

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