American Psychological Association. (2021). Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion framework.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The guiding principles of APA’s EDI Framework address the basic assumptions that are associated with the best practices in organizational EDI work. (See Hayles, 2013; Williams, 2013). The guiding principles are a prerequisite for achieving success in EDI as articulated in APA’s strategic plan.
APA Itself
» Will take account for the Association’s contribution to social hierarchies and inequities within the Association and profession. APA is committed to uplifting the voices of those who have been harmed and will learn from its history to create a more inclusive, equitable, and diverse field of psychology.
» Is a global partner in the promotion of psychological practice, science, and education to address societal and global challenges, including structural racism, White supremacy, xenophobia, nativism, and other forms of discrimination.
» Actively champions EDI throughout the entire organization and establishes procedures to ensure that APA’s institutional practices are grounded in our commitment to promote diversity, and to advance equity, and inclusion (see Cox, 2001; Holvino et al., 2004; Kalev, Dobbin & Kelly, 2006; Smith, 2009).
» Fosters an organizational culture that opposes destructive social hierarchies of all forms, including but not limited to racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, ageism, and ableism; thereby developing norms in which social hierarchies, racism, injustice, inequity, and exclusion are discussed candidly, while proactively and constructively addressed. (see Borrayo, 2008; APA CDWG, 2017).
» Utilizes a strategic EDI roadmap that includes goals and objectives, and monitors, evaluates, and evolves those goals in an iterative fashion. (see Smith, 2009; Williams, 2013).
» Uses a matrixed organizational strategy to support the EDI agenda—for example, promoting collaborative EDI implementation between and across directorates, boards, and committees; accountability mechanisms and reward systems to incentivize constituents to engage in EDI work. (See APA, 2008; CDWG, 2017; Cox. 2001; Holvino et al., 2004; Kalev et al., 2006; Sue, 2008; Williams, 2013).
The Field of Psychology
» Works toward deconstructing inequalities and inequities that exist within psychological science, including how science is conducted, reported, reviewed, and disseminated.
» Recognizes that all human beings have biases, privileges, and prejudices and that the task is to develop awareness of biases, to strive to mitigate and diminish the impact of those biases, and to develop skills to engage and work effectively with people and communities from diverse and underrepresented social identity groups. (See Banaji & Greenwald, 2013).
» Advocates that learning institutions incorporate essential pedagogy about racism and health into standard coursework, as a step toward leading learning institutions to acknowledge their supportive roles in the system of structural racism. (See Bailey, Zinzi D et al., 2017).
» Champions the study of individual and institutional racism in order to measure exposure to systems and structures by identifying the historical harms, testing the connections between psychological mechanisms and outcomes, and providing recommendations for systems of change. (See Trawalter, Sophie et al., 2020).
» Promotes a culture of evidence-based and holistic approaches, while applying a learning orientation, where the status of EDI is continuously evaluated and oriented toward ongoing growth, development, and improvement. (See APA, 2008; Cox, 2001; Holvino et al., 2004; Smith, 2009, 2012; Williams, 2013).
» Actively seeks to center the perspectives and voices of social identity groups that are or have been disenfranchised or marginalized. (See APA, 2005).
Society
» Understands that EDI, human rights, racial justice, and social change are never fully achieved; that they must be continually sought after, reexamined, and embraced; and that new areas of inequity and exclusion will inevitably emerge and need to be addressed. (See Adams et al., 2013).
» Commits to applying psychological science to create a more equitable and inclusive world.
» Elevates and honors the voices and perspectives of marginalized social and intersectional identities.
THE EDI MODEL
The APA EDI model has three levels, as articulated in the vision statement:
a) APA itself, including volunteer leaders, members, and staff;
b) Field of Psychology, as a discipline and profession, including pathway programs, educational/training programs, and institutions, offices, and programs that shape and determine policies and practices for the discipline; and
c) Society, all people and communities throughout society whom psychological science, scholarship, education, advocacy, and practice benefit.
This tripartite approach differentiates internally focused work (APA as an organization and entity) from externally focused work (the field of psychology and society).
Figure 1 depicts the EDI model, which is influenced by Sue’s (2001) conceptual framework for incorporating multidimensional facets of cultural competence into psychology. Sue’s model examines cultural competency at the micro level (e.g., the individual) and at the macro level (e.g., the profession of psychology, organizations, and the broader society), highlighting the criticality of working in a collaborative fashion to remove major barriers along the four levels: individual, professional, organizational, and societal in order to move toward cultural competence. Sue’s model has been adapted to reflect how APA will approach the pursuit of equity, diversity, and inclusion within the Association, the field of psychology, and throughout society.
Figure one identifies APA at the center of the model, and the field of psychology, society, and the work of APA are in the surrounding circles. The positions of the circles reflect that APA has internal constituencies with which it engages, whereas much of APA’s work aims to shape and influence the field of psychology, which then fosters the application of psychological work throughout society. APA’s efforts radiate outward through these levels. However, the influence is bidirectional: APA both affects and is affected by the field and society. For example, the Association’s knowledge of how best to serve communities that have been marginalized is intimately tied to active hearing, listening, and internalizing a model of being responsive. In an iterative fashion, APA is committed to engaging in a multidirectional feedback model, which is essential to fulfilling our mission.
The work of EDI identified across institutions and industries has tended to fall into the following broad categories:
a) leadership and infrastructure;
b) access, equity, and success;
c) organizational climate; and
d) core work of the institution (Henderson, 2014; Shorter-Gooden, 2014; Smith, 2009; Williams, 2013).
This common set of broad categories provided the foundation for the domains in APA’s EDI model that are represented within the three levels. The core EDI work of APA as an institution is identified in the model as science, practice, education, and advocacy that is inclusive and equitable, while responding to the unique challenges and opportunities of social cultural diversity.
The APA level addresses the experiences and outcomes for APA’s volunteer leaders, members, and staff at all levels. Sustained work toward excellence in all five domains, across the breadth of APA, will ensure that APA is an equitable, diverse, and inclusive organization. The five domains at the APA level are as follows:
» Leadership & Infrastructure
The center of the APA model denotes the vital importance of a leadership structure for EDI and an organizational infrastructure that supports the work.
» Psychological Safety
The climate in which the experience of APA is safe, welcoming, engaging, and affirming by volunteer leaders, members, and staff of all social identity groups and intersections, especially those most impacted by systemic oppression. It includes being courageous to express vulnerability, to own mistakes and transform them into learning opportunities, and to trust that judgement will not be issued for doing so. This will require a deep understanding of the historical challenges in the field of psychology, an acknowledgement of who has been harmed, the impact of that harm, and a commitment to cultivating an honest and transparent relationship with marginalized communities.
» Inclusive Policies & Practices
The maintenance, further creation and implementation of inclusive policies, procedures, and practices within the organization.
» Cultural and Emotional Intelligence
The capability to provide education and training that is culturally responsive, adaptable, relatable, and provided with cultural and social humility and competence, for APA volunteer leaders, members, and staff.
» Access & Equity
The commitment to diversity, social justice, and equity within APA.
The Field of Psychology level represents the array of policies and practices grounded in psychological science for the discipline, as well as the pathway of academic and internship programs and institutions that serve to educate and train prospective psychologists and that provide postdoctoral continuing education and professional support for existing psychologists. APA will advocate for education and training to be grounded in Cultural and Emotional Intelligence for all students/trainees/pre-and post-docs across the range of content, curricula, and training/degree programs; for Inclusive Policies & Practices in all areas of the discipline and in the profession, including the elimination of policies and practices that reinforce structural injustices and amplify inequities; that embodies Psychological Safety by cultivating a culture and climate that is welcoming and engaging across the field of psychology; and for Access & Equity throughout the field.
The Society level is the sphere in which the mission to advance psychological science and knowledge to benefit society and improve lives is realized—in the United States and globally. The level comprises an integrated EDI paradigm in the following four domains: Science, Education, Advocacy, and Practice, which all work in tandem to achieve APA’s strategic priorities. The Society level signifies that APA’s ultimate goal is to shape the creation, communication, access to, and application of psychological knowledge and information, the practice of psychology, and the policies that impact psychological well-being in ways that benefit and promote equity.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Ableism
Stereotyping, prejudicial attitudes, discriminatory behavior, and social oppression toward people with disabilities in order to inhibit the rights and well-being of people with disabilities, which is currently the largest minority group in the United States.
Access
The elimination of discrimination and other barriers that contribute to inequitable opportunities to join and be a part of a work group, organization, or community.
Bias
APA defines bias as partiality: an inclination or predisposition for or against something. Motivational and cognitive biases are two main categories studied in decision-making analysis. Motivational biases are conclusions drawn due to self-interest, social pressures, or organization-based needs, whereas cognitive biases are judgements that go against what is considered rational, and some of these are attributed to implicit reasoning.
Climate
The degree to which community members feel included or excluded in the work group, organization, or community.
Discrimination
The differential treatment of the members of different gender, racial, ethnic, religious, national, or other groups. Discrimination is usually the behavioral manifestation of prejudice and therefore involves negative, hostile, and injurious treatment of the members of rejected groups.
Diverse
Involving the representation or composition of various social identity groups in a work group, organization, or community. The focus is on social identities that correspond to societal differences in power and privilege, and thus to the marginalization of some groups based on specific attributes—e.g., race, ethnicity, culture, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, spirituality, disability, age, national origin, immigration status, and language. (Other identities may also be considered where there is evidence of disparities in power and privilege.) There is a recognition that people have multiple identities and that social identities are intersectional and have different salience and impact in different contexts.
Equity
Providing resources according to the need to help diverse populations achieve their highest state of health and other functioning. Equity is an ongoing process of assessing needs, correcting historical inequities, and creating conditions for optimal outcomes by members of all social identity groups.
Gender
The socially constructed ideas about behavior, actions, and roles a particular sex performs.
Human rights
Defined by the United Nations as “universal legal rights that protect individuals and groups from those behaviors that interfere with freedom and human dignity.”
Inclusion
An environment that offers affirmation, celebration, and appreciation of different approaches, styles, perspectives, and experiences, thus allowing all individuals to bring in their whole selves (and all of their identities) and to demonstrate their strengths and capacity.
Intersectionality
The ways in which forms of oppression (e.g., racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, xenophobia, classism, etc.) are interconnected and cannot be examined separately from one another.
Oppression
Occurs when one group has more access to power and privilege than another group, and when that power and privilege is used to maintain the status quo (i.e., domination of one group over another). Thus, oppression is both a state and a process, with the state of oppression being unequal group access to power and privilege, and the process of oppression being the ways in which inequality between groups is maintained.
Pathway programs
Programs (e.g., in secondary schools and colleges) that foster increased access by underrepresented groups to education, training, or a profession.
Prejudice
A negative attitude toward another person or group formed in advance of any experience with that person or group. Prejudices include an affective component (emotions that range from mild nervousness to hatred), a cognitive component (assumptions and beliefs about groups, including stereotypes), and a behavioral component (negative behaviors, including discrimination and violence). They tend to be resistant to change because they distort the prejudiced individual’s perception of information pertaining to the group. For example, prejudice based on racial grouping is racism; prejudice based on perceived sex, or perceived gender is sexism; prejudice based on chronological age is ageism; and prejudice based on disability is ableism.
Race and Ethnicity
Race and ethnicity are social constructions that powerfully shape social identity, but also influence our interactions, how we view others, and our social arrangements. According to APA’s Racial & Ethnic Guidelines (2019), race is defined as the social construction and categorization of people based on perceived shared physical traits that result in the maintenance of a sociopolitical hierarchy. The guidelines also define ethnicity as a characterization of people based on having a shared culture (e.g., language, food, music, dress, values, and beliefs) related to common ancestry and shared history.
Racism
Behavior, both individual and institutional, that is based on the belief in the superiority of one group of people and the inferiority of another because of national and ethnic origins.
Sexual orientation
A multidimensional aspect of human experience, comprised of gendered patterns in attraction and behavior, identity related to these patterns, and associated experiences, such as fantasy.
Social justice
Commitment to creating fairness and equity in resources, rights, and treatment of marginalized individuals and groups of people who do not share equal power in society.
Structural racism
Results from laws, policies, and practices that produce cumulative, durable, and race-based inequalities, and includes the failure to correct previous laws and practices that were explicitly racist.
White privilege
Unearned power that is afforded to White people on the basis of status rather than earned merit and protects White people from the consequences of being racist and benefitting from systemic racism; such power may come in the form of rights, benefits, social comforts, opportunities, or the ability to define what is normative or valued.
White supremacy
The ideological belief that biological and cultural Whiteness is superior, as well as normal and healthy—is a pervasive ideology that continues to polarize our nation and undergird racism.
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