Equitable Facilitation: Supporting Equity Through Leadership

To get stuff done, groups need to come together.

What happens when the group is composed of individuals who share the same mission, but who vary widely in their life experiences?

So many times, those groups start out with a clear sense of the ‘what’ that is bringing them together, but fall apart as they try to navigate the ‘how’ of being together.

There are various ways in which prior assumptions and individual perspectives impact how a group works together. Facilitating in a way that is attuned to these is key.

For instance, how do you determine who needs to be in the room? What should you consider in deciding the agenda or focus for the gathering?

What structures can you establish that will support each person’s equitable participation? How do you navigate expressions of unconscious use of power and privilege that impact the group?

What can you do to guide the group toward decisions that everyone can stand behind?

This course is an opportunity to:

• Explore several essential components of facilitation using caring for all, power-with lens
• Identify and gather together the people who need to be in the room
• Learn tips and strategies for ensuring all voices are heard
• Grow your capacity to name and address power dynamics and unconscious bias that impact group members’ experience