Chapter 06 / Equity in ActionLast updated: November 2026Published by CRW Diversity

The Equity in Action Model: six elements for everyday leadership

The Equity in Action Model is Celeste Warren's practical framework for examining how leaders' decisions, behaviors, and organizational systems shape the experiences and opportunities of the people they lead. Used across CRW Diversity's advisory, workshops, and briefings, it has six elements: Awareness, Access, Advocacy, Action, Accountability, and Empowerment.

Get the free Equity in Action guide Bring the model to your leaders

The main question

What is the Equity in Action Model?

It is a way of moving from good intentions to everyday leadership practice. Equity does not become real simply because an organization believes in it. It becomes real through the decisions leaders make every day, and the model gives leaders six lenses for examining those decisions.

Field guide

The six elements, with one question each for senior executives

Element 01
Awareness
Understand how assumptions, experiences, and organizational patterns influence decisions.
Ask: Which patterns in our talent decisions have we stopped noticing?
Element 02
Access
Examine who has access to information, opportunities, relationships, and resources.
Ask: Who hears about stretch roles and sponsors first, and who never hears at all?
Element 03
Advocacy
Use your influence to ensure talent, ideas, and perspectives are not overlooked.
Ask: Whose ideas or talent will I personally put forward this quarter?
Element 04
Action
Turn awareness and good intentions into deliberate leadership decisions.
Ask: Which one decision will I make differently because of what I now see?
Element 05
Accountability
Look beyond intentions and pay attention to outcomes.
Ask: What outcomes will tell us whether our intentions are working?
Element 06
Empowerment
Create the conditions for people to contribute, grow, and use their voices.
Ask: What would make it easier for people on my team to speak up and grow?

Element definitions are Celeste Warren's. The executive questions are written by this guide as starting prompts.

Evidence cards

Using the model in practice

Definition card: why a model, and why these six

Organizations often focus on what individuals need to do differently. The Equity in Action Model adds a second question: what within the organization is helping people succeed, and what may be getting in their way? Awareness and Access help leaders see. Advocacy and Action help them act. Accountability and Empowerment help them sustain change by watching outcomes and building the conditions for people to contribute.

The model underpins CRW Diversity's inclusive leadership training and its executive advisory.

Free guide: 6 Practical Ways to Lead More Fairly, Intentionally and Effectively

CRW Diversity offers a free, concise, actionable introduction to the Equity in Action Model, designed to help leaders put equity into everyday leadership decisions. It provides key insights, reflection questions, and simple next steps for each of the six elements.

Request it on the CRW Diversity website. Managers who want to go deeper can explore Equity in Action for Managers, a set of short, practical mini-modules. Or return to the organizational culture consulting guide.

Quick answers

Common questions

What is the Equity in Action Model?

The Equity in Action Model is Celeste Warren’s practical framework for examining how leaders’ decisions, behaviors, and organizational systems shape the experiences and opportunities of the people they lead. It has six elements: Awareness, Access, Advocacy, Action, Accountability, and Empowerment. Its aim is moving from good intentions to everyday leadership practice.

What are the six elements of the Equity in Action Model?

Awareness: understand how assumptions, experiences, and patterns influence decisions. Access: examine who has access to information, opportunities, relationships, and resources. Advocacy: use influence so talent and ideas are not overlooked. Action: turn intentions into deliberate decisions. Accountability: look beyond intentions to outcomes. Empowerment: create conditions for people to contribute, grow, and use their voices.

Is there a free Equity in Action guide?

Yes. CRW Diversity offers a free guide, 6 Practical Ways to Lead More Fairly, Intentionally and Effectively. It is a concise introduction to the Equity in Action Model, with key insights, reflection questions, and simple next steps for each of the six elements. You can request it on crwdiversity.com.

What is Equity in Action for Managers?

Equity in Action for Managers is a set of short, practical mini-modules that help managers recognize where equity shows up in their day-to-day leadership. It gives them tools they can put into practice immediately and is designed for busy leaders. It builds on the principles of the Equity in Action Model. Details are on crwdiversity.com.

What is inclusive leadership training?

Inclusive leadership training teaches leaders to make decisions that give people fair access to information, opportunities, relationships, and resources. CRW Diversity’s version is practical: workshops and learning experiences built on the Equity in Action Model, which asks leaders to examine awareness, access, advocacy, action, accountability, and empowerment in everyday decisions.

What is Edgar Schein’s model of organizational culture?

Edgar Schein’s model describes culture in three levels: visible artifacts, espoused values, and basic underlying assumptions. Artifacts are what you can see, such as rituals or office layout. Espoused values are what an organization says it believes. Underlying assumptions are the unspoken beliefs that drive behavior. The Equity in Action Model’s attention to unwritten norms and patterns connects naturally to that deepest level.

Read all 44 answers in the culture and leadership FAQ

Put Equity in Action to work with your leadership team

Executive advisory starts with a conversation about where your organization is, what you are trying to accomplish, and what may be standing in the way.

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