The City of Austin’s Equity Office provides leadership, guidance, and insight on equity to improve the quality of life for Austinites. The Office strives to achieve the vision of making Austin the most livable city in the nation for all while building and sustaining a culture of equity across the city. This requires tackling tough issues such as institutional racism and implicit bias. Creating a culture of equity will ensure we are meeting the needs of all residents.
The City of Austin Equity Statement:
Racial equity is the condition when race no longer predicts a person’s quality of life outcomes in our community. The City recognizes that race is the primary determinant of social equity and therefore we begin the journey toward social equity with this definition. The City of Austin recognizes historical and structural disparities and a need for alleviation of the wrongs by critically transforming its institutions and creating a culture of equity.
Over 200 community members volunteered to co-create the Equity Statement. They spent over 900 volunteer hours making the City's Equity Statement. Together, they also co-created the Equity Assessment Tool. GARE (The Government Alliance on Race and Equity) gave recommendations to the City on how to work using a racial equity lens. The report also shares strategies. It describes why focusing on racial equity can improve quality-of-life outcomes for all. You can read the "City of Austin Equity Office Equity Assessment and Recommendations" here. Learn more here about how the Equity Office supports City departments when it comes to equity trainings.
The Equity Office works across all City departments and with major institutions, non-profits, and other community organizations working in the Austin to build capacity and leadership in working from a racial equity lens. This includes both our multiple training offerings, and one-on-one equity consultations. Annually the Office trains more than 500 people, and consults on more than 600 different programs, services, policies brought to us both by City staff and community concerns. If you are a staff member with the City or other major institution and are seeking an equity consultation or workshop, please complete this form and staff will get in touch.
Learn More and Get Involved
In order to learn more about the work of the Equity Office, please check our Equity Action Team Dashboard. On this Dashboard, you can learn more about how we define equity, how we began as an Office, and how you can help us make Austin the most livable city in the country for ALL.
Sign up for our newsletters--we send out two newsletters: Equity Action Team (EAT) newsletter biweekly through email, and our Immigrant Affairs newsletter goes out monthly in email. Stay informed and sign up for one or both today! You can view past EAT newsletters in the archive here.