Equity Commitment
Metris strives to deepen its commitment to equity through both our work products and internal company processes.
What do we mean by equity? We have adopted the definition advanced by Grantmakers in the Arts:
Equity is the fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all people, while at the same time striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation of some groups. Improving equity involves increasing justice and fairness within the procedures and processes of institutions or systems, as well as in their distribution of resources. Tackling equity issues requires an understanding of the root causes of outcome disparities within our society (Grantmakers in the Arts, 2015).
Click here to read about what our equity commitment looks like in practice.
Additional Resources
Cultural Equity
Americans for the Arts. “Statement on Cultural Equity.” Americans for the Arts, May 23, 2016.
“Building a Cultural Equity Plan,” PolicyLink, accessed December 18, 2018.
Mauldin, Bronwyn, Susannah Laramee Kidd, and Jesse Ruskin. “Los Angeles County Arts Commission Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative Literature Review,” March 30, 2016.
Schuhmacher, Clara Inés, Katie Ingersoll, Fari Nzinga, and Ian David Moss. “Making Sense of Cultural Equity: When Visions of a Better Future Diverge, How Do We Choose a Path Forward?” Createquity. Accessed September 8, 2016.
Vega, Marta Moreno. Voices from the Battlefront: Achieving Cultural Equity. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Pr., 1993.
Equitable Community Development
Bedoya, Roberto. “Placemaking and the Politics of Belonging and Dis-Belonging.” Grantmakers in the Arts Reader, Winter 2013.
Deutsche, Rosalyn, and Cara Gendel Ryan. “The Fine Art of Gentrification.” October 31, no. Winter (1984): 91–111.
Fink, Ben, Mimi Pickering, Maria Dioez de Leon, Judilee Reed, and Lori Pourier. “Chapter 3: Community Identity and Belonging.” In How to Do Creative Placemaking: An Action-Oriented Guide to Arts in Community Development. National Endowment for the Arts, 2016.
Freeman, Lance. There Goes the Hood: Views of Gentrification from the Ground Up. Temple University Press, 2006.
Kennedy, Maureen, and Paul Leonard. “Dealing with Neighborhood Change: A Primer on Gentrification and Policy Choices.” The Brookings Institution on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, April 2001.
Lees, Loretta, Tom Slater, and Elvin Wyly, eds. “Introduction to Part One: Defining Gentrification.” In The Gentrification Reader, 1st ed., 3–6. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2010.
Makagon, Daniel. “Bring on the Shock Troops: Artists and Gentrification in the Popular Press.” Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies 7, no. 1 (March 2010): 26–52.
Richardson, Ashley Boles. “Equitable Cultural Development: A Best Practices Toolkit for Inclusive and Sustainable Cultural Development.” Professional Report in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning, University of Texas at Austin, 2015.
Rose, Kalima, Milly Hawk Daniel, and Jeremy Liu. “Creating Change through Arts, Culture, and Equitable Development: A Policy and Practice Primer.” Policy Link, 2017.
Whang, Vanessa, Alex Werth, and Communities in Collaboration | Comunidades en Colaboración. “Belonging in Oakland: A Cultural Development Plan.” Cultural Affairs Division, City of Oakland, CA, Spring 2018.
Zabel, Laura, Carlton Turner, Jeremy Liu, Tom Borrup, and Jenna Moran. “Chapter 1: Inclusive Planning and Equitable Development.” In How To Do Creative Placemaking: An Action-Oriented Guide to Arts in Community Development. National Endowment for the Arts, 2016.
Evaluation
Bekes, Laura, Elba Garcia, Jessica Xiomara GarcĂa, and Sarah Illing. “Practical Tools for Designing and Implementing Culturally Responsive and Inclusive Evaluations.” Learning for Action (blog), December 18, 2017.
“Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA) | First International Conference.” Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA). Accessed June 9, 2017.
Dean-Coffey, Jara, Jill Casey, and Leon D. Caldwell. “Raising the Bar – Integrating Cultural Competence and Equity: Equitable Evaluation” 6, no. 2 (2014).
Endo Inouye, Tracy, Hanh Cao Yu, and Jo-Ann Adefuin. “Commissioning Multicultural Evaluation: A Foundation Resource Guide.” The California Endowment, January 2005.
“Equitable Evaluation,” n.d. https://www.equitableeval.org/.
Huff, Courtney, and Amy Ramos. “Making Evaluations of Evidence-Based Models Culturally Appropriate.” Harder+Co, July 26, 2017.
Lee, PhD, Kien. “The Importance of Culture in Evaluation: A Practical Guide for Evaluators.” The Colorado Trust, 2012.
Luminare Group, Center for Evaluation Innovation, and Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy. “Equitable Evaluation Project Framing Paper,” July 2017.
Powell, John. “Systems Thinking, Evaluation and Racial Justice.” Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity 3 (July 2010).
Public Policy Associates, Incorporated. “Considerations for Conducting Evaluation Using a Culturally Responsive and Racial Equity Lens,” 2015.
Science Museum of Minnesota, and Campbell-Kibler Associates, Inc. “Beyond Rigor: Improving Evaluations With Diverse Populations.” Accessed February 25, 2019.
Segone, Marco, ed. “Evaluation for Equitable Development Results.” UNICEF Evaluation Office, 2012.
Philanthropy
Grantmakers in the Arts. “Racial Equity in Arts Philanthropy: Statement of Purpose.” Grantmakers in the Arts, January 20, 2016.
Helicon Collaborative, and Surdna Foundation. “Not Just Money: Equity Issues in Cultural Philanthropy,” July 2017.
Savage, Eleanor, and Jerome Foundation Program Director. “RE-Tool: Racial Equity in the Panel Process,” September 24, 2018.
Sidford, Holly. “Fusing Arts, Culture and Social Change.” High Impact Strategies for Philanthropy. Washington, D.C.: National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, October 2011.
Miscellaneous
PolicyLink. “The Equity Manifesto.” PolicyLink, 2015.
SURJ and POWER Northeast. “List of Definitions.” Allentown, Pennsylvania, 2017.
The Annie E. Case Foundation, and Terry Keleher. “Race Equity and Inclusion Action Guide: 7 Steps to Advance and Embed Race Equity and Inclusion Within Your Organization.” The Annie E. Case Foundation, 2014.
Keleher, Terry. “Racial Equity Impact Assessment.” Race Forward, 2009.
Downloadable PDF of Bibliography