Equity Training and Education Program

The role of the Equity Training and Education Program is to design skill and capacity building contents and facilitate training sessions.  The main goal of the program is to help City staff to cultivate equity mindsets.  Participants develop skills to recognize institutional and systemic barriers to just distribution of resources and opportunities and best practice skills in different specific functions within the City.  The training sessions currently focus on racial and disability equity and can be adapted for any other equity issue.  Participants develop strategies to remove barriers in policies, programs, and practices, focusing on improved outcomes for all.

The Model

The Equity Training and Education use a dialogic model to facilitate the discussions and the process. The facilitation and the process create a safe space for all participants to express themselves with honesty and integrity without judgment and recrimination by others.

The Process

The Equity Training and Education are structured and interactive.  They include brief presentations, short videos, small group and large group conversations, self-awareness exercises, skill practices for difficult conversations, and practical exercises on real world or workplace scenarios. Each training and education session varies from 90 minutes minimum to four hours.  

A typical 90-minute session is usually an overview of equity, some definitions and one small group discussion on a topic specific to the bureau and equity, followed by a large group debrief. Typical two-hour or four-hour training sessions combine the large and small group discussions, practical exercises on specific scenarios, and cover topics in more depth.

The Objectives

The Training and Education Program currently focuses on the issues of race and disability. The main objectives of our training sessions are to:

1)    Understand what equity means

2)    Acknowledge the importance of a focus on racial equity

3)    Recognize and remove barriers to achieving equity

4)    Understand how power relates to equity

5)    Develop approaches and practices to promote and achieve equity

6)    Identify baseline questions and suggestions for equity analysis

7)    Identify criteria to measure equity achievement

For more information, please contact:

Koffi "Jean-Pierre" Dessou - Program Coordinator

Phone: 503-823-4429

E-mail : koffi.dessou@portlandoregon.gov