The framework
The Equity in Action Model: six elements for everyday leadership
Last updated: November 2026
The Equity in Action Model is Celeste Warren's six-part framework for moving from good intentions to everyday leadership practice: Awareness, Access, Advocacy, Action, Accountability and Empowerment.
It underpins CRW Diversity's executive advisory, workshops and briefings. The model gives leaders a practical way to examine how their decisions, behaviors and organizational systems shape the experiences and opportunities of the people they lead, because equity doesn't become real simply because an organization believes in it.
Part of our guide to organizational culture consulting for senior executives.
What is the Equity in Action Model used for?
Leaders use it to check their everyday decisions against six practical questions, so that fairness shows up in what they do and not only in what the organization says. It applies to hiring, assignments, promotions, meetings and any decision that shapes who can contribute and grow.
The six elements
Each element below uses CRW Diversity's own definition. The reflection question beside it is our example of how an executive might apply it.
Awareness
Understand how assumptions, experiences and organizational patterns influence decisions.
Ask: Which assumptions shaped my last people decision?
Access
Examine who has access to information, opportunities, relationships and resources.
Ask: Who hears about opportunities first on my team, and who never does?
Advocacy
Use your influence to ensure talent, ideas and perspectives aren't overlooked.
Ask: Whose work have I spoken up for recently?
Action
Turn awareness and good intentions into deliberate leadership decisions.
Ask: What will I decide differently this quarter?
Accountability
Look beyond intentions and pay attention to outcomes.
Ask: What do the outcomes show, regardless of what we intended?
Empowerment
Create the conditions for people to contribute, grow and use their voices.
Ask: Where do people on my team feel free to speak up, and where not?
How to apply the model to one decision
- Pick a real decision, such as who leads a visible project.
- Check your assumptions (Awareness) and who knew the opportunity existed (Access).
- Consider whose talent might be overlooked and speak up for it (Advocacy).
- Make the decision deliberately, not by default (Action).
- Review the outcome later (Accountability) and whether people could use their voices (Empowerment).
A free introductory guide, 6 Practical Ways to Lead More Fairly, Intentionally and Effectively, offers reflection questions and simple next steps for each element. Managers can go deeper with the Equity in Action for Managers mini-modules described on our workshops page.
Common questions
Is the approach practical or theoretical?
Practical. Celeste Warren describes her work as practical solutions, not buzzwords or performative approaches. The Equity in Action Model is designed to move leaders from good intentions to everyday leadership practice, and her manager learning experience is described as short, practical and designed for busy leaders.
What is inclusive leadership training?
Inclusive leadership training helps leaders make fair decisions about access, opportunity and voice in their everyday work. CRW Diversity's workshops help leaders put fair and inclusive leadership practices into action using the Equity in Action Model's six elements: Awareness, Access, Advocacy, Action, Accountability and Empowerment.
How do you measure organizational culture?
Organizations commonly measure culture through engagement surveys, retention and absenteeism data, and by checking who gets access to opportunity. Gallup's meta-analysis of 3.35 million employees found top-quartile engaged teams had 78% lower absenteeism than bottom-quartile teams, as reported by True Colors. The Equity in Action Model adds Accountability: looking beyond intentions to outcomes.
Is there a lower-commitment option for managers?
Yes. Equity in Action for Managers is a set of mini-modules described as short, practical and designed for busy leaders. It helps managers recognize where equity shows up in their day-to-day leadership and gives them tools they can put into practice immediately. Details are available on crwdiversity.com.
What is Edgar Schein's model of organizational culture?
Edgar Schein's widely taught model describes culture in three levels: visible artifacts, espoused values, and basic underlying assumptions. The deepest level, the assumptions people take for granted, is the hardest to see and change. The model is a useful reminder that stated values alone do not define culture. CRW Diversity's own work is built on a different framework, the Equity in Action Model.
Why do culture change efforts stall?
Efforts often stall when they ask individuals to change while leaving the surrounding systems untouched. Good intentions alone do not make equity or culture real; daily decisions do. That is why the Equity in Action Model focuses on turning awareness and intentions into deliberate leadership decisions and paying attention to outcomes.
Bring the model to your leadership team
Celeste Warren uses the Equity in Action Model in executive advisory, workshops and briefings.
Contact Celeste Warren