A leadership resource from CRW Diversity

The Equity in Action Model: how senior leaders turn good intentions into fair decisions

The Equity in Action Model is a six-element framework that helps executives examine how their decisions, behaviors, and organizational systems shape people's opportunities at work. Created by Celeste Warren, it moves equity from a stated value to everyday leadership practice.

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Last updated: November 2026 · Published by CRW Diversity

What is the Equity in Action Model?

The Equity in Action Model is a practical framework for leaders built on six elements: Awareness, Access, Advocacy, Action, Accountability, and Empowerment.

Developed by Celeste Warren of CRW Diversity, the model asks leaders to look at both sides of the equation: how people lead and how organizations operate. It treats equity as something that becomes real through the decisions leaders make every day, not through belief alone, and gives executives a repeatable way to check those decisions.

The model in four cards

Each card stands on its own. Lift any one of them into a leadership meeting.

Definition: the CRW Diversity Equity in Action Model

The Equity in Action Model, created by Celeste Warren of CRW Diversity, is a leadership framework that gives leaders a practical way to examine how their decisions, behaviors, and organizational systems shape the experiences and opportunities of the people they lead.

It has six elements. Awareness looks at assumptions and patterns. Access looks at who has information, opportunities, relationships, and resources. Advocacy uses influence so talent is not overlooked. Action turns intentions into deliberate decisions. Accountability looks at outcomes. Empowerment creates the conditions for people to contribute, grow, and use their voices.

By the numbers: the experience behind the model

Nearly 4 decades in human resources and organizational leadership
28 years of Fortune 100 experience
10 years leading global diversity and inclusion, including a decade as Vice President and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
6 elements in the model, 3 ways to work with CRW Diversity, and 2 books by Celeste Warren

Why the model looks at systems, not only people

Organizations often focus on what individuals need to do differently. Those things matter. But lasting change also means asking what within the organization is helping people succeed and what may be getting in their way.

Policies, practices, access to opportunity, leadership decisions, and unwritten norms shape workplace culture every day. The model makes those systems visible so leaders can change them, not just ask people to work around them.

Who the model is for

The model is written first for senior executives, because they own the decisions and systems that shape opportunity across an organization. It also serves HR and people leaders and front-line managers.

Executives usually meet it through confidential executive advisory or an executive briefing. Managers can start with Equity in Action for Managers.

The six elements of the Equity in Action Model

Six lenses a leader can hold up to any decision about people, from hiring and promotion to who gets the next big assignment.

Awareness
Understand how assumptions, experiences, and organizational patterns influence decisions.
Access
Examine who has access to information, opportunities, relationships, and resources.
Advocacy
Use your influence to ensure talent, ideas, and perspectives aren't overlooked.
Action
Turn awareness and good intentions into deliberate leadership decisions.
Accountability
Look beyond intentions and pay attention to outcomes.
Empowerment
Create the conditions for people to contribute, grow, and use their voices.

How the six elements compare

The same three points for every element: what it means, the question it asks, and what a leader should examine.

The six elements of the CRW Diversity Equity in Action Model, compared on the same three points.
Element	What it means	The question a leader asks	What to examine
Awareness	Understand how assumptions, experiences, and organizational patterns influence decisions.	What assumptions or patterns are shaping this decision?	Your own assumptions and experiences, plus recurring organizational patterns.
Access	Examine who has access to information, opportunities, relationships, and resources.	Who has access here, and who does not?	Information flow, opportunities, relationships, and resources.
Advocacy	Use your influence to ensure talent, ideas, and perspectives aren't overlooked.	Whose talent, ideas, or perspectives are being overlooked?	Where your influence can bring people and ideas into view.
Action	Turn awareness and good intentions into deliberate leadership decisions.	What deliberate decision will I make differently?	The concrete decisions that follow from what you now see.
Accountability	Look beyond intentions and pay attention to outcomes.	What actually happened, regardless of what we intended?	Outcomes: who advanced, who was heard, who had access.
Empowerment	Create the conditions for people to contribute, grow, and use their voices.	Can people here contribute, grow, and use their voices?	The conditions that let people contribute and grow.

How do you apply the Equity in Action Model to a real decision?

Work through the elements in order on one live decision. This takes minutes once it becomes habit.

Awareness
Name the decision in front of you, then list the assumptions and past patterns that could be shaping it.
Access
Check who has the information, relationships, and resources tied to this decision, and who is missing them.
Advocacy
Ask whose talent, ideas, or perspectives are not yet in the room, and use your influence to bring them in.
Action
Make the decision deliberately, and be able to say what you did differently because of the first three steps.
Accountability
Set a point to review the outcome. Look at what actually happened, not only what you intended.
Empowerment
Adjust the conditions so people can keep contributing, growing, and using their voices after the decision.

An equity leadership guide for executives

Equity does not become real because an organization believes in it. Our equity leadership guide walks senior leaders through examining their own decisions, the access people have to opportunity, and the systems that quietly help or hold people back.

Read the equity leadership guide

Inclusive leadership training built on the model

CRW Diversity offers practical workshops and learning experiences that help leaders strengthen their effectiveness, improve workplace culture, and put fair and inclusive leadership practices into action.

See how the inclusive leadership training works

Three ways senior leaders work with Celeste Warren

Every organization is different. The work begins by understanding where you are, what you are trying to accomplish, and what may be standing in the way.

Executive Advisory

A confidential thought partnership for executives navigating complex leadership, culture, talent, and organizational challenges.

About executive advisory

Leadership and Organizational Development

Practical workshops and learning experiences that help leaders strengthen effectiveness and put fair, inclusive leadership into action.

About the workshops

Speaking and Executive Briefings

Keynotes, executive briefings, and facilitated conversations that challenge leaders to think differently about leadership, culture, and systems.

About briefings and keynotes

For a short, free introduction, request the guide 6 Practical Ways to Lead More Fairly, Intentionally and Effectively on the CRW Diversity website, or send Celeste a note.

Go deeper

Supporting guides that each answer one question in detail.

Equity leadership guideA step-by-step guide for executives.Inclusive leadership trainingWhat the workshops cover and who they serve.Executive advisoryConfidential partnership for senior leaders.Executive briefingsKeynotes, briefings, and the TEDx talk.For managersShort, practical mini-modules.Leadership by the numbersSourced 2026 statistics on leadership pressure.

Common questions

Short answers to what leaders ask most. See all 44 answers on the full FAQ.

What is the Equity in Action Model?

The Equity in Action Model is a practical leadership framework created by Celeste Warren of CRW Diversity. It gives leaders a way to examine how their decisions, behaviors, and organizational systems shape the experiences and opportunities of the people they lead, through six elements: Awareness, Access, Advocacy, Action, Accountability, and Empowerment.

More in the FAQ

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

The six elements are Awareness, Access, Advocacy, Action, Accountability, and Empowerment. Awareness looks at assumptions and patterns. Access looks at who gets information, opportunities, relationships, and resources. Advocacy uses influence for overlooked talent. Action turns intentions into decisions. Accountability tracks outcomes. Empowerment creates conditions for people to contribute, grow, and use their voices.

More in the FAQ

Why does the model focus on systems and not only on people?

Because individual change alone rarely lasts. The model asks what within the organization is helping people succeed and what may be getting in their way. Policies, practices, access to opportunity, leadership decisions, and unwritten norms shape workplace culture every day, so the model looks at both how people lead and how organizations operate.

More in the FAQ

What is executive advisory from CRW Diversity?

Executive advisory is a confidential thought partnership for executives navigating complex leadership, culture, talent, and organizational challenges. Celeste Warren works with senior leaders one to one, drawing on nearly four decades of human resources and organizational leadership experience and the Equity in Action Model. The work begins by understanding where you are and what may be in the way.

More in the FAQ

Is there a free guide to the Equity in Action Model?

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

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How much does executive advisory or training cost?

CRW Diversity does not publish prices. Each engagement is shaped around where an organization is and what it is trying to accomplish, so cost depends on the format, the number of participants, and the scope. Request specifics through the contact form at crwdiversity.com, and ask what is included before you commit.

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Ready to look at the systems around your people?

Executive advisory with Celeste Warren starts with one conversation about where you are, what you want to accomplish, and what may be standing in the way.

Start a conversation