GUEST COLUMN.

In the years following passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, color, and national origin, U.S. governments at all levels began to look more closely at disparities in the population, particularly along racial lines and also along gender lines, but to a somewhat lesser degree. 

In recent years, the confluence of social movements such as Black Lives Matter, and the inequities in health care revealed by the pandemic, has accelerated the need for governments at all levels to take a wider and more proactive approach to mitigate previously invisible individual and community inequities.

Though progress toward a more equitable nation isn’t easy, our research has revealed that the number of efforts by states has been impressive. One important piece of evidence can be found in gubernatorial state-of-the-state addresses, which provide insights as to how state governments are moving to mitigate inequities.

In their 2024 addresses, eight governors intentionally used the words equity, equality, or fair/fairer in describing their efforts. New Jersey’s governor called for a state that is not just stronger or fairer but is both and used the word “fair” eight more times in his address, while the governor of Washington asserted that equity is part of everything that the state does.

The governor of Massachusetts talked about how clean energy will power equity for all residents and her counterpart in New York highlighted the need for fair wages. Although not all governors used the specific words equity, equality, and fair/fairer in their addresses, initiatives to advance equity are apparent throughout the remarks of many. For example, 12 governors mentioned their state’s efforts to reduce the growing problem of homelessness including those from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Washington.

The governor of Illinois noted that his state has created a racial equity roundtable to attack the root causes of Black homelessness as well as programs to help residents acquire equity through home ownership. The governors of Maine, Colorado and California also discussed home ownership as a path to equity.  Governors of Kansas and Illinois proposed eliminating the grocery tax on food that explicitly impacts equity since households with lower incomes spend proportionately more of their incomes on food than do those in higher-income households.

It should be noted, however, that not all the governors’ addresses bore positive news for the effort to enhance equity. This was particularly notable in comments made about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. For instance, Idaho’s governor reported that his state has banned DEI statements in university hiring, and Florida’s governor declared that the state has eliminated DEI initiatives in public universities.

Some state-of-the-state addresses are filled with aspirational goals, of course. So, to get a more complete picture, we examined state equity efforts by researching agency websites, annual and performance reports, and program information in the 50 states.

Some initiatives have been undertaken, in part, to square with U.S. federal grant, program, and reporting requirements.  For example, Hawaii’s Attorney General’s Office provides annual reporting of hate crimes along with the number of crimes committed against various demographic groups, as required by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  And in Arkansas, the 2024 Energy and Environment Innovation Plan mentions equitable access to renewable energy, stating that the plan is the “primary deliverable priority action plan, as required under EPA's Climate Pollution Reduction Grant.”

But many state initiatives go beyond those that the federal government fosters and can be found in agency strategic plans, goals, and objectives. For instance, current strategic plans of the California State University System and the Idaho State University include efforts to increase graduation rates for all while eliminating opportunity and achievement gaps among different groups of students.

The strategic plan of Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation includes a goal to “integrate history, heritage, subsistence, culture, education, and the arts” into its work. This includes “acknowledging the work of and partnering with tribes.” Many of the State of Washington’s agencies reference equity in some way. Rather unique in Washington is its Office of Financial Management 2023-2025Strategic Plan that expresses a priority to “increase equity in our decision-making”, to advance inclusivity and equity in communications, and to apply an equity lens within and across its other divisions.

Some agency efforts to engage communities include data dashboards to spark study and discussion about equity.  Delaware maintains a health equity dashboard with access to relevant information across the state.  An initiative of California State University provides data in a dashboard tailored to various stakeholders such as faculty, staff, administrators along with community colleges and high schools. Montana’s University System maintains a dashboard that specifically tracks Native American student outcomes while the state’s Department of Corrections maintains interactive data dashboards that include multiple indicators with disaggregated data by race, gender, and tribal affiliation.

A few states have adopted equity initiatives in broadband access. Hawaii’s Broadband and Digital Equity Office is beginning to incorporate public feedback to create a state digital equity plan that will “serve as a roadmap to achieve a baseline of digital equity across the islands over the next five years.” And Kansas has initiated a Broadband Equity Assessment and Deployment program to provide broadband access throughout the state.

Overall, the research on state efforts to advance equity reported here, which is a slice of a larger study we are conducting with funding from the New Jersey Policy Lab, shows that agencies in many states are stepping up to the plate to advance equity for all residents. Although, as noted above, there has been pushback in some states to the DEI initiatives, many have committed to data collection and presentation within an equity framework, and the word “equity” is finding its way into the lexicon of goals and objectives in strategic plans across government agencies. However, states have yet to create specific legislation requiring agencies to include equity as a performance indicator which will be a critical step in ensuring that equity efforts are ingrained in the ongoing routines of government and not just a flavor of the month. 

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