Insights for Strengthening Practice and Systems

There are moments when organizations feel a surge of urgency around equity. A public incident, internal feedback, or external pressure creates a push to respond quickly. Statements are made. Commitments are shared. Initiatives are announced. On the surface, it looks like movement. But urgency, when it’s not grounded in strategy or accountability, can become performative. Performative urgency is when the response is fast—but not deep. When there is more focus on being seen as

Comfort isn’t the goal when it comes to equity work—transformation is. That’s something I’ve come to understand more deeply through the work I do with HerAbdul Equity Exchange. Every time a conversation about equity begins, there’s often an unspoken tension in the room. People want to engage, but they also want to stay comfortable. The truth is, those two things don’t always go together. One of the biggest misconceptions about equity work is that it’s supposed to feel good—th

In conversations about race, the terms “racial prejudice” and “racism” are often used as if they mean the same thing. While they are closely connected, they are not interchangeable—and understanding the difference between them is critical if we want to have honest, productive conversations about equity and justice. Racial prejudice lives at the individual level. It refers to preconceived beliefs, attitudes, or judgments about a person based solely on their race. These ideas a

There’s something I hear all the time in this work: “That wasn’t my intention.” And to be honest, most of the time, I believe people. Most people aren’t trying to cause harm. Most leaders aren’t waking up thinking about how to exclude someone or create inequity in their organization. The intention, more often than not, isn’t the issue. But here’s the part that’s harder to sit with—intent doesn’t erase impact. And if we’re really committed to equity, we have to be willing to h

In January 2026, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin filed a civil rights lawsuit against Clark Township, its police department, former mayor Salvatore Bonaccorso, and former police chief Pedro Matos. The allegations are serious: that for more than a decade, town leadership orchestrated a systematic effort to keep Black and non-white individuals out of the community through discriminatory policing. According to the lawsuit, between 2015 and 2020 Black drivers were 3.7

At HerAbdul Equity Exchange, Women’s History Month isn’t just a moment for graphics and quotes. Of course we honor the women who came before us. Of course we celebrate the milestones. Of course, we acknowledge the doors that were kicked open. But if you know me, you know I’m always going to ask the next question: What made those doors so hard to open in the first place? And a lot of the time, the answer is language. Before women were excluded from rooms, they were described i

The Words We Use Matter More Than We Think. Most of us don’t wake up in the morning trying to offend anyone. We’re doing our best, showing up for families, students, and communities with good intentions. But good intentions don’t always protect us from the impact of the words we use. Many common phrases we say without thinking actually have histories tied to harm or misrepresentation. Take the word “gypped.” People often use it to mean they were cheated, not realizing the ter

Let's Talk! One of the most common—and costly—mistakes organizations make is treating equity training as a one-time event rather than an ongoing practice . A single workshop, annual session, or mandatory training may check a box, but it rarely creates lasting change. When equity work is positioned as “done” after one session, organizations unintentionally signal that the learning is complete—even though the work is not. Equity Training Is Not an Event. It’s a Practice. Orga