Racial and Social Equity Action Plans (referred to as Equity Action Plans hereafter) are tools used by departments to identify and address racial and social inequities, particularly within the scope of their work. Collectively, the implementation of department Equity Action Plans, will ensure the City delivers accessible, equitable, high-quality services that focus on priority communities so that improved outcomes are achieved. View Departmental Equity Action Plans.

What is Racial and Social Equity?  As an outcome, racial and social equity is achieved when race/ethnicity, color, disability, neurodivergence, age, language, citizenship/immigration status, gender expression, sexuality, and income can no longer be used to predict life outcomes, and everyone can prosper and thrive. As a process, racial and social equity explicitly prioritizes communities that have been economically deprived and underserved and establishes a practice for creating psychologically safe spaces for not only racial groups, but other groups that have been most negatively impacted by policies and practices. See the Racial Equity Glossary for more.

What Is an Equity Action Plan? An Equity Action Plan is a two-year plan that helps departments recognize and drive targeted strategies to address inequities, unfair differences in how people are treated based on their race, age, country of origin, gender, disability, sexual orientation etc. These plans examine potential inequities in services and decisions, aiming to create better outcomes for everyone.

Why Do We Need Equity Action Plans?  Equity Action Plans are important because we acknowledge that historical and current indicators of well-being show disproportionality and poor outcomes for specific communities. It requires intentional and targeted approaches to improve outcomes for communities that have been underserved, under resources, or simply left behind.

How Do I Read Equity action Plans?

The City of San José uses a framework created by the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) that facilitates implementation. Elements of that framework are: Normalize, Organize, and Operationalize. These three parts help each department plan how they are going to take action. 

• Normalize means helping everyone understand that racism and inequities still exist and that it’s important to talk about it. It’s about making sure people understand that treating everyone equitably should be normal. 
• Organize means bringing people together to make these changes happen.
• Operationalize means turning ideas into action, and ensuring equitable treatment is at the heart of how the City of San José operates.

Each department’s Equity Action Plan will name one of the three elements of the frameworks, an objective, an action, and the timeline of when that action will be complete. 

Departmental Equity Action Plans

Acronyms in the Plan

As you read the plan, you may come across some acronyms, which are short forms of words or phrases. Acronyms and their full meanings will be listed at the bottom of an Equity Action Plan for your reference.

If you have any questions about Equity Action Plans, please email: SJRacialSocialEquity@sanjoseca.gov.