Engineering for Equity

A cartoon of a construction worker looking across a blocked pathway

A Collaborative Training for Employers, Housing Providers and Municipal Agencies 

In 2016, the Human Rights Commission launched its Engineering for Equity program with the goal of building platforms, systems and structures that uplift all San Francisco residents. The Engineering for Equity program has two objectives:

  1. Advise organizations on how to recognize a variety of needs and administer services that result in equitable opportunities and outcomes for all people. 
  2. Ensure community involvement in the full range of government decisionmaking.

HRC revamped its existing trainings to align with Engineering for Equity objectives and collaborated with over 1,000 students, non profit service providers, businesses, educational professionals, tech sector employees, and municipal agencies to learn, implement and instutitionalize equitable language, decision making and program design.

We know that no matter what industry an organization is in, relevant, thoughtful engagement with employees, customers, and community partners is vital to its success.

 

Our Approach

The HRC provides more than 500 hours of training per year. Based on this experience, we understand that investment beyond the training, including employee or resident surveys, evaluations, reviews, and revisions to company mission statements are crucial to organizations implementing skills and recommendations reviewed in the training. We work with organizations to create mechanisms to institutionalize the content covered during our training. When you contact HRC regarding your training needs you will receive:

  1. Link for your organization to complete a Training Request Form to accurately assess training needs. HRC will review your Form and contact your organization within five days. 
  2. HRC will either provide a referral or an estimate and proposed training outline tailored to meet your organization's needs.
  3. HRC will collaborate closely with your organization to set a training date and create a tailored training agenda.  All HRC trainings are a minimum of two hours.  Agendas will include interactive exercises as well as small group discussions, both designed to develop critical thinking in engaging ways.  HRC may also request additional information as part of this collaborative preparation, including sending out pre-training surveys to your organization and/or a site visit.
  4. HRC conducts the training(s) in the agreed-upon timeframe.
  5. HRC collects and reviews Participant evaluations from each training.
  6. HRC presents your organization with recommendations taken from the previous research and a proposed implementation plan based on the recommendations.
  7. Approximately six months after the initial training, HRC will follow up on how the recommendations have been operationalized within your organization.  HRC will provide any additional support necessary for successful implementation of the recommendations.

 

Sample HRC Training Subjects

Compliance with Nondiscrimination Laws in Employment, Housing, and Public Accommodations

  • Workplace Discrimination 101: How Employers Can Comply with Federal, State, and Local Employment Laws
  • Housing Discrimination 101: How Housing Providers Can Comply with Federal, State, and Local Employment Laws
  • Disability Discrimination 101: Reasonable Accommodations, Cultural Competency, and Other Requirements for Businesses, Employers, and Housing Providers
  • Transgender Law 101: Compliance with State and Local Discrimination Laws Related to Transgender Persons
  • Setting the Record Straight on Section 8: How Housing Providers Can Ensure Compliance with Fair Housing Laws and Benefit from the Housing Choice Voucher Program

Sanctuary City Ordinance Compliance

  • Compliance with San Francisco’s Sanctuary City Ordinance Requirements: What San Francisco City Agencies and Organizations with Undocumented Members Need to Know

Cultural Competency and Sensitivity

  • LGBTQ Cultural Competency and Sensitivity Training: Creating Workplace Environments Where All Employees and Clients are Treated with Dignity and Respect

Prior Arrest and Convictions

  • Discrimination Against Employees and Tenants with Prior Arrests or Conviction: How Employers and Housing Providers Can Comply with State and Local Ban the Box Laws

 

For more information, please email hrc.info@sfgov.org and an HRC staff person will contact you within five business days.

 

 

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