An Overview of the Equality Indicators Tool

• In Event: Defining, Measuring, and Initiating Progress Toward Greater Equality in Justice and Beyond

Abstract

The Equality Indicators tool was developed to provide a means for holistically examining equality in cities and other local jurisdictions. The primary purpose of the tool is to establish a baseline and then to measure change toward greater or lesser inequality annually across six key domains, or themes: Economy, Education, Health, Housing, Justice, and Services. Within each broad domain, we examine narrower topics, and within those topics, specific indicators. The tool was designed to capture the experiences of the groups most adversely affected by inequality; therefore most individual indicators compare the most and least disadvantaged populations for each particular issue. Scores are produced at four different levels: indicator, topic, theme, and citywide; for a given year, they range from 1-100.

This paper will describe the Equality Indicators methodology in depth, focusing on the structure of the tool, the data sources used—which include both administrative and public survey data—and how both static and dynamic scores are produced and reported. This paper will also describe the process of developing the Equality Indicators, which included an exhaustive review of the literature, an analysis of existing data, and feedback from community and government stakeholders. Finally, we will discuss challenges and limitations.

Authors

• Shawnda Chapman-Brown, CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance

• Victoria Z. Lawson, CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance

• Besiki Luka Kutateladze, CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance