Guide

DEI Policy Template

A DEI policy is the document people point at when a decision is disputed, which means a policy of good intentions is worse than no policy at all. This structure covers what the document has to say to hold up: who it applies to, what the organization is committing to, who is accountable for each commitment, and what happens when it is not followed.

See the courses

Everything on this page is yours to copy and adapt. The courses cover the decisions behind it: what to charge, what to promise, and what to put in writing.

What yours needs to cover

✓ A purpose section that states what the policy is for in plain language
✓ A scope section naming everyone it covers, including contractors and board members
✓ Specific commitments written as actions rather than as values
✓ An accountability section naming the role responsible for each commitment
✓ A section on how concerns are raised, who receives them, and what protection the person raising them has
✓ A review date, because an undated policy is treated as out of date the first time it is challenged

How to use it

Draft the commitments first. Everything else exists to make them enforceable.
Delete any commitment nobody has been given the budget or authority to deliver.
Name a role, not a person, against every commitment, so it survives someone changing jobs.
Have your legal counsel read it before it is published, because a policy is quoted back to you in a dispute.
Set the review date in the document and put it in a calendar the same day.

DEI Policy Template FAQs

What should a DEI policy include?

Purpose, scope, specific commitments, named accountability for each, a route for raising concerns, and a review date. The commitments are the part that matters, and they should be things the organization can actually be held to.

Is a DEI policy a legal requirement?

It depends entirely on where you operate and how large you are, and in some jurisdictions parts of it are required while others are not. Ask your own legal counsel rather than working from a general answer.

Do you provide a downloadable policy file?

This page is the structure rather than a file. Unit 2 of the course covers how to write each section for your organization, which is the part a blank document cannot do for you.

More DEI templates

DEI Strategic Plan Template View → Employee DEI Survey Template View → Inclusive Job Description Template View → Employee Resource Group Charter Template View →

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Ten documents, one course that covers the thinking behind all of them, from the first quote to the contract you hand a commercial client.

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