Equity, Elucidated
To really “do” DEI “work,” you must accept a premise, which I mentioned in the first post: certain groups have been systemically left out. At first glance, ‘left out’ appears to mean not included. But it also means left out of being given a fair chance at the same opportunities.
This is an important premise for unpacking equity, because at the heart of equity lies fairness. Having equity among a group means everyone in that group has what they need to have a fair chance at the same opportunities.
I will share a story to elucidate the concept of equity.
When I was about 9 years old, I was at my grandmother’s house being watched by my aunt for the day. Lunch was made, and I was handed a ham and cheese sandwich. The problem was, it had mustard on it. For those mustard-haters among us, you’ll understand that this was a deal breaker. I revealed that I didn’t like mustard to my aunt, but it fell on deaf ears. I then asked if I could go home to eat, as I lived just across the street. My aunt said no, because she immediately saw through my scheme to leave in order to remedy the sandwich situation on my own!
In the end, I choked down the sandwich. It remains a memorable experience primarily because, deep in my 9-year-old bones, it didn’t feel fair.
Equity often gets contrasted with equality. In my example above, equality was very present - everyone got the same ham and cheese sandwich with mustard. Equity would have been that everyone got the combo of ham, cheese, mustard and bread that worked for them. The premise of equity in this example includes the limitation to just ingredients, as opposed to the idea that each person could get their favorite sandwich of choice.
You might be thinking: “Toughen up and just eat the sandwich. Life’s not fair, you’re lucky to even have lunch, especially one that is handed to you.” I would likely just choke down the sandwich as an adult today, but this is a story about a 9-year-old’s experience. If we extrapolate this story to adulthood, and the real issue that puts ‘E’ in DEI, it’s about what the moment that I was made to eat the sandwich represented: unfair consideration and disrespect. This happens far too frequently for certain marginalized groups who are not given fair treatment or access.
We've all had times in our life where we didn't get what we needed, and when surrounded by others getting their needs met, is experienced as deeply unfair.
Through an organizational lens, Gallup defines equity as:
Equity is the fair treatment, access and advancement for each person in an organization.
This fairness should not only exist in your organization, but exist transparently so that it creates the sense of fairness. We know that perception of fairness is key to psychological safety (through David Rock's SCARF Model).
This doesn't mean everyone should receive the same things or even be treated in the same way -- the goal isn't sameness. That would be antithetical to honoring diversity. It is simply an acknowledgement and an attempt to level the opportunity field.
A small starting step is to watch for fair treatment and access to opportunity in your organization. You can engage your people by asking what they need.
This is the third post in a DEI series. Find the introduction post here and the second post on diversity here.
