What is equity?
The ‘E’ in EDI doesn’t always mean equality.
Equity is only two letters different to equality, but changes the game completely.
Equality, equity, it’s all the same...right?
There’s been a tendency for equality and equity to be used in the same place, but they mean pretty different things.
As explained in a previous post, equality is about giving everyone the same access and resources. This is based on the assumption that everyone starts from the same point, regardless of their background.
Equity instead recognises that each person is different to everyone else. It seeks to provide them with exactly what they need to achieve equal outcomes with someone else.
Okay… but what does that actually mean?
An example could be in recruitment. A job description states that five years of paid experience and a Batchelor’s Degree is essential for someone to be selected for the role.
While this gets the company experienced candidates, it isn’t doing so equitably. Why?
Because some people don’t have the finances or time to commit to three years of study for a degree
Because some people have left jobs quickly after experiencing discrimination
Because someone may be very skilled, but not old enough to have five years of experience
Because someone may have similar volunteering experience, but the pay of a job in another sector to pay the bills
Another example could include an organisation providing vouchers for free flu jabs for all employees. This is great for equality, as everyone is able to be protected. However, the vouchers are only acceptable at one particular chain of pharmacies. If half of the workforce don’t live close to a branch, they wouldn't be able to claim their vaccine.
How can I be more equitable?
The starting point for this is understanding who you’re engaging with, and what they need. This will likely be different for everyone, and means you may need to become familiar with another term – intersectionality.
This means that the different things about us work together to shape who we are and how we experience the world. This includes things like our gender, age, social class, education experience, and lots more. It can help to think of it like a Venn diagram – see below for a helpful graphic from Sylvia Duckworth.
The starting point for this is understanding who you’re engaging with, and what they need. This will likely be different for everyone, and means you may need to become familiar with another term – intersectionality.
This means that the different things about us work together to shape who we are and how we experience the world. This includes things like our gender, age, social class, education experience, and lots more. It can help to think of it like a Venn diagram – Sylvia Duckworth produced a helpful graphic, shown on the right here.
All our different characteristics overlap to form something that is uniquely us. Our neighbour may have many similar traits, but even one difference can change the overall mix. This can change their experiences of work, friendships, education, healthcare, etc.
To be more equitable, we need to consider the different aspects of people and how their combinations may affect them at work. Knowing the different aspects of our people’s identities mean we can review how we work to make things better.
Things you can do include:
Gather data on the people you work with, and even your customers and clients. Having information about your people mean you can understand the makeup better. Make sure any data is within the scope of your privacy arrangements and keep it secure!
Talk to your people! It can seem simple but also scary to talk about equity and differences between us. Coming from a place of genuine curiosity, compassion, and with a purpose of improving the workplace makes the difference.
Take your time when changing things. If you need to change working hours, the way something is done, or a policy, make time to do it properly. Think about the immediate impacts, and any potential impacts later down the line; will they affect some people more than others? Again, talking to your people can help here.
There’s no right way to be equitable, and it will be different for every organisation. Big or small, small changes to how you do things can have a huge impact.
Rob Drury Consulting
I’m experienced in areas of equality, equity, diversity and inclusion, and would be thrilled to help you if you need help in trying to make your business more inclusive. This could be through conducting reviews or surveys, assessing your company data, producing policies and guidelines, or something really specific to what you do. Get in touch to start something great!
