Equality and Equity

Probably most people have seen the above illustration of the differences among equality, equity, liberation, and reality. As with many such things, they hide as much as they expose. The fence, representing a barrier, is not always something that can be removed (think about physical and mental differences as a barrier); there is no discussion of how “reality” came about; further, there are times when equality is preferable over equity and others when equity is preferable over equality. Let’s go over each of these ideas.

The Fence

The fence represents a barrier between us and our goals. Sometimes those barriers are artificial, but other times those barriers are either a natural consequence of genetic differences or social realities. In the latter case, we should always be asking if those “social realities” are in fact real or if they are artificial. This question should be asked even of things that we have already decided are in fact real.

As I noted above, there are sometimes physical or mental differences that act as the barrier. A person in a wheelchair faces such a barrier. Providing a ramp into a building for people in wheelchairs and with difficulty walking is thus a form of equity that’s necessary to overcome that barrier to getting into the building. One could create equality by eliminating all stairs and only ever providing ramps to get into…