The Global FAIR Space Blog

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Equity is the absence of unfair, avoidable or remediable differences among groups of people, whether those groups are defined socially, economically, demographically, or geographically or by other dimensions of inequality (e.g. sex, gender, ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation).”

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• Equality is about about treating everyone the same way, irrespective of their unique circumstances.
• Equity is about acknowledging that people’s circumstances are different and making accommodations so that everyone can have the same opportunities.

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Have you ever needed to get somewhere important or grab something essential, but obstacles just kept piling up, making everything seem impossible? Have you ever really needed to achieve something, but found yourself facing one barrier after another? Or, have you ever felt like the tools you were given just weren’t right for what you needed to do and added extra challenges instead of helping?

That’s what a lack of equity feels like.

When we talk about restoring equity, we’re talking about removing these barriers so that everyone can move forward, no matter what they’re dealing with in life.

Imagine if an adjustment or adjustments could clear those obstacles, making your goal not just possible, but reachable.

An awareness of equity begins with an acknowledgement that, just like clothes, one size policies do not fit all. Not everyone has equal opportunities or has had equal opportunities from the day they were born. or through circumstances since. In addition, history itself speaks through our experiences and our differences in history can create barriers to participation. Public and private sector policies made in the absence of the awareness of historical bias and historical injustice could potentially make existing inequalities worse and negatively impact our global priority populations and marginalized communities through discrimination and unfairness, however unintended.

Therefore, it is vitally important that we need to first ensure equity before we can enjoy equality, because we cannot have equality without equity.

Put another way…

I really love the above graphic that The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Princeton, New Jersey, USA) came up with, which shows people simply trying to cross a street. It is a thing we all do every day – some of us with less success than others, depending on our circumstances, in this case, often physical.

• In the “Equality” square on the left, “Everyone gets the same, regardless of it it’s needed or right for them – in this case, one curb/kerb and a sign for all to step down to and from the street from the sidewalk. This clearly works great for some, but for others, not so much.
• Now, look over at the “Equity” square on the right, “Everyone gets what they need – understanding the barriers, circumstances, and conditions.” The crossing has been modified so that everyone gets what they need to go on their way smoothly. Those who can walk get a signal that tells them when it’s safe to cross the street. For someone in a wheelchair, there’s an accessible signal they can reach and a ramp that makes it easy to get up onto the sidewalk.

In real-life terms, equity is about understanding everyone’s different circumstances and giving them exactly what they need to succeed in life or simply to get through a single day. It’s about customizing the support to fit the person, not the other way around. This might mean creating wheelchair ramps, providing braille on signs for the visually impaired, or offering translation services for those who speak different languages. In considering fairness, we should be making sure we all get to where we’re going, no matter what obstacles we might face.

Equity is acknowledging everyone’s unique journey and providing the right kind of support along the way. When equity functions well in society, it creates a community that supports everyone’s success and well-being.

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*Both squirrel images generated by Natasha J. Stillman and ChatGPT-4 (DALLE-3)