Equity vs. Equality: What's the Difference? Here's How Experts Explain It

Equity vs. equality

First, here's a basic overview of both equity and equality. Alford Young, PhD, professor of sociology and Afroamerican studies at the University of Michigan, tells Health that he defines them this way:

* Equality is the access to and distribution of a set of resources evenly across individuals of a population.

* Equity is the access to or distribution of resources according to need.

This equality vs. equity cartoon gives a visual representation of these definitions:

In the equality drawing, each person is given the same box-the access to and distribution of resources evenly across the population. By providing equality, the shortest person still can't see over the fence; the tallest person has been boosted even higher over the fence he already could see over. In the equity drawing, the people are given either one, two, or no boxes to stand on-the access to or distribution of resources according to need. By providing equity, all three can now see over the fence at the same level, regardless of their height.

Young says that equality and equity shouldn't be considered synonyms. While both have to do with fairness and justice, how they are achieved and what they ultimately look like are different. "People often use the terms interchangeably, and they shouldn't be," he says.

Why the focus is on equity now

Equality assumes that everybody is the same and everybody needs the same thing. But some people need more because they started with less. If everyone gets an equal shot or piece of something (say, a company issuing every employee a tablet to use for work at home), some people still don't have what they need (like reliable home Wi-Fi to use the device), and they won't be able to thrive, Regina Davis Moss, PhD, MPH, the American Public Health Association's associate executive director, tells Health. Because equality still leaves room for different outcomes, she says equality shouldn't be the goal.

"I think what's driving the focus on equity is this now long-standing realization that there are such differences in certain social outcomes that require different means of address, or that the different populations need different things," Young says. An equitable approach to the tablet example would be figuring out which employees need Wi-Fi access and giving them not just the tablet, but also a way to access Wi-Fi. This way, all employees have the necessary resources to do their work.

Without first achieving equity, you can't achieve equality, Young says. "Equity… becomes a way of focusing on the fact that we're not going to have equality any time soon by just throwing a set of resources to a bunch of people at the same level­-that's not going to do much," he explains.

So is "equality" an outdated term? No, Davis Moss says. Equality works-that is, if everyone needs the same thing. "In some places yes, absolutely, you should be trying to think about [equality], but when we're talking about really trying to help people have better lives and rectify [unfairness], then that's just not going to be enough if you give everyone the same thing," she explains.

What does equity look like in the real world?

Equity is both an ultimate goal and a process, according to Davis Moss. In terms of the ultimate goal, she says that achieving equity means that no part of a person's identity (like race, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and religion) gets in the way of their ability to thrive. In terms of the process, being equitable means recognizing, taking accountability for, and changing the systemic and structural barriers that get in the way of people being able to thrive. And the people who were affected by inequality should be meaningfully involved in the change process, she says.

Some might think that these targeted efforts in and of themselves are racist and discriminatory, Young points out. He disagrees. "If a sect of people have suffered neglect or abuse, lack of access, the only way to correct that is by special intervention," he says.

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