Equity
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Equity is when everyone has a fair and just opportunity for health and wellbeing.
Unfortunately, some groups experience more obstacles to this opportunity than others, such as a lack of access to good jobs with fair pay, quality education, housing, safe environments, and healthcare. Often, these obstacles accumulate because of discrimination related to socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, disability status, geographic location, or a combination of these characteristics.
A focus on Equity involves removing the obstacles preventing some groups from having the opportunity for health and wellbeing – and addressing the reasons why these groups experience more obstacles than others.Below are some key differences between equity and equality:
Equality
Equity
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Assumes everyone starts from the same place and has equal access to resources and opportunities.
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Everyone should be treated the same and given the same things.
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EXAMPLE: All public schools in a community have computer labs with the same number of computers and hours of operation during the school day.
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Acknowledges neighborhood and systems are structured in ways that give some groups more access to resources and opportunities than others.
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People should have access to resources and opportunities based on their unique needs and circumstances.
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EXAMPLE: Each school provides adequate computers and hours of operation to meet the specific needs of students within their building who don’t have access to computers, printers, or the internet at home.
Tools and Resources:
Equity vs Equality Checklist Visualizing Health Equity Check out this checklist to assess whether a plan, policy, or strategy is equity focused vs. equality focused. Check out this image from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2017. -
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