Equity and Equality in DEI

DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives are growing quickly in organizations around the world. Leaders and entire departments dedicated to DEI – or EDIB (equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging) – are being installed in for-profit and nonprofit organizations. These teams are committed to deeply embedding DEI principles into the values and actions of the business so that it can be more accessible, welcoming, and empowering. 

Here we’ll discuss the “E” in DEI. Compared to diversity and inclusion, the words equity and equality (with which equity is sometimes substituted) are ambiguous terms that can be defined very differently from organization to organization. 

According to Robert Harris, Director of EDIB at National Audubon Society, it's "not advisable to use equity and equality interchangeably."

"In general," he says, "equality is when folks receive the same resources in amount and proportion and equity is when differences are recognized. Resource allocation varies based on those differences to achieve equality."

How you implement your DEI initiatives will depend on how these terms are defined. Your definition of these terms will also influence your culture deck, hiring process, team charter, operating agreements, mission statement, media/investor relations, etc. Making sure that they are clear and meaningful for everyone on the team is very important.

Equity may be defined in the following ways:

1. Ownership - Quite simply, equity could mean that employees have part-ownership of the company. Many successful employee-owned companies (like Publix or Black and Veatch) have found benefits in this model, including employee retention and founder succession. 
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2. Clear Career Paths or Opportunities - It’s important that every person receives fair pay or wages (and opportunities for advancement) in ways that are transparent and accessible. This allows them to see themselves as part of the future vision for the company and plan their next steps as the organization grows. How do your team members know what their next steps are? Are they forced to self-advocate? Are they on their own to follow up or communicate with you about a promotion? If their pathway isn’t clear, taking their career to the next level with you might be a challenge. Privilege is how some people get ahead, but not everyone is comfortable with or able to employ that level of directness. It can’t just be the loudest (or most privileged) who get the most rewarding roles and positions. 
   
   
3. Personal Stake in Change - In the book, The Primes: How Any Group Can Solve Any Problem, Chris McGoff explores patterns of high-performing teams and describes a model known as the Core Prime. It looks a bit like a see-saw, with “As is” on the left and “To be” on the right. At the bottom is a triangle labeled “Stake.” In order to move any strategy, organization, or change initiative forward (from “As is” to “To be”) it must tip the “fulcrum of possibility” known as Stake. Having stake in something makes it personal.
   
   “Get it right, and people tip toward the “To Be,” McGoff writes. “Get it wrong, or under-invest in it, and people tip back to what is familiar.”
   
   If your team is not equally engaged in the dynamic growth and change within your organization, it won’t happen. If everyone is “all in,” that means you are listening to them deeply and motivating them (analytically, emotionally, and financially). 

To review, diversity means that you have various people in the room, equity means that there is awareness that they are not all on equal footing, and inclusion means that you have a process for engaging them. Equality is the outcome of people being equally resourced.

If you’d like to have a conversation about team performance, team design, or team development, please schedule a discovery call today.