Gender Equity Vs. Equality
Sanjukta Moorthy (Sun-yook-ta)
Decolonial and Participatory M&E | Intersectional DEI | Challenging power by practicing RADIQUAL approaches to social impact
Another topic that comes up often in conversations with clients is the difference between gender equality and equity.
Rather than sharing Angus McGuire’s amazing illustration again, I wanted to discuss some similarities and differences and what that means for our sector.
Gender Equality
Gender equality refers to the state in which access to rights or opportunities is unaffected by gender. You can also see this as a ‘goal of sameness’.
In the context of social impact, this means providing everyone, regardless of their gender identity, with the same opportunities to achieve their potential. This approach assumes that the playing field is level though, and all individuals need the same resources and opportunities to succeed.
Organisations striving for gender equality focus on measurable outcomes demonstrating gender parity and ensuring that all gender groups are equally represented in leadership positions (either by number or some other central metric). It could also mean that their programmes reach as many of one group of people as another.
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Gender Equity
Unlike equality, which focuses on equal treatment, gender equity involves providing varying levels of support based on individuals’ differing needs to achieve fairness. It understands and takes into account the systemic oppressions that different genders face, and acknowledges we don’t all start at the same place.
I use equity more often than equality, because in my experience this is the approach that truly does level the playing field. Please excuse the US-tastic analogy!
This concept recognises that identical treatment, as gender equality may advocate, can perpetuate or exacerbate existing inequalities because people start from different places. Our species is so varied, and there is so much diversity even within smaller communities or groups, that making a generalisation about what one group needs to achieve parity misses the whole point.
Leadership Development & Transformation Coach | Certified Corporate Facilitative Trainer | Nurturing Leadership Potential and Guiding Women to Reach Their Desired ‘Next Level’ | Soft Skills and Image Consultant | Speaker
4 个月Sanjukta Moorthy (Sun-yook-ta), I agree. It's about time that the 'goal of sameness' shifts to becoming the 'goal of fairness'. The onus lies in us to pursue this individually to fulfill our unique goals as well as collectively to bring our voices meaningfully to the table.
Consultant at Philanthropy for Change
5 个月Great overview Sanjukta. There’s a lot of conflation of the two terms out there ! My shorthand is that there can be no gender equality without gender equity.