Social equity

Social equity is concerned with justice and fairness of social policy based on the principle of substantive equality.^[1] Since the 1960s, the concept of social equity has been used in a variety of institutional contexts, including education and public administration.

Social equity within a society is different from social equality based on formal equality of opportunity.^[2] For example, person A may have no difficulty walking, person B may be able to walk but have difficulties with stairs, while person C may be unable to walk at all. Social equality would be treating each of those three people in the same way (by providing each with the same aids, or none), whereas social equity pursues the aim of making them equally capable of traversing public spaces by themselves (e.g. by installing lifts next to staircases and providing person C with a wheelchair).

Overview

Definitions of social equity can vary, but all focus on the ideals of justice and fairness. Equity should involve the role of public administrators, who are responsible for ensuring that social services are delivered equitably. This implies taking into account historical and current inequalities among groups. Fairness is dependent on this social and historical context.^[3]

In public administration

Attention to social equity in the field of public administration in the United States arose during the 1960s, amid growing national awareness of civil rights and racial inequality.^[4]

The National Academy of Public Administration defines social equity as “The fair, just and equitable management of all institutions serving the public directly or by contract; the fair, just and equitable distribution of public services and implementation of public policy; and the commitment to promote fairness, justice, and equity in the formation of public policy.”^[5]

In 1968, H. George Frederickson articulated "a theory of social equity" and put it forward as the 'third pillar' of public administration.^[6] Frederickson was concerned that those in public administration were making the mistake of assuming that citizen A is the same as citizen B; ignoring social and economic conditions. His goal: for social equity to take on the same "status as economy and efficiency as values or principles to which public administration should adhere."^[6]

Community policing is one approach towards social equity in policing.^[7]

Sex, gender and sexuality

Recent administration from former U.S. President Barack Obama has shed light on the subject of social equity for members of the LGBTQ community. The Obama administration appointed more than 170 openly LGBTQ professionals to work full-time within the executive branch and directed the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to conduct “the first ever national study to determine the level of discrimination experienced by LGBTQ community in housing.”^[8]

Race

Within the realm of public administration, racial equality is an important factor. It deals with the idea of “biological equality” of all human races and “social equality for people of different races”. According to Jeffrey B. Ferguson his article “Freedom, Equality, Race,” the people of the United States believe that racial equality will prevail.^[9]

Religion

Social equity regarding religion has legal protections in some jurisdictions. In the US, individuals, regardless of religious affiliation or practice are afforded. According to 42 U.S.C. sect. 2000e(j) "Religion is defined as all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that he is unable to responsibly accommodate to an employee's or prospective employee's religious observance or practice without unique hardship to the conduct of the employer's business."^[10] This law was enacted to protect employees who are employed by bosses of another religion and allow them to observe their particular religious practices and celebrations.

Military

Military and conscription generally violate social equity, despite increasing social inclusion.^[11]^[12]^[13] Women in Norway did not reach gender equity for conscription with women being only 33% of all conscripted as of 2020.^[14] The United States military casualties of war and mental health outcomes show racial and gender equity disparities,^[15] in the period 1980-2022 African Americans were overrepresented and women were underrepresented in casualties.^[16]

Education

Educational equity, also known as equity in education, is a measure of equity in education.^[17] Educational equity depends on two main factors. The first is distributive justice, which implies that factors specific to one's personal conditions should not interfere with the potential of academic success. The second factor is inclusion, which refers to a comprehensive standard that applies to everyone in a certain education system. These two factors are closely related and depend on each other for an educational system's success.^[18] Education equity can include the study of excellence and equity.^[19]

Health

Health equity arises from access to the social determinants of health, specifically from wealth, power and prestige.^[20] Individuals who have consistently been deprived of these three determinants are significantly disadvantaged from health inequities, and face worse health outcomes than those who are able to access certain resources.^[20]^[21]^[22] It is not equity to simply provide every individual with the same resources; that would be equality. In order to achieve health equity, resources must be allocated based on an individual need-based principle.^[20]

References

^ Alfonseca, Kiara (10 February 2023). "DEI: What does it mean and what is its purpose?". ABC News. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
^ De Vos, M. (2020). The European Court of Justice and the march towards substantive equality in European Union anti-discrimination law. International Journal of Discrimination and the Law, 20(1), 62-87.
^ Gooden, Susan T. (2015). Race and Social Equity: A Nervous Area of Government. Routledge. pp. 13–18. ISBN 978-1-31-746145-6.
^ See also Riccucci, N.M. 2021. Managing Diversity in Public Sector Workforces. New York: Routledge.
^ National Academy of Public Administration Archived 2009-05-06 at the Wayback Machine
^ ^a ^b Frederickson, H. George (March 1990). "Public Administration and Social Equity" (PDF). Public Administration Review. 50 (2): 228–237. doi:10.2307/976870. ISSN 1540-6210. JSTOR 976870. Archived from the original on 12 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-19. In 1968 a theory of social equity was developed and put forward as the "third pillar" for public administration, with the same status as economy and efficiency as values or principles to which public administration should adhere
^ Thacher, David (2001). "Equity and community policing: A new view of community partnerships". Criminal Justice Ethics. 20 (1): 3–16. doi:10.1080/0731129X.2001.9992093. ISSN 0731-129X.
^ Wesley, Joan Marshall, Ercilla Dometz Hendrix, and Jasmine N. Williams. "Moving Forward: Advancing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender Rights Under The Obama Administration Through Progressive Politics." Race, Gender & Class 18.3/4 (2011): 150-168. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web.
^ See also Riccucci, Norma M. (2021-05-19), "Diversity Management and Women in Public Sector Workforces", Managing Diversity in Public Sector Workforces, Routledge, pp. 101–135, doi:10.4324/9781003176534-6, ISBN 978-1-003-17653-4, retrieved 2023-01-05
^ Malone, Michael D., Sandra J. Hartman, and Dinah Payne. "Religion In The Workplace: Disparate Treatment." Labor Law Journal 49.6 (1998): 1099-1105. Legal Source. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.
^ Michalowski, Helen (May 1982). "Five feminist principles and the draft". Resistance News (8): 2.
^ Neudel, Marian Henriquez (July 1983). "Feminism and the Draft". Resistance News (13): 7.
^ Benatar, David (May 15, 2012). The Second Sexism: Discrimination Against Men and Boys. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-67451-2. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
^ "A Look at Norway's Approach to Gender-Neutral Conscription". SecurityWomen. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
^ Sharifian, Neika; Kolaja, Claire A; LeardMann, Cynthia A; Castañeda, Sheila F; Carey, Felicia R; Seay, Julia S; Carlton, Keyia N; Rull, Rudolph P; Cohort Study Team, for the Millennium (4 March 2024). "Racial, Ethnic, and Sex Disparities in Mental Health Among US Service Members and Veterans: Findings From the Millennium Cohort Study". American Journal of Epidemiology. 193 (3): 500–515. doi:10.1093/aje/kwad221. ISSN 0002-9262.
^ "U.S. service member deaths deaths by race, war/conflict and 1980-present Source: DMDC's defense casualty analysis system" (PDF). Retrieved 26 July 2024.
^ Alfonseca, Kiara (10 February 2023). "DEI: What does it mean and what is its purpose?". ABC News. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
^ "Ten Steps to Equity in Education" (PDF). Oecd.org. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
^ Younas, Muhammad; Noor, Uzma (2020). "Teaching for Excellence and Equity". Journal of International Students. 10 (4): 1114–1116. doi:10.32674/jis.v10i4.2758. S2CID 234663342.
^ ^a ^b ^c Braveman P, Gruskin S (April 2003). "Defining equity in health". Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 57 (4): 254–8. doi:10.1136/jech.57.4.254. PMC 1732430. PMID 12646539.
^ Boutayeb, Abdesslam (2023-05-02). "Social determinants of health and adolescent childbearing in WHO Eastern Mediterranean countries". International Journal for Equity in Health. 22 (1): 78. doi:10.1186/s12939-023-01861-2. ISSN 1475-9276. PMC 10155383. PMID 37131177.
^ Goldberg DS (2017). "Justice, Compound Disadvantage, and Health Inequities". Public Health Ethics and the Social Determinants of Health. SpringerBriefs in Public Health. pp. 17–32. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-51347-8_3. ISBN 978-3-319-51345-4.