LibGuides: Cultural Fluency: What is Equity?

What Is Equity?

"Equality rests on ... assumptions about sameness, while equity assumes more diversity. Assessing similarities and differences without prejudice and bias becomes more difficult."
"One way to understand these terms on a very personal level is to imagine being the parent of twins. Even if you try to treat them identically, differences will emerge over time. Excellence is creating equality with respect to their similarities and equity with respect to their differences."

Bennett, J.M (Ed). (2015). "Equality Versus Equity," p. 291-293. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Intercultural Competence. Ebooks on EBSCOhost.

Equity: Boys standing on boxes to see over a fence with taller boxes for shorter boys

In terms of student success, it is often necessary to address equity issues--such as access to specific technology--that may be related to socioeconomic status and other factors. At many educational institutions course schedules have not been printed for years; students must register and enroll in courses online. Final grades, financial aid accounts, and college announcements may be provided exclusively online. A considerable portion of a library's collection may be digital and require access to online databases, including the library catalog, to complete research assignments.

Image from Mann, Blair. (2014, March 12). Equity and equality are not equal. The Education Trust. Retrieved from https://edtrust.org/the-equity-line/equity-and-equality-are-not-equal/

Five Principles for Enacting Equity by Design
Summary of principles that must be embedded in leadership to develop equity-mindedness in an institution.
Racial Equity Tools
"This site offers tools, research, tips, curricula and ideas for people who want to increase their own understanding and to help those working toward justice at every level – in systems, organizations, communities and the culture at large."
11 Terms You Should Know to Better Understand Structural Racism
This glossary describes terms related to structural racism and terms used to promote racial equity analysis. It was created by the Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change, a group that worked with leading innovators to produce strong and reliable frameworks for successful and sustainable community change and development.

What Is Intersectionality?

(2021). Intersectionality. Research Starters: Sociology by García, J. D.
Intersectionality, one of the foundational concepts within the social sciences, complicates traditional approaches toward the study of race, gender, class, and sexuality by treating these factors as interconnected variables that shape an individual's overall life experiences, rather than as isolated variables. Power, privilege, and oppression are often much more complex than has been traditionally thought, as an individual may be relatively privileged in one or more aspects of their life, while simultaneously experiencing prejudice, discrimination, or oppression stemming from other aspects of their social background or identity. Intersectionality seeks to explain how these different variables come together to shape experience, identity, and society.

'Did it happen because of your race or sex?'
Calafell, B. M. (2014). 'Did it happen because of your race or sex?' University sexual harassment policies and the move against intersectionality. Frontiers: A Journal of Women's Studies, (3), 75.
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"For women of color, sexual harassment is rarely, if ever about sex or sexism alone; it is also about race."

ACC: Faces of Our Mission

Dr. Susan Thomason, Associate Vice President, Instructional Services, produced this video for an Austin Community College faculty workshop. We are including it here because it celebrates not only the diversity of the students at ACC, but also of the diversity of program pathways the College offers to match interest, talent, and potential with achievement.

Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at ACC
"Achieving equity is an ethical issue and a moral imperative that requires the examination and transformation of hearts, minds, and conscious and unconscious beliefs that impact decisions about policies, practices, and resource allocations.
The college values the strengthening aspects of diversity and inclusion and their role in helping to achieve equity for all students and communities. As an Achieving the Dream Leader College since 2012, the district is now poised to take a more holistic approach towards equity by harnessing lessons learned from multiple programs and projects to better serve diverse students and communities."

Implicit Social Cognition

Implicit social cognition, or implicit bias, refers to unconscious stereotypes and ideas that impact our relationships, understanding of the world, actions, and decisions. Project Implicit is a non-profit collaboration of academia who seek to understand this phenomenon. Explore your personal cognition by participating in the Implicit Association Tests.

In the News

After Unrest and Protests, N.Y.C. Creates Group to Dismantle Structural Racism
A new racial justice commission will make policy recommendations that could include baby bonds, a jobs guarantee or reparations for Black residents.
NYT Emma G. Fitzsimmons
Published March 23, 2021 Updated March 24, 2021
Relief bill is most significant legislation for Black farmers since Civil Rights Act, experts say
$5 billion would go to farmers of color, who have lost 90 percent of their land over the past century because of systemic discrimination and a cycle of debt
The Washington Post Laura Reiley March 8, 2021
Pandemic’s Racial Disparities Persist in Vaccine Rollout
Communities of color, which have borne the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States, have also received a smaller share of available vaccines. The vaccination rate for Black Americans is half that of white people, and the gap for Hispanic people is even larger, according to a New York Times analysis of state-reported race and ethnicity information.
Amy Schoenfeld Walker, Anjali Singhvi, Josh Holder, Robert Gebeloff and Yuriria Avila March 5, 2021
Illinois Becomes First State to Eliminate Cash Bail
Illinois has become the first state to completely eliminate cash bail, a result of a push by state legislators to end a practice they say keeps poor people in jail for months awaiting trial and disproportionately affects Black and Latino defendants.
Maria Cramer Feb. 23, 2021
Vaccine distribution sites lacking in East Austin: Locations for getting shots highlight racial, equity disparities
Getting access to the COVID-19 vaccine could be challenging in Austin for two populations that have been disproportionately harmed by the disease: Hispanic and Black people. Ryan Autullo,
Austin American-Statesman Dec. 31, 2020
Monumental Victory for DACA Recipients Before Supreme Court in Wolf v. Batalla Vidal
"The U.S. Supreme Court today struck down the Trump administration’s unconscionable attempt to terminate the availability of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), ruling that the administration’s efforts to end DACA violated federal law."
Juan Gastelum - National Immigration Law Center
June 18, 2020
Civil Rights Law Protects Gay and Transgender Workers, Supreme Court Rules
The court said the language of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination, applies to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
By Adam Liptak
New York Times June 15, 2020 Updated 11:27 a.m. ET
After decades of failing minority students, this school district is pushing for racial equity. Here's how.
After decades of segregation, of failing to educate and serve all students equally, of “privileging the prejudice of white parents over the well-being of Black students,” a new era has begun in Indianapolis Public Schools.
Arika Herron Indianapolis Star July 3, 2020