Equality Vs. Equity: How To Be Fair? - An illustration showing three stick figures of different sizes standing on platforms of equal heights on the left. The biggest stick figure is able to reach the apple above. But the other two cannot reach the apples at the same height. This is an example of equality. On the right, the same stick figures are placed on platforms of different sizes such that they are all able to reach their respective apples. This is an example of equity.

Any discussion on equality vs. equity is centred around fairness. As the old saying goes, a picture speaks a thousand words. The meme in the title image here tells a great story about the difference between equality and equity.

It just happens to be the case that “fairness” is relevant to all walks of life from school tests to job interviews. So, people from all walks of life typically have a simplified model of fairness that gets swayed by memes like these.

The answer is simple, right? According to the meme, we need to stick to equity instead of equality. That would fix all issues surrounding fairness, right? But alas! In real life, fairness is not so simple.

There are certain fundamental logical misconceptions that I often observe again and again in discussions about fairness. In this essay, I will be presenting these issues.

By the end of the essay, I will also be presenting a more complex mental model of fairness that is likely to be more helpful in practical life. Without any further ado, let us begin.

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Equality Vs. Equity: How to be Fair in Education?

Let us start by revisiting our childhood. I remember being a slow runner as a kid. When I played with neighbourhood kids, I recall them shifting the play rules a bit when I had to run so that the game was more fun.

This memory reminds me directly of the meme in the title image. Indeed, the dynamic here was more in the direction of equity than equality.

Fast forward a few years, and I was in school. The kids in my class came from all sorts of backgrounds; all kinds of socio-economic classes; diverse religions, and so forth.

However, the tests that we had to take had the same ironclad, unbendable rules for all of us. It did not matter if a kid had a privileged background or a challenging background.

If she did not do well on the tests, she got poor scores. This testing system was more in the direction of equality than equity.

As I progressed through higher classes, I remember having to suffer challenging technical levels. The jump in level of technicality from one grade to the next was abrupt and harsh.

Let us now fast forward to the present education systems in our modern societies. As the world becomes more and more interconnected, I see one dominant fairness model in education these days.

Once again, a picture speaks a thousand words. Let me repaint the same meme-story of equity vs. equality, but this time in education:

Equality Vs. Equity: How To Be Fair? — An illustration showing a test-scores graph on the left based on equality. This is just a graph with three different scores, the left most being meidocre, the middle one being high, and the right one being the lowest. On the right, we see test scores based on equity. Here, the graph’s axis is raised or lowered locally to make all the scores reach the same y-value. This seems unfair.
Test scores based on equality vs. equity — Illustration created by the author

Do you see the issue there? All of a sudden, equality seems better off than equity. But why?

The Issue with Equity in Education

How can a system normalize test scores whilst still conducting fair tests? Well, the tests are not rigged. But the level of technicality is. Let us take mathematics as an example.

One new trend is that education boards lower the level of mathematics in school grades to make the subject more accessible and approachable for the majority of students.

The result? Well, the meme story that I just painted. You might be thinking:

Isn’t that a good thing? If everyone has similar test scores and learns lower-level math, does that not make for a better and more friendly society?

I would say that this is utopian thinking that does not help our society in the long run. To understand why, let us shift from education to employment.

Equality Vs. Equity: How to be Fair in Employment

If you are reading this essay, you are probably more in the direction of an adult than a child. The challenges of employment might be more interesting to you than education (unless you have a child).

Here is a set of trends that I observe in our modern inter-connected employment world:

1. A drive to maintain an equal gender ratio among employees

2. An active push to achieve a proportional ratio of employees with diverse backgrounds.

3. The wish to normalise employee behavioural patterns by designing automated resume-scanning and -filtering software, etc.

This list goes on. But for the purposes of this essay, I think these three points would suffice. Once again, you might be thinking:

“Aren’t these noble causes? Why would we NOT want these in our employment world? These trends lead to a better society.”

If you think like this, let me pose an interesting challenge for you. Let us say that someone very dear to you has been diagnosed with a terrible brain condition. They need to be operated on urgently.

Given the option of choosing between a range of surgeons coming from diverse backgrounds, genders, etc., how would you choose the surgeon to save your dear person?

In almost all cases, the answer would be to choose best the surgeon based on knowledge, experience, and track record. If you tend to align with this approach, notice that the background, gender, etc., of the surgeon did not matter at all; only skill and performance did.

It appears, then, that we have a dichotomy in our expectations of fairness. We all want an ideal world with equal/normalized outcomes.

But when lives are on the line, equality vs. equity goes out of the window and we want the best person on the case (an unfair outcome to the rest of the professionals).

The Real Issue of Equality Vs. Equity

The challenge I see with most equality vs. equity discussions is that they are way too simplified. The underlying truth is that, for whatever reason, our wishes are contradictory. Don’t shoot the messenger here; human beings are complicated.

We prefer equality in some scenarios and equity in others. Based on the meme story in play, we “think” that one of these is the best solution for a generalised framework. And guess what, such an over-simplified solution leads to disastrous results in the long run.

Equality Vs. Equity: How To Be Fair? — An illustration showing three stick figures of different sizes standing on platforms of equal heights on the left. The biggest stick figure is able to reach the apple above. But the other two cannot reach the apples at the same height. This is an example of equality. On the right, the same stick figures are placed on platforms of different sizes such that they are all able to reach their respective apples. This is an example of equity.
Equality Vs. Equity — Illustrative art created by the author

What is the solution then? Well, the devil is in the details. When someone says, “We need to level the playing field” or “We need to ensure equal opportunity”, we need to question further to get to their fundamental motivations.

The reason for this is that these same words mean completely different things to different people. Yet, by uttering the same words, it is very easy to gain the consent of the majority. People in managerial and political positions are well-versed in these tactics.

Unfortunately, there is no (practically-useful) simplified model or solution for equality vs. equity. On the one hand, if a system administers the same rules to everyone, it is inherently unfair.

On the other hand, if a system administers individual rules to each individual (aiming for equal outcomes), it achieves equity whilst consuming an extravagant amount of resources (an entire society of royalty is likely infeasible).

Final Thoughts

I will conclude this essay by presenting yet another contradictory observation of mine (again, don’t shoot the messenger here). I have dealt with a lot of unfair situations in my life. So have you!

Nature is unfair; cut-throat, even! We love our protagonists in novels and movies because of how they strive to overcome their unfair challenges in the face of adversity.

We love equality in some aspects of our lives whilst loving equity in others. Equality and equity often pull in opposite directions. Yet, we celebrate those who overcome unfairness.

Without unfairness and adversity, who will be left to celebrate? What becomes of a story without a protagonist?

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