Season 7 Episode #19 Equity vs. Equality: What's the Difference and Why It Matters

The words equity and equality often get used interchangeably, but this linguistic mix-up isn't just semantic – it fundamentally shapes how we approach fairness in our schools, workplaces, and communities. Equality, while well-intentioned, gives everyone identical resources regardless of their starting point. This approach sounds fair until we examine its practical implications: giving every student the exact same worksheet ignores their different learning styles, language needs, and home support systems.

Equity, on the other hand, recognizes these different circumstances and allocates resources accordingly to achieve equal outcomes. It's about meeting people where they are – whether that means providing speech therapy for one student, internet access for another, or culturally relevant materials for a third. When we mistake equality for equity, we unintentionally perpetuate systems that leave marginalized groups behind. Standardized approaches that ignore historical barriers don't create true inclusion.

Ready to put equity into practice? Start with a thorough resource audit to identify who has access and who's being left out. Use concrete data rather than assumptions to guide your support strategies. Most importantly, center the voices of those most impacted by your decisions – if they aren't part of creating solutions, you're likely missing critical insights. Diversify your curriculum or training materials to ensure representation across cultures and experiences. Remember that equity isn't a destination but an ongoing practice requiring continuous learning and adjustment. If you're committed to moving beyond awareness into action, explore my mini-courses designed to provide step-by-step tools for implementing equity in your daily work as an educator or organizational leader. Visit www.jebedmonds.com to join my email list for free resources and updates that will support your equity journey.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Understanding Equity vs. Equality
• 3:18 Putting Equity Into Practice
• 5:52 Resources and Professional Development
• 9:16 Closing Thoughts and Call to Action

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:36

Have you ever heard someone use the words equity and equality like they mean the same thing? It's a common mix-up, but understanding the difference is essential if we want to create real change in our schools, our communities and our workplaces. Today, we're unpacking these two powerful terms and why one leads to transform, while the other can, unintentionally maintain the status quo. You're listening to Cultural Curriculum Chat Podcast, the show where we unpack how to create more inclusive and culturally responsive spaces, whether you're in the classroom, the boardroom or leading from the community. Let's start with equality. Equality means giving everyone the same resources, opportunities or support, no matter their background or circumstances or starting point. It sounds fair, right, but here's the problem. Equality assumes that everyone begins on equal footing. That's rarely the case. Imagine giving every student the exact same worksheet without considering their learning differences, language needs or access to support at home. That's equality, right, but it's not effective. Or just Now let's look at equity what equity really means? And equity recognizes that people have different circumstances and it allocates the resources and support needed to reach an equal outcome. So equity is about fairness and not sameness. Think of a classroom where one student needs a speech and language pathologist, another needs help getting internet access. And a third needs culturally relevant reading material. Equity says let's meet them where they are. Equity closes gaps that equality overlooks when it comes to getting the right access to help the needs of each of your students. Yeah, it could be more challenging, but what is right and just is doing just that. When we mistake equality for equity, we can inadvertently uphold systems of oppression, for example, in hiring practices. Treating every applicant the same quote-unquote may ignore historic and systemic barriers In schools by standardizing. Curriculum without cultural responsiveness leaves our BIPOC students disengaged and underrepresented. But when we embrace equity, we begin to shift those systems we design with everyone in mind. If this conversation is resonating with you and you want more strategies and free resources, make sure to join my email list at wwwjebedmondscom. You'll get updates on new episodes, free downloads and culturally responsive lesson plan ideas. So that's wwwjebehedmundscom.

Speaker 1: 3:54

I have some tips for putting equity into practice. So let's talk application. Whether you're an educator, a team leader or an advocate, here are a few ways to put equity into action. First things first, do a resource audit. Who has access, who is left out? Okay, there's always something missing, there's always a missing link, and I want you to audit the resources that you have and fill in what things you need to reinstate, supplement or even downright replace. And the second thing I want you to think about is I want you to use data to guide support. Equity is informed by real needs, not assumptions. So get the data from your data coaches in your buildings to even a survey if you're working in the organizations, and see that data to see what is needing more of our attention and support. And thirdly, I want you to listen to the voices of those most impacted. If your solutions don't include them, well, they're not solutions, are they?

Speaker 1: 5:06

Next thing I want you to think about is diversifying your curriculum or your training materials. Representation matters Either getting those sources from people with their own lived experiences that can help gathering community voices to come in and guide you, having that outreach and engagement with your community that you're serving, and even still looking to your curriculum specialists and alerting them to let them know why is this curriculum not representative of all of my students? Those are the things that you can do right now and keep learning. Equity is practice. It's not a destination. You can't have something equitable in one arm of your teaching practice but it's not in others. So keep this equity going.

Speaker 1: 5:55

I've got a lot of ideas of building equity habits and continuing that learning, and if you are ready to move beyond awareness and into action, I'm going to invite you to enroll in my mini courses. These trainings are on demand. They're less than two hours and they give you step-by-step tools to implement equity and cultural competency in your daily work. You don't need your administrator to purchase this course for you or your boss to purchase it. This could be your own personal development course that comes with a certificate of completion so you can show your administrators and your bosses what you have been working on for your own personal and professional development.

Speaker 1: 6:42

I'll even give you a preview of our courses that we have on the website Cultural Competency Professional Lab. This is great for business leaders, hr professionals and corporate teams. We even have Cultural Competency Education Lab for K-12 educators, administrators and higher ed faculty. You're going to learn how to integrate cultural competency into curriculum and classroom environments. It also ensures that all students will feel valued, respected and empowered in their learning journey. And don't forget, I even have mini courses as well on the website. That really gets you thinking and sparking your ideas for your work in equity. We have the power of perceptions for educators and it helps you explore the impact of your own biases and perceptions that have the impact on your students in your classrooms. You can even learn how to be a culturally competent classroom leader from high school and beyond. That's for our students who want to gain those authentic tips for being a classroom leader and how to foster a culture of leadership. This will help you gain insights into fostering a culture of leadership within your own organization, and these also have a bonus of one hour coaching Zoom sessions after you've taken the course, and I will be your guide in helping you if you have any questions that are pressing after you've taken the courses. So you will find more of that information on jebedmondscom. That is, wwwjebedmondscom.

Speaker 1: 8:32

Equity isn't just a buzzword. It's a mindset, a responsibility and a powerful shift in how we show up for others. Equality might look good on paper, but equity changes lives. Let's commit to learning, unlearning and leading with purpose. If you found today's episode valuable, I'd love for you to leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts. I'd love for you to leave a review wherever you listen to your podcast. Your feedback helps me reach more listeners and keeps these important conversations going. Thanks for tuning in to the Cultural Curriculum Chat with Jeba Edmonds and. I will see you here next time. Same place, same purpose to make the world more inclusive, one episode at a time. Bye-bye.