At WV Women Work, one of our core values is Equity. We promote an equitable workplace and society by building authentic partnerships and creating inclusive communities. We believe that all individuals have the right to mutual respect, including full and unbiased access to livelihood, education, and participation in the community.
If you look up the words equity and equality in the dictionary, you might still think they mean the same thing. Merriam-Webster defines equitable as “dealing fairly and equally with all concerned” and equal as “of the same measure, quantity, amount, or number as another.” The two words can’t be used interchangeably. Equality has to do with giving everyone the exact same resources. Equity involves distributing resources based on the needs of the recipients.
While equity and equality may sound similar, using one versus the other results in intensely different outcomes for marginalized people. Equality means each individual or group of people receives the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person’s circumstances vary and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome. Instead of giving each individual or group of people the same resources (by definition, equality), resources and opportunities need to be allocated in a way that provides all community members the same opportunity to thrive (equity).
In the illustration above, individuals have unequal access to a system: the ball game. Even with equal support, their view of the game remains unequal. The equitable solution allocates the resources each person needs to view the game, leading to positive outcomes for all individuals. The best option would be to remove the barrier by addressing the cause of the inequity.
It is important to remember that social systems aren’t naturally inequitable; they are purposely designed to reward specific demographics. It has been happening for so long that the system’s outcomes may appear unintentional even though they are rooted in discriminatory practices and beliefs. Equity is a solution for addressing imbalanced social systems. Another good example of equity versus equality is giving everyone a shoe, but equity is giving everyone a shoe that fits them. Imagine in the workplace that the boss gives everyone a pair of work boots, but they are all the same size. Not everyone is going to be able to fit into them, but the boss thinks that it’s fair since everyone got a pair.
Recognizing the difference between equality and equity is necessary for every sphere of life: public health, politics, education, racial justice, employment, and more. Understanding the difference between equality and equity is a must for organizations to ensure that resources get directed appropriately and that the organization supports the process of meeting people where they are. Inherent to this process is the promotion of diversity in teams and personnel. Providing the same type and number of resources to all is not enough. The underlying issues and individual needs of underserved and vulnerable populations must be effectively addressed to make a difference.
Despite gains in the workplace over recent decades, women continue to receive lower pay, experience lower workforce participation, and may miss career advancement opportunities due to family commitments. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2020, it will take another 100 years to achieve gender equality based on the current rate of progress. In 2020, women earned 84% of what men earned for the same job, and Black and Latina women earned even less. This gender pay gap has persisted over the past years, shrinking by just 8 cents in 25 years. Women are over-represented in lower-paying sectors, such as hospitality or the food services industries, further exacerbating inequalities. These inequalities also disproportionately affect certain groups of women, depending on the intersections of gender with race, ethnicity, religion, class, ability, sexuality, and other identity markers. Equal pay for men and women is still not a reality.
Gender inequality in the workplace isn’t limited to unequal wages. Women, especially Black women, LGBTQ+ women, and women of color, continue to face barriers in moving into leadership positions. Only 86 women get promoted for every 100 men that get promoted to management. This problem compounds at higher levels of leadership. Since there are fewer women managers, fewer women get promoted to heads of departments, directors, and C-suite positions. 62% of executive management positions are men, 20% are white women, and a tiny 4% are women of color.
Multiple factors play into gender inequities in the workplace, including “sticky floors” that result from traditional social norms that keep women from choosing higher-paying roles and male-dominated industries, gender stereotyping, unequal access to education, and discrimination. In addition, women grapple with a fear of negotiating pay and being penalized if they do, according to a Harvard study. Another recent study found that women ask for raises just as often as men but are only given an increase 15% of the time, compared to 20% awarded to men.
According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, women outnumber men among part-time workers. Part-time work is often lower quality than full-time work. In a part-time job, you get little to no benefits. Part-time work is significantly more common in low-wage occupations, such as customer service representatives, cashiers, and nursing and personal care workers. Jobs like these are primarily held by women and are less likely to have consistent hours.
Another thing that happens is unfavorable recruitment strategies. Employers often ask women during the interview if they intend to have children. Women face a lot of inequalities in the workplace if they become pregnant, especially if they ask for maternity leave.
So how do we address gender equity at work? There are several things employers should do as a part of their commitment to equity. According to AAUW employers should:
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Commit to a culture of fairness and equity and build that into core values. Employers should review their hiring and promotion practices to ensure women have equal opportunities and are in leadership positions.
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Adopt practices and policies to encourage salary transparency. Job descriptions should include salary bands for each position and role within an organization.
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Educate employees on unconscious gender bias. Everyone can have unconscious biases and prejudices about people or groups. Offer training to all staff to make them aware of these hidden biases and make more informed decisions to promote gender equality.
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Commit to conducting regular pay audits. Analyzing compensation by gender allows companies to identify inequities and take steps to correct them.
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Abandon the practice of using salary history to set wages. Employers should instead use market research to determine pay.
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Ensure workplace flexibility so that women can better balance the demands of their home life with their jobs. Good parental leave and caregiver policies are essential for everyone to succeed and advance in their careers.
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Implement longer shortlists to hire more women. Research shows that an extended shortlist of candidates for open positions pushes managers to think beyond the gender stereotypes associated with a role.
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Take steps to ensure interviewer diversity. Research shows that women are more attracted to roles when they see that the interviewer is a woman.
We must take steps to address these inequities, or women will continue to struggle to advance in their careers and gain financial independence. When we remove the systemic barriers, we will allow everyone equality and equity in the workplace.
