AFTER WORKING THROUGH THIS MODULE, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO:

• Define “equality,” “equity,” “diversity,” and “inclusion.”
• Describe the distinction between equality and equity.
• Describe the distinction between diversity and inclusion.
• Explain why these distinctions are important.

INTRODUCTION

ALA states that equity, diversity, and inclusion are “fundamental values of the association and its members” (2008, para. 1). While we hear these terms often, it can be difficult to tease out their specific meanings, the distinctions between them, and why these distinctions matter. In this module, you will explore the meaning of these terms. Your understanding of their definitions will serve as a foundation for your commitment to working toward equity and inclusion.

EQUITY VERSUS EQUALITY

We often think of equality as an important value: making sure everyone receives the same treatment. As the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) points out, however, equal treatment may not be enough to ensure the BIYOC we serve can reach their highest potential:

“At some point, we have heard the terms equality and equity used interchangeably. However, it is critical to note that while both concepts are key to social justice and deal with resources, they are significantly different. Generally, equality is associated with treating people the same or people having equal access to resources and opportunities… think about what the individual plants [below] need to grow and thrive. At a base level, we know that a cactus will not thrive in the same type of soil or with the same amount of water as a sunflower. The term equity, thereby, asks us to consider the amount, as well as the type of resources, that each plant needs to reach its highest potential…

Although the sunflower and the cactus both need sun, soil, and water to survive, they need varied amounts to thrive. Too much water can adversely impact the cactus, whereas not enough will cause the sunflower to whither. Sunflowers may not thrive in sandy, arid soils, but the cactus will. If we continue to extend our reflection on the cactus and sunflower, what happens when we consider how their needs differ seasonally and climatically over time? This question asks us to consider the context for growth, as well. If we want both the cactus and the sunflower to flourish, but they have different needs and contexts for growth, we must differentiate — provide different environments and resources for growth for each of the plants.”

Optional: For more in-depth information, read the full article What Is Equity?¹

WATCH

Watch the video below to hear two young people explain the difference between equity and equality.

READ

You may have seen a version of the equity-versus-equality graphic in which several children are attempting to watch a baseball game from behind a fence. Read this article from Cultural Organizing blog founder Paul Kuttner, which critiques the messages behind this graphic and offers alternatives.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

This is a critically important difference because, in the United States, many of the arguments against racial justice initiatives use “fairness” as their underlying rationale. For example, some argue that affirmative action isn’t fair because it gives advantages to BIPOC that white people do not have (as we discussed in earlier modules, this is a specious argument, but a pervasive one). Similar arguments are frequently made against other social safety net programs like welfare, food stamps, and the Head Start preschool program. In many cases these arguments are explicitly or implicitly about race, even though white people are the biggest beneficiaries of social safety net programs in the United States: among 59 million people identified by the Urban Institute as receiving some sort of assistance in the U.S., 43% were white (compared to 23% Black, 26% Hispanic, and 8% Asian or Native American) (Urban Institute, 2019).

Arguments like this are grounded in an assumption that equality – rather than equity – should be society’s goal. But this ignores the huge differences in resources and treatment that already exist across racial groups in our country (see Module 2 for a refresher on these). For everyone to have a true opportunity to succeed, we need to acknowledge that we are all starting from different points on the track. From there, we need to recognize that those “different starting points” are not solely individual, but are related to categories of privilege and marginalization based on race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and other aspects of identity. Only then can we begin to question and disrupt the systems that are responsible for creating and maintaining these differences, and in so doing, work for equity.

DIVERSITY VERSUS INCLUSION

According to projections from the United States Census Bureau (2018), the population of young people in America will become increasingly racially diverse over the next forty years. The library and education professions have a long way to go to increase their diversity, according to the American Library Association’s (2012) “Diversity Counts” study and the United States Department of Education’s (2016) report “The State of Racial Diversity in the Educator Workforce”, but diversity in our classrooms and communities is present and inevitable.

The mere presence of BIYOC in our schools, however, isn’t a guarantee of integration or inclusion. As legal scholar Jeffrey S. Lehman points out, “The word diversity can feel somewhat one-dimensional, connoting only a property of racial heterogeneity that may or may not exist in a particular place at a particular moment in time” (2004, p. 62). Lehman suggests that “integration does a better job of capturing the special importance to our country of undoing the damaging legacy of laws and norms that artificially separated citizens from one another on the basis of race” (2004, p. 62). Building on Lehman’s points, sociologist Marta Tienda offers “inclusion” as another term for integration, defining it as “organizational strategies and practices that promote meaningful social and academic interactions among persons and groups who differ in their experiences, their views, and their traits” (2013, p. 467). Inclusion goes beyond making space for BIYOC to be present and extends to making an effort to ensure that they are included in our schools and libraries as active participants and leaders.

WATCH

In this video, diversity trainer Kenyona “Sunny” Matthews explains the difference between diversity and inclusion and how she experienced institutional transformation from diversity to inclusion at her alma mater, Guilford College.

After watching the video, ask yourself: in what ways does your library value “diversity” as opposed to “inclusion?” Why does this matter? What can your library do to move from diversity to inclusion?

READ

In the library world, we often assume that our services are equitable because “everyone has access” to them. But even if that were true, does universal access necessarily lead to equitable outcomes? Most equity advocates would argue that it does not. As equity experts Heidi Schillinger and Erin Okuno point out, access alone does nothing to shift systemic power imbalances. In fact, when we focus on access as our primary goal, we may in fact reinforce existing power structures by positioning BIPOC and other marginalized community members as dependent on the largesse of the library. 

Read their two blog posts, “Let’s Not Confuse ‘Access and Inclusion’ with Racial Equity” by Heidi Schillinger and “Access Isn’t Equity, part 1.5” by Erin Okuno. Then, read the article How to Uphold White Supremacy by Focusing on Diversity and Inclusion.