From Inequality to Justice
Jun 03, 2020
The recent events in our nation, yet again, highlight the gaping disparities and inequities in our nation, our state, our community, and our organization. We have to do better. This requires honest reflection and openness to truly have empathy and understanding of another person's lived experiences. If we are serious about doing better, then we must take the time to learn what that means each and every day.
We have been focusing on building our cultural proficiency toward a goal of diminishing and then eliminating the inequities that exist in our organization. This is a daunting task and one that will never be complete as it is a journey toward breaking down our personal and institutional equity barriers.
I've seen a lot of graphic representations of what this work should accomplish, but the one below truly captures it in a way that can help everyone to better understand what it is we need to do to move from inequality to justice.
In the past, the work seemed to be focused on moving from inequality to equality. However, as you can see in the image below this merely distributes tools and assistance equally, but it still does not make opportunity and access available to all.
The shift then moves from equality to equity. This phase provides customized tools that identify and address inequities, but opportunities are still not available for everyone to the degree they are for some.
The final shift moves from equity to justice. This phase truly addresses the institutional barriers and work to fix the system so that opportunities and access are available to all in the organization.
This is our goal. Are we there yet - NO! We still have much work to do and I am hopeful every day that we can work together with everyone in our organization and in our community to make a difference for all. Will you join me in standing up to the status quo and making a difference? I hope so!
I welcome your comments on this and any topic through our Let's Talk feature on the website. You can click the Let's Talk logo to send me a message any time.
