Equity Thoughts From a Diversity Trainer

My View

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.

That statement is not true. Words do matter. But today, in an effort to appear “woke” during a time of multiple challenges from COVID-19, criminal justice reform, health disparities and the killing of unarmed Black men and women, people tend to hide behind words. They use “entanglement” when they mean cheating, “alternative facts” instead of lies and “equity” when they are addressing the fundamental issue of inequality.

My issue with using the term “equity” as a catch-all phrase versus using the specific terms associated with inequity is that equity pro-vides a politically correct term that substantially waters down the issues of racism, discrimination and systemic policies that support inequalities. As a country, we have found a way to twist words.

It seems politically correct to use equity, but why not use the terms “injustice” or “inequality” to address issues that affect race, racism and inequities? Ask 10 people to define “equity,” and you’ll likely get 10 different answers.

According to the Oxford Language Dictionary, equity is the quality of being fair and impartial. As a diversity trainer from the 1990s, I contend equity is the ability to address the inequities that create barriers that prevent marginalized populations from accessing equal opportunity.

To rectify these inequalities, we must first acknowledge there are inequities because equity is about addressing inequities — the unfair or corrupt practices that create barriers to opportunity.