Equality vs. Equity

One of the most commonly used terms in the fight for social justice is EQUITY.

Equity, as used by those on the far left, is best (seems to be) defined as ensuring the equal outcome of all groups for a given metric.

Proponents of equity make the argument that giving equal treatment to all groups is actually NOT the best course for achieving “fairness,” as each individual has differing abilities and tendencies that will result in disparate outcomes.

Their solution is often to look at disparities in terms of oppression/victimization. In other words, if there is a disparity, especially against a “marginalized” group, it is due to oppression and oppressive systems.

Of course, this is full of problems. The primary issue is that equity does not consider agency. Nor does it consider other reasonable elements that could produce disparity in results, such as skill, capacity, ideas. and hard work.

Each person will react differently to stimuli, which will always be the case. The same individual will react differently to the same stimuli at different times.

The question then is not whether or not equal treatments will deliver equal results for everyone, but rather, are equal results, or more specifically, the pursuit of equal results, the ultimate ideal, and manifestation of good.

The key problem is that no one seems to consider the ramifications or costs of trying to achieve equity in all of our systems, institutions, and organizations.

To achieve completely equal outcomes, it becomes necessary to flatten the hierarchy by helping some people and hindering others. It requires the destruction of natural law.

If we look at one of the classic cases that is often discussed, female representation in STEM fields, the problems of equity become increasingly apparent.

To achieve true equity, there would need to be a 50-50 distribution of men and women at all levels in all STEM fields.

This would clearly lead to discrimination against men, as 63% of STEM graduates from university are men compared to only 37% of women.

A significantly larger pool of applicants will naturally result in a higher representation in industry.

Now, the argument could be made that society's prejudice may lead to the under-representation of women in STEM studies. However, we see a greater disparity in what men and women study in societies widely considered the most egalitarian, like Scandinavia.

It seems that when men and women are free to choose what they truly want to pursue, the bias of gender becomes more pronounced, not less. Women trend more strongly towards nursing and education, and men towards STEM than anywhere else.

The inherent differences in people and cultures will always lead to different outcomes. We need to stop over-focusing on results and instead focus on opportunities.

Our efforts should be on improving the equality of OPPORTUNITY, and make no mistake; there are areas of inequality of opportunity that can be improved (school choice is a great example of this).

Equity vs equality is not just a temporal issue; it's a conflict that’s been waging since the pre-Earth life.

The War In Heaven was about equity vs. agency.

Agency, along with the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, is the greatest gift from our Heavenly Father. Even at the risk of failure, He does not intervene with our agency.

This means that we are all open to failure and poor choices. These choices create a disparity of results.

Lucifer presented a plan opposing that of the Father, which would not require a Savior. It would remove failure by removing agency and, in the process, remove spiritual growth- he “sought to destroy the agency of man.”

The Plan of Equity is the Plan of Evil because it removes agency and individual progression and requires tyranny to accomplish a flattened hierarchy - “that one soul shall not be lost . . wherefore give me thine honour.”

The antidote to equity is charity.

We are social beings, and our well-being and salvation depend on our love for one another. When individuals are left only to themselves, we have failed.

It is our job to have personal responsibility and love others and help them reach greater outcomes. Without charity, Equity gains momentum to rear its ugly head.

Best,

Greg Matsen