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Social equity is concerned with
justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...
and fairness of
social policy Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize social policy and public policy to be two separate, competing approaches for the same public interest (similar to MD a ...
based on the principle of substantive equality. Since the 1960s, the concept of social equity has been used in a variety of institutional contexts, including
education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
and
public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...
. Social equity within a
society A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...
is different from social equality based on formal equality of opportunity.De Vos, M. (2020). The European Court of Justice and the march towards substantive equality in European Union anti-discrimination law. International Journal of Discrimination and the Law, 20(1), 62-87.
/ref> Providing hearing aids for the deaf would be considered social equity as it furthers the ability of people to equally partake in society, whereas if they received no aid, they would be treated completely equally to others, but they would not have these opportunities.


Overview

Definitions of social equity differ, but they all emphasize justice and fairness. Equity includes the role of public administrators, who are tasked with ensuring that
social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...
are distributed fairly. This means considering historical and current inequalities among groups, as fairness is influenced by this social and historical context.


In public administration

Attention to social equity in the field of
public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...
in the United States arose during the 1960s, amid growing national awareness of
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
and racial inequality. The National Academy of Public Administration defines social equity as “The fair, just and equitable management of all institutions serving the public directly or by contract; the fair, just and equitable distribution of public services and implementation of public policy; and the commitment to promote fairness, justice, and equity in the formation of public policy.” In 1968, H. George Frederickson articulated "a theory of social equity" and put it forward as the 'third pillar' of public administration. Frederickson was concerned that those in public administration were making the mistake of assuming that citizen A is the same as citizen B, ignoring social and economic conditions. His goal was for social equity to take on the same "status as ''economy'' and ''efficiency'' as values or principles to which public administration should adhere." Community policing is one approach towards social equity in policing.


Sex, gender and sexuality

Recent administration from former U.S. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
has shed light on the subject of social equity for members of the LGBTQ community. The Obama administration appointed more than 170 openly LGBTQ professionals to work full-time within the executive branch and directed the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to conduct “the first ever national study to determine the level of discrimination experienced by LGBTQ community in housing.”


Race

Within the realm of public administration, racial equality is an important factor. It deals with the idea of “biological equality” of all human races and “social equality for people of different races”. According to Jeffrey B. Ferguson his article “Freedom, Equality, Race,” the people of the United States believe that racial equality will prevail.


Religion

Social equity regarding religion has legal protections in some jurisdictions. In the US, individuals, regardless of religious affiliation or practice are afforded. According to 42 U.S.C. sect. 2000e(j) "Religion is defined as all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that he is unable to responsibly accommodate to an employee's or prospective employee's religious observance or practice without unique hardship to the conduct of the employer's business." This law was enacted to protect employees who are employed by bosses of another religion and allow them to observe their particular religious practices and celebrations.


Military

Military and conscription generally violate social equity, despite increasing social inclusion. Women in Norway did not reach gender equity for conscription with women being only 33% of all conscripted as of 2020. The United States military casualties of war and mental health outcomes show racial and gender equity disparities, in the period 1980-2022
African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...
were over-represented and women were underrepresented in casualties.


Education


Health


See also

*
Affirmative action Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies) refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking ...
* Diversity, equity, and inclusion *
Identity politics Identity politics is politics based on a particular identity, such as ethnicity, Race (human categorization), race, nationality, religion, Religious denomination, denomination, gender, sexual orientation, Socioeconomic status, social background ...
* Intersectionality * Reverse discrimination * Sentencing disparity * Social equality * Social justice *
Social privilege Social privilege is an advantage or entitlement that benefits individuals belonging to certain groups, often to the detriment of others. Privileged groups can be advantaged based on social class, wealth, education, caste, age, height, skin col ...


References


Further reading

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Social Equity Social inequality Social justice Affirmative action