International Women’s Day - #EmbraceEquity

International Women’s Day - #EmbraceEquity

"Don’t ever think that just because you do things differently, you’re wrong."

Gail Tsukiyama 

Equity isn’t just a nice thing to have. It’s essential. This is the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, and it’s powerful!

Equal opportunities are not enough. Giving everyone the same opportunities seems like the ‘fair’ thing to do, BUT, we all start from a different place. Equity is ensuring that everyone has what they need to access the opportunities.

In my career as a teacher, this was evidence most clearly during exam time. Every student has the same exam paper, and we have the image of a big hall with rows of chairs all facing the same way, total silence and a big clock on the wall. Every student has the same. This is equality, but it is NOT equity!

There are some obvious issues with this scenario - the student in a wheelchair, cannot access the standard desk, the student with vision impairment cannot use the paper copy of the exam text, the student with hearing impairment cannot hear the instructions.

But there are more subtle issues.

The student with dyslexia will take much longer to read through the paper, organise her thoughts, and articulate what she wants to write. She will need more time.

The student with challenging fine motor skills, cannot use a pen or pencil and needs voice to text technology.

The student with high levels of anxiety may need a smaller room.

The student with learning disabilities may need an adult to read through the questions.

The student with ADHD may need to take regular breaks

You get the idea. It’s the same exam, but we have created equity so that every student has a chance to succeed and fulfil their potential.

Women in society are frequently at a disadvantage.

“Equality focuses on providing all genders with equal opportunities, such as a woman's right to vote. Yet, women often require more than a level playing field. They need to belong in a global culture that actively promotes and supports them in all aspects of their life, from education to the workplace to health.” - International Women’s Day website

Equity is a long-term and sustainable solution, and is a process for addressing imbalanced social systems. It is essential if we want a truly inclusive society.

I strongly recommend checking out the resources on the International Women’s Day website and sharing the message far and wide.

I’d love to know your thoughts.

With love

Cate