Page 10 - Extra_Bold_movie-clip-edit

22 EQUALITY VS. EQUITY
If we go back even further to the years immediately following the end of slavery
in the US, we know that although Black people were theoretically granted their freedom, they were denied equal footing with White citizens. White supremacist beliefs allowed slavery to happen and per- sisted in Jim Crow laws and other govern- ment policies that restricted political and economic power for Blacks. Throughout history, the presumption of equality has been used to support White supremacist ideology, which claims that there must be something inherently deficient about Black people if they cannot succeed under the conditions of a free society. This is one of the reasons why programs like affirmative action (which grants favorable status to minority candidates in education and the
workplace) and need-based scholarships receive such strong criticism, with oppo- nents failing to see the generational impact of disenfranchisement and discrimination.
Having empathy and understanding surrounding issues of disenfranchisement impacts the measures one is willing to take to correct the racial imbalance in the design industry. When “equity” replaces “equality” as the goal, solutions are based on the spe- cific needs of individuals and groups rather than the idea of treating everyone the same. This might mean that agencies reevaluate the fairness of unpaid internships and cre- ate opportunities that allow underprivileged students to participate. Agencies looking to be more equitable in their hiring practices might consider recruiting beyond existing networks to ensure more diverse represen-
equality: treating everyone the same way, regardless of their circumstances