Recent engagements and readings have led to a strong focus on Health Equity and Equity in Technologies. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion have come under attack recently based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the intent of these efforts. Just as Affirmative Action was turned into a talking point for reverse-prejudgment, Equity is confused with the idea that in order for everyone to have an equal opportunity to achieve their highest potential, those that have achieved this status must be pushed aside in favor of those with less merit.
Equity is about recognizing that success is often the result of structural advantage. The “rich get richer” triggering phrase is no less true because it hurts. Resource distribution is not equal. Access to good schools, medical facilities, healthy food options, and employment are not equal. The goal of equity is not to provide equality, but rather to ensure that everyone has access to tools and resources that allow them to succeed and is afforded protection from technologies and policies that ignore or compound the experience of people that have different access or historical barriers to achievement.
A reading list is presented here that has informed some of the projects we are currently working on with clients. Is your business looking to go deeper on the idea of Equity in 2025?
- Systemic, How Racism is Making Us Sick, Layal Liverpool
- More than a Glitch, Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech, Meredith Broussard
- Noise, A Flaw in Human Judgment, Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony, Cass R. Sunstein
- The Best Practice, Charles Kenney
- The Political Determinants of Health, Dawes
- A Right to Health, Jerome
- The Injustice of Place, Edin, Shaefer, NelsonCare Work, Dreaming Disability Justice, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
- Inclusion on Purpose, An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work, Ruchika, Tulshyan
- Under the Skin, Linda Villarosa
- Automating Inequality, Virginia Eubanks
- Biased, Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think and Do, Jennifer L. Eberhardt, PhD
- On Medicine as Colonialism, Michael Fine
- Getting Risk Right, Understanding the Science of Elusive Health Risks
The books listed above are a subset of the readings that inform our thoughts on how to identify and mitigate barriers to equity. This is by no means the only topic of interest or expertise for Bjorn Consulting; however, this is an area of knowledge that is relevant to our collective advancement in 2025.
Efforts that are undertaken in these areas must be specific, measurable, attainable, repeatable, and timely (SMART); just as any work plan or project must be designed to achieve goals. Work for work’s sake is useless and expensive. Business and Policy analysis prior to implementation of regulatory requirements and/or contractual imperatives is paramount to designing process that succeed and stand the test of time. Let us help you to achieve something.
