The Ever-Changing Definition Of Diversity, Equity, And Social Justice

Trevor Rogneby

Northern Illinois University

 Defining diversity, social justice, and equity is something that is not done easily on an

individual basis. There are so many different ways to define them separately and together based

on the different situations, environments, individual beliefs, or possibly even the political climate

around the setting in which the word is actually being defined in. Having a sense of where the

word is being used is important in how it is defined by the individual. I have personally been in

many different situations where I could have defined these words differently. Simply defining

them separately is a better way to start before defining them as a whole.

Diversity is, simply put, a variety (2019). That variety could be defined based on the

population involved as well as the sex of the population that is included. Whether it be black,

white, Asian, Latino, Indian, etc. or males or females, they are all part of what makes diversity

possible in a social setting. This is primarily only for the aspect that most people allow the

context to be defined by. Other ways to define diversity is through different colors, different hair

styles, different foods, different clothes, or different sizes of beds. There is a lot about diversity

that is overlooked and I honestly believe that it has become something that is over exaggerated

and something that has been so narrowly defined that people simply have forgotten the term

really actually means.

Diversity is more than just based on people and the color of their skin which is how the

masses have learned to narrowly define and concentrate on in todays society. It is a word that

strikes the unnecessary concern and stress in too many of the various political and socially

acceptable ways of conducting a business. Personally, having witnessed the negative impacts of

how this unnecessary use of the power of the word diversity has been used in a personnel

capacity, I have learned to grow to doubt that people have forgotten what the actual meaning of

diversity in the social construct of everyday life really means. It does not mean that you use
diversity as a deciding factor in how someone is moved in a promotion or in a pool of candidates

for an interview. It is to help define the masses of people in the world and justify that people are

being given proper opportunity to have the same equal possibility of succeeding as the next

person does. The diversity system is beginning to fail and only will understanding how equity is

a major part of diversity will the true meaning be able to make a comeback.

Before moving on, I feel it is important to note that the ways in which I personally

identify with diversity are different from those of a different background. Diversity is a constant

changing idea that is constantly manipulated by people in order for the word to be used in their

own defense of a situation or problem. Diversity is a word that has such a large impact in a

world filled with people and things of various backgrounds and creations. It is not just a word

that can be used to define people or who they people are that make up society. It is the people

and the things that those people use to manipulate it to benefit them individually. Without

diversity, there is no more room to grow, no more room to learn, and no more space to develop

as a species. Recognizing that diversity can not only be defined through people was the first step

that I had to take in order to fully understand what diversity really meant and the importance it

serves in the operation of our society. People can no longer live in a shell and hunker down in

the comfort of the settings that they find to be most comfortable (Jonas, 2007). They pull their

beliefs in and try to protect them in a way that is damaging to the ethnically diverse setting in

which they contain themselves to.

Moving on to the impacts and the definition of equity, we can start to see the differences

of what they actually mean. Equity is the extent in which a person is able to be fair or impartial

towards someone or something (2019). Equity has been separated from the word diversity in the

sense that equity is established based on how something is done rather than what something
looks like. The equity shown in how a job application is submitted is much better than it has

been in the past. A person is able to apply for a job in which the people doing the screening have

no idea who the person is or where they come from. They have to be evaluated by the content of

their resume before they can be evaluated on who they are. Equity exists in more than just the

professional manner in which we view it. Equity is something that is seen across the various

lifestyles and backgrounds that are known. Most people do have the same opportunity as others.

Those opportunities just vary based on the manner in which a person decides to make the

decisions of how to manage their life and the opportunities they have been given.

However, equity is not as simple as it may seem. While I firmly believe that all people

have the same opportunities and that they just have different ways of reaching said opportunities,

I cannot say that equity is a perfect ideal. Equity may come in a different form to some and be

viewed differently by others. For example, I come from a middle-class family that did not have

much money. No one helped me in my journey to complete my educational goals. I had to

make those happen on my own. I did not have it as easy as someone with a full-ride scholarship

or with the parents who were wealthy enough to pay for everything their children wanted, but I

had the same equitable opportunity to make something of my education and gain the education

that I wanted. I just may have had to sacrifice more or take a longer time to complete my degree

programs. I did have an equitable opportunity to gain my education, just through a different path

in which I was able to call my own and be prouder of my own accomplishments without

something being handed to me. This does however bring us to the idea of social justice and the

problems many face that combats my own idea of equity.

Social justice is simply the distribution of the opportunities that privilege and wealth

provide and its equal distribution among society (2019). While I was not anywhere close to
experiencing social justice, I was at the same time. I had access to the same money for grants,

scholarships, or loans as other people were. I just happened to have to find them in different

ways compared to those who it is handed too. I was able to find the scholarships I have been

awarded, the loans I was given, or jobs I worked in order to complete my education. While I

didn’t have the exact same opportunity as someone else did, I had the ability and the tools to

have the same opportunities that others did. Nothing is free and nothing isn’t worked for.

People choose their social status and what they want to do with their lives economically and

financially. It is up to those people to actually be able to understand that their choices will

determine the amount or they definition of social justice that they will get or that they will be

entitled to. I was not socially just, but I was socially just at the same time.

When trying to provide a definition for equity, social justice, and diversity, there is not

one definition that can be used to define them as a whole. If I were to have to define these three

as a whole, I would define it as being an idea of equal opportunity for people of any background

to achieve their individual goals with the tools and resources that are provided or that they are

able to find in order to be equitable to those who surround them. Meaning, if someone is willing

to allow someone to influence the decisions that they make that will shape their future or they

allow their background to define who they will become, they will not have the ability to ever

become just in their lives and contribute to society in a meaningful way. This is seen by people

of any background. People allow their lives to be defined by their family’s cultural beliefs and

the backgrounds from which they come (Small, Harding, and Lamont, 2010).

Defining the combination of these three words allows me to makes an argument that one

is able to actually manipulate the meaning of all of these words in to a definition that I alone

agree with while someone else is able to create a definition that is nothing close to mine based on
their own beliefs or ideals. Having the ability to create one’s own definition of these words

allows each of us to learn from one another from various backgrounds and how to truly define

diversity, equity, and social justice. As I shape my personal definition and philosophy of these

three words, I am able to refine the definition and my own philosophy as I learn more about

other backgrounds and others definitions of these three words. By doing this, a person will be

able to become a more educated, equitable, diverse, and socially just person as they continue to

grow and develop as a person and as an individual.

 References

Jonas, M. (2007). The Downside of Diversity. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/world/americas/05iht-diversity.1.6986248.html

[Accessed 29 Jan. 2019].

O. (2019). Diversity | Definition of diversity in English by Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved from

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/diversity

O. (2019). Equity | Definition of equity in English by Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved from

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/equity

O. (2019). Social justice | Definition of social justice in English by Oxford Dictionaries.

Retrieved from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/social_justice

Small, M. L., Harding, D. J., & Lamont, M. (2010). Reconsidering Culture and Poverty. The

ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 629(1), 6-27.

doi:10.1177/0002716210362077