Equity

Equity focuses on outcomes. For example, it is possible to have a diverse faculty population, but have outcomes for that population, in terms of leadership appointments, tenure, or other recognitions, that do not reflect its demographics. Equity is thus different from equality — equality means treating all members of the community the same. However, because of generations of unequal treatment throughout the history of our country, higher education generally, and Washington University specifically, supporting equitable outcomes often calls for giving different support to different groups.