Competency Coordinates: Promoting Equity

In the context of complex decision processes, good and bad, right and wrong, fair and unfair, are rarely black and white alternatives. Consequently, unfair decisions are often justified with the grayscale palette and with the capacity for the social tissue to recover from any unattended inequity. What most decision makers don’t know is that unfair decisions and the resulting inequity have an aggravated impact on vulnerable groups.
Research conducted by the renowned epidemiologist Richard Wilkinson shows that differences in inequity (defined as number of times that the income of the richest 20% is higher than the income of the poorest 20%) account for differences in a vast wealth of social performance measures across western countries: mental health, life expectancy, infant mortality, educational performance, just to name a few examples.
Research from social psychology also established that inequity in organizations is related with team dysfunction, absenteeism, retaliation, theft and violence. On the other hand, equity is related with engagement, extra-role behaviours, decision making quality, acceptance and adherence to change.

Lower income, lower education, advanced age, and lower/poorer physical health are often associated with social vulnerability. However, research shows that this is an extraordinarily limited framework. Social vulnerability refers to all the characteristics of a social system that can influence preparation, response, and recovery from any major impacts sustained on these social systems.
Research from social and environmental psychology indicates that social vulnerability is a multidimensional construct that has much more of a psychosocial aspect than it has of a socio-economic aspect. Accordingly, communities facing major environmental change have much higher likelihood of adaptation to the change whenever there is:
- Behavioural preparation prior to the environmental change;
- Knowledge about the decision-making process, the impacts and mitigation measures;
- Widespread perceptions of the existence of distributive and procedural justice;
- Trust in the decision makers, local authorities and other social institutions;
- Social support from family and friends in and outside the communities;
- Functional and economical independency from the properties;
- Dis-identification with the region’s culture, story, and rituals.

Frans de Waal provides a very funny and engaging overview about fairness, reciprocity, empathy, and cooperation in the animal kingdom in his TED talk about “Moral Behaviour in Animals”. This is a great place to start, it is worth your 15 minutes.
Richard Wilkinson has a famous book on inequity named “The Spirit Level” and widely seen TED talk named “How Economic Inequality Harms Societies” available here. Consider spending 15 minutes with the TED talk and if that spikes your interest, look for the book.

Learn more about vulnerability science. Susan Cutter is a reference in the area, try her book “Hazards Vulnerability and Environmental Justice” for something substantial in the area.
Also, learn what psychology knows about how people respond to major social changes. The American Psychological Association has a recent report on the contribution of psychology science to climate change named “Psychology and Global Climate Change: Addressing a Multi-faceted Phenomenon and Set of Challenges”, this is a great starting point! The report is accessible here.

Cutter, S. L. (2012). Hazard Vulnerability and Environmental Justice. Taylor & Francis.
Schmitt, M., & Dörfel, M. (1999). Procedural injustice at work, justice sensitivity, job satisfaction and psychosomatic well-being. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29(4), 443-453.
Wilikinson, R. G., Pickett, K., & Chafer, C. (2011). The spirit level. Tantor Media, Incorporated.