THE MAIN WAYS OF MEASURING EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The main ways to measure equity and social justice are direct observation, the application of surveys, interviews and conversations, following a combined strategy of quantitative and qualitative methods that allow determining the magnitude of the problem.

The knowledge of the informative data through the measurement of variables is the key to offer the help that the most disadvantaged population groups need.

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What are equity and social justice?

The concepts of equity and social justice are linked to the need to guarantee assistance to citizens in areas such as: education, racial equality, health, decent work, adequate transportation, respect for culture and religion, among other aspects.

Often there is a tendency to mix the terms as if they were only one, but there is a difference between them, so it is necessary to separate them to better understand their functions.

Differences between equity and social justice

Social justice consists of the application of laws that allow the fair distribution of basic goods and services, while social equity is a characteristic of that social justice, one of the necessary requirements for it to be fully complied with.

Therefore, for there to be social justice, there must be equity in the distribution of resources and services offered to improve living conditions, regardless of the socio-economic or ethnic origins of the people.

Variables to measure equity and social justice

The measurement of equity and social justice implies the study of the following variables.

Poverty levels

The study of this variable makes it possible to determine the poverty levels of a population group and the incidence of this factor on their quality of life. To establish this, the researchers take into account factors such as the level of unemployment, inflation, or family income.

Education

It measures the quality of education, how inclusive it is, what educational policies are followed, what is the dropout rate, the socioeconomic level of the student and even their academic index.

Working market

Determines the percentage of work stoppage, in the medium and long term, employment and unemployment rate, employment level of immigrants or sporadic hiring.

Social cohesion

The application of social inclusion policies, income inequality and policies against racial or sexual discrimination are analyzed.

Health

The health policies used, life expectancy or accessibility to public services are studied.

Intergenerational justice

It measures in which way the new and old generations have the opportunity to become independent from each other, improving their living conditions in aspects, not only socioeconomic, but also environmental in nature.

Experience of agencies in charge of offering social justice

Organizations like UNICEF constantly measure the population groups that they support to know for sure the panorama they face and the types of programs and resources they have to implement. They state that a good study must have the following elements:

1. Define the nature of the problem.
2. Incorporate experiences learned in similar programs.
3. Propose a solution to possible problems.
4. Explain why the program is necessary.
5. Identify possible results and impact.
6. Present step by step how to achieve the required results.
7. Identify the hypothesis to be evaluated.
8. Determine the risk factors that could affect the results.

Other organizations, such as the Pan American Health Organization, have also been in charge of designing a data collection process that allows for the analysis of equity and social justice.

They point out that they have made efforts to choose the appropriate indicators by studying elements that are linked to inequity such as sex, ethnic origin, social class, peace and geographic distribution.

Self-evaluation of care programs

Organizations that work to offer social justice not only measure the situation of their population groups, but also the impact of their programs, with the objective of determining if their plans are achieving the proposed changes or if they will be sustainable in the long term.

This self-evaluation is necessary to modify norms or integrate some of them in the projects undertaken, studying their relevance, effectiveness, coverage, connectivity and coherence.

The study includes a rigorous objective process with which to interpret the information obtained to ensure that your support service is truly successful. It includes identifying potential challenges, studying the relevance of the intervention they carry out and the positive and negative impact in the short and long term.

The fulfillment of equity and social justice in the world

The application of equity and social justice has been successful in countries such as Sweden, which have managed to achieve a balance between wealth and poverty and have established inclusive programs for people with fewer advantages.

Not everything is negative in this field: currently there are laws against sexual exploitation, scholarships for refugees, laws against racial discrimination or in favor of gender equality, the right to health, education, access to justice and freedom expression.

Progress has been made in the recognition of labor rights, not only those related to fair pay and working conditions that guarantee physical safety and psychological stability, but also in terms of labor inclusion.

Currently there are laws that require a certain percentage of women to run for government positions, in addition to the inclusion in the labor sector of the transgender population, people with physical disabilities or those diagnosed with Down syndrome or autism.

Commitment of government and private organizations

A quantitative evaluation of social programs shows that it is possible to measure equity and social justice, as long as there is interest on the part of government, public or private organizations in contact with the groups that deserve aid.

It is also imperative that possible acts of corruption that could divert the resources used for humanitarian aid are investigated and that periodic measurements be carried out to guarantee the effectiveness and validity of the plan they execute.

Progress is tangible and perfectly measurable, but nevertheless the agencies in charge of guaranteeing equity and social justice must work to determine which sectors need their help the most.

References

1. Sara Gordon R. (1995). Equity and Social Justice. Published by the Autonomous University of Mexico. Taken from jstor.org
2. Enrique Ayala Mora. (2010). Equity and Justice. Published by El Comercio newspaper. Taken from elcomercio.com
3. Shane Britton. (2013). Measuring Social Justice. Taken from revolving-doors.org.uk
4. Michael Jacobson. (2015). Measuring and Improving Equity and Social Justice. Taken from pastimes.org
5. George A. Alleeyne. (2010). Tools for the search for equity and social justice for all. Taken from scielossp.org
6. Unicef ​​Evaluation Office. (2011). How to design and manage equity-focused evaluations. Taken from unicef.org
7. Report on Social Justice in the European Union. (2014). Published by the Social Europe Journal. Taken from fronterad.com