Guest post by Günay Salazar, Equity for Children
Equitable societies have to be built; they are not a given. We saw that the Millennium Development Goals Agenda – despite its reported achievements– missed out on the most disadvantaged populations. We know by now who they are: the most vulnerable are often income-poor; ethnic, racial and religious minorities; rural dwellers; environmentally vulnerable communities; and children, especially girls.
The new Approaches to Equity Report highlights key findings on current equity approaches and 10 practical recommendations for policymakers around the globe to create inclusive and equitable societies.
For its study, Equity for Children interviewed 20 leaders of international organisations and foundations as well as world renowned researchers, all of whom commented on their understanding of equity, why equity matters for children living in poverty, and how equity will help guide the way forward.
Equity as a concept – this is one of the key findings – is currently well positioned on the agenda as an approach to analyse the situation of children and other populations and to design and implement development interventions and policies. However, there are certainly differences in approach. Some define equity as achieving equality of outcomes, others as equality of opportunities. Some organisations prefer the term equality while others prefer equity. Many focus on poverty reduction. Others emphasize reducing gaps among the most advantaged and the most disadvantaged populations. Despite underlying differences, there is broad consensus that equity is first of all about fairness and avoidance of deprivation for society’s most disadvantaged groups. Equity is seen foremost as a way to realise universal human rights and also to benefit economic growth and social cohesion, therefore becoming a key element in achieving sustainability. When asked about the structural drivers of existing inequities within countries, three causes were cited most frequently:
1. There is high consensus that inequities are mainly caused by exclusion. Nearly all respondents refer to discrimination of certain groups based on ethnicity, gender, age, religious beliefs and location
2. The lack of broad and efficient social policies contributes substantially to inequities
3. Macroeconomic policies and prevailing economic power structures contribute to inequity around the globe
Almost every interviewee, including those who do not work for child organisations, pointed out that children are among the most vulnerable, and particularly children under five years or age. In other words, equity-focused policies and programs should start “early”, in early childhood, to have the greatest potential of ending the cycle of poverty.
The rationale behind this is that early childhood is the most critical time to disrupt intergenerational poverty. And this is for two reasons: children in general are disproportionately affected by poverty. Also, the impact of poverty is particularly strong due to the high vulnerability of child during her first years in life. Deficits in he
Our interviewees identified major barriers that hamper positive outcomes for children living in poverty and especially for the most disadvantaged children. Those barriers, which must be overcome when advancing the agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are:
- Lack of political will and budgetary allocations within countries to programming that promotes equity
- Corruption and lack of governance and accountability
- Donor priorities currently over-focus on short term impacts
- Lack of disaggregated data within countries to justify equity-focused programs
- Lack of human resources and capacity in low income countries
- Prevailing social and cultural norms that perpetuate discrimination and social exclusion.
Equity for Children’s 10 Key Recommendations:
Based on the study findings, EFC promotes 10 key recommendations to move equity forward and to address structural causes of inequalities:
1. Put children at the centre of policy agenda and include the most disadvantaged
2. Prioritize community- and context-based approaches, not top down “one size fits all” processes
3. Disaggregate data by sex, age, race, ethnicity, income, location and disability
4. Ensure participation by marginalized and disadvantaged populations, especially children and youth
5. Invest in inclusive social protection strategies as key components of social policy
6. Address inequities and macroeconomic structures by focusing on progressive taxation, anti-corruption measures, illicit financial transfers, and tax evasion
7. Establish holistic and inter-sectoral policy approaches that respond to multi-dimensional and overlapping deprivations experienced by children at each age
8. Develop goals to monitor progress towards narrowing social and economic gaps between the least and most advantaged children by expanding long term evaluations and longitudinal studies.
9. Incorporate an equity lens into institutional, organizational and policy frameworks
10. Develop a cohesive terminology of the key components of equity to promote a shared understanding among stakeholders.
Günay Salazar is Director of Programs and Research, at Equity for Children. salazarg@newschool.edu
Click here to read the Approaches to Equity Report
Guest post by Günay Salazar, Equity for Children
Equitable societies have to be built; they are not a given. We saw that the Millennium Development Goals Agenda – despite its reported achievements– missed out on the most disadvantaged populations. We know by now who they are: the most vulnerable are often income-poor; ethnic, racial and religious minorities; rural dwellers; environmentally vulnerable communities; and children, especially girls.
The new Approaches to Equity Report highlights key findings on current equity approaches and 10 practical recommendations for policymakers around the globe to create inclusive and equitable societies.
For its study, Equity for Children interviewed 20 leaders of international organisations and foundations as well as world renowned researchers, all of whom commented on their understanding of equity, why equity matters for children living in poverty, and how equity will help guide the way forward.
Equity as a concept – this is one of the key findings – is currently well positioned on the agenda as an approach to analyse the situation of children and other populations and to design and implement development interventions and policies. However, there are certainly differences in approach. Some define equity as achieving equality of outcomes, others as equality of opportunities. Some organisations prefer the term equality while others prefer equity. Many focus on poverty reduction. Others emphasize reducing gaps among the most advantaged and the most disadvantaged populations. Despite underlying differences, there is broad consensus that equity is first of all about fairness and avoidance of deprivation for society’s most disadvantaged groups. Equity is seen foremost as a way to realise universal human rights and also to benefit economic growth and social cohesion, therefore becoming a key element in achieving sustainability. When asked about the structural drivers of existing inequities within countries, three causes were cited most frequently:
1. There is high consensus that inequities are mainly caused by exclusion. Nearly all respondents refer to discrimination of certain groups based on ethnicity, gender, age, religious beliefs and location
2. The lack of broad and efficient social policies contributes substantially to inequities
3. Macroeconomic policies and prevailing economic power structures contribute to inequity around the globe
Almost every interviewee, including those who do not work for child organisations, pointed out that children are among the most vulnerable, and particularly children under five years or age. In other words, equity-focused policies and programs should start “early”, in early childhood, to have the greatest potential of ending the cycle of poverty.
The rationale behind this is that early childhood is the most critical time to disrupt intergenerational poverty. And this is for two reasons: children in general are disproportionately affected by poverty. Also, the impact of poverty is particularly strong due to the high vulnerability of child during her first years in life. Deficits in he
Our interviewees identified major barriers that hamper positive outcomes for children living in poverty and especially for the most disadvantaged children. Those barriers, which must be overcome when advancing the agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are:
- Lack of political will and budgetary allocations within countries to programming that promotes equity
- Corruption and lack of governance and accountability
- Donor priorities currently over-focus on short term impacts
- Lack of disaggregated data within countries to justify equity-focused programs
- Lack of human resources and capacity in low income countries
- Prevailing social and cultural norms that perpetuate discrimination and social exclusion.
Equity for Children’s 10 Key Recommendations:
Based on the study findings, EFC promotes 10 key recommendations to move equity forward and to address structural causes of inequalities:
1. Put children at the centre of policy agenda and include the most disadvantaged
2. Prioritize community- and context-based approaches, not top down “one size fits all” processes
3. Disaggregate data by sex, age, race, ethnicity, income, location and disability
4. Ensure participation by marginalized and disadvantaged populations, especially children and youth
5. Invest in inclusive social protection strategies as key components of social policy
6. Address inequities and macroeconomic structures by focusing on progressive taxation, anti-corruption measures, illicit financial transfers, and tax evasion
7. Establish holistic and inter-sectoral policy approaches that respond to multi-dimensional and overlapping deprivations experienced by children at each age
8. Develop goals to monitor progress towards narrowing social and economic gaps between the least and most advantaged children by expanding long term evaluations and longitudinal studies.
9. Incorporate an equity lens into institutional, organizational and policy frameworks
10. Develop a cohesive terminology of the key components of equity to promote a shared understanding among stakeholders.
Günay Salazar is Director of Programs and Research, at Equity for Children. salazarg@newschool.edu
Click here to read the Approaches to Equity Report