Stop Confusing Equality with Equity: It’s Time for Real Change
I should not be shocked but it is still wild to me when I watch people take the easy (or lazy, your pick) route and push for “equal” processes in a space like VC, one of the worst old boy’s industries where diversity, equity, and inclusion is so lacking, to where it really feels outright illegal. For the record, Private Equity is the worst in the DE&I department according to publicly available data; institutional investors do help when requesting DE&I metrics but it’s not enough. Stating facts here, not throwing shade, but certainly shedding light, lots and lots of light. And sure, I believe we need policy reforms to enforce timely and meaningful change. If you ask me, it wouldn’t hurt to borrow a little from the 🇨🇱 Chilean motto: “Por la Razón o la Fuerza” ("By reason or by Force"). I think we’ve exhausted the first. Time to move to new methods, no?
Back to my point, in theory, it’s hard to refute evaluation processes that claim to be “equal”. In a perfect world, where historically and generationally everyone has had the same opportunities to good education (or elite ed, dare we say), to networks of influence, to generational wealth, to anti-discriminatory hiring practices in TECH, to a life that ensures proper healthcare and safe living environments, you know, where the institutional frameworks of this country aren't stacked against them, in THAT perfect world, equal processes might make sense.
Because we are far from living in such a fair and just society, we can’t fall back on this fallacy that using the same measuring stick to evaluate everyone is a responsible practice or that by offering an equal amount of support you’re doing right by everyone, while also claiming to be guided by DE&I practices, mind you. All that does is uphold the dominance of the same homogeneous groups while gaslighting everyone else. Stop trying to manipulate underrepresented founders into thinking that equal processes are fair and just when in fact they’re inherently biased.
If we ever want to reach true fairness and equality, we must actively pursue equity first.
Equity isn’t preferential treatment—it’s the correction of systemic imbalances
Being equitable involves flexibility and adaptability; it involves awareness of the unique needs of the people you’re serving and addressing the structural imbalances impacting them every day of their lives. To be equitable means recognizing that different people need different levels of support to succeed. It means proactively meeting them where they are. Yes, it takes real intentional and mindful effort to foster meaningful inclusion and participation.
“Equity and reaching equal outcomes require the allocation of resources and opportunities according to circumstance and need.*
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What can we do?
As DE&I proponents, it requires boldness and moral integrity to step up and speak out against the status quo and challenge long-standing processes that do not take into consideration the unique needs of underrepresented and underfunded candidates and founders. It’s definitely harder to do this in a space where exclusionary practices are so mind bogglingly acceptable. But if we don’t do it, who will?
We begin by recognizing that not everyone starts on equal footing. Then we bring awareness within our organizations so that more decision-makers turn on that switch in the brain that makes them conscious that not everyone has had their privileged life. Building empathy can be a strong initiator for incremental change. Next, look critically at your standard processes through the lens of equity and call it out. Let’s not forget that here is no shortage of DE&I professionals who can help organizations become more equitable and inclusive, IF they really want to change.
There are immediate changes evaluating teams can make:
Measure individuals according to their circumstances
Prioritize skills over pedigree (More on pedigree in an upcoming post)
Stop prioritizing founders with prior experience at a VC-backed company
Stop obsessing over soft skills, particularly the ability to sell or pitch which favors native English-speakers and cisgender White males, excluding anyone not fitting the “traditional mold”
Stop the pervasive and exclusionary criteria that prefers second-time founders
Evaluate any progress they’ve made on their startup concepts by deeply understanding their access to resources. Not everyone has college buddies working in MAMAA (old FAANG) companies or wealthy family members and friends for early seed capital. Many times, these founders are the whole support system for their families. They are solo founders in every sense of the word.
Focus on their scrappiness, grit, and determination. Recognize that by being here they’ve already beat huge odds. Don’t become another obstacle!
Efficiency is not an excuse to maintain a status quo that sidelines historically underrepresented communities. Put in the workl
Tech depends on true innovation
True innovation requires diversity—not just in thought, but in lived experience. When Black, Brown, Indigenous, and other marginalized voices are missing from the table, we aren't just failing them—we're failing our industries, our communities, our nation.
I believe the future of tech and venture capital will be inclusive and diverse. That’s inevitable. Just look at who the greatest ethnic group of AI adopters are in this country. (It’s Latinxs!) To make faster strides to reaching that, every one of us must function with equity at heart wherever we have a voice.
Equity isn’t preferential treatment—it’s the correction of systemic imbalances, the foundation for a just and thriving future.