Article by Julia Falaki and Emma Hughes

EDI – Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) ensures fair treatment and opportunity for all. It aims to eradicate prejudice and discrimination on the basis of an individual or group of individual’s protected characteristics (University of Edinburgh, 2022).

Equality is about ensuring that everyone has the same opportunities, and no-one is treated differently or discriminated against because of their personal characteristics. 

Over the course of the academic year we will be choosing a keyword from EDI and looking at it in a little more detail. Look out for future news articles on this topic.

Equity

All children have the right to access music education. Equity is taking a step beyond equality. It is not just about providing equal opportunities but acknowledging people’s differences, needs and perceived disadvantages and providing individual opportunities. We must ask ourselves – what do our pupils need to access music and to be successful in music?

The National Association of Colleges and Employers states that “Equity means recognising that we do not all start from the same place and must acknowledge and make adjustments to imbalances. The process is ongoing, requiring us to identify and overcome intentional and unintentional barriers arising from bias or systemic structures.” 

This picture from their website helps us to visually understand: