All's Equal

The year is 1967. Eastern Europe has cemented itself in ardent communism and society has begun to show the strains of imposed “equality.” In its misshapen efforts to treat everyone equally, Communist governments have removed private property and business. They have also eliminated all women’s products, from the hygienic to the beautifying. For men, this might take a bit of thought before the real weight of the situation sinks in. For women, the terrible inconveniencing and dehumanizing effects of such a prohibition on basic items are obvious. Although men and women were basically equal under communism (men also couldn’t get tampons or hair dye after all), the women were subject to unfair treatment because of their inherent differences.

“It is often easier to treat people equally rather than to treat them fairly.”

I’ll stop just short of calling your organization a communist dictatorship, but I would propose that perhaps in your healthy efforts to provide equality you might have neglected a bit of fairness. At times we confuse equality, everyone having the same things, with fairness, everyone having the things they specifically need. Consider then:

What if your organizational blueprint is more “fair” for some than for others?

Is there a slant in your policies towards one group or another? Is that slant a slight one, or is it steep enough to keep others away from trying to overcome it? Are your blueprints affording everyone adequate equality but overlooking fairness?

What new architects might you need to assist with your redesign?

How can you best redesign your organization’s blueprints? Are there individuals within your organization that come to mind? Are you in contact with those most affected by the blueprints you have in place?