Dear Rethinkers,
Do you remember complaining to your parents as a teenager, “It’s so unfair?” It was my standard protest when a friend was allowed to do something that I was not. My mum’s typical response was, “Life isn’t fair.” I hated hearing those words. Fairness as a concept has intrigued and bothered me since I was young. And it’s a theme that I’m hearing about a lot in all kinds of contexts. Just this week, I’ve heard or read things on:
How we might make education fairer
The challenge of making A.I. fair in decision-making, despite biases in data
Employees care more than ever before that organisations treat them fairly
The unfairness of super-competitiveness in kids’ sports.
There is a thread I hear running through conversations around fairness that needs rethinking – this focus on conflating fairness with treating people the same. When we think of fairness in this way, it’s like giving everyone the same type and size of shoes, regardless of size. One for you, one for you, one for you…oh it doesn’t fit? Sorry, I was trying to be fair.
Instead, fairness means treating people according to their needs. This does not always mean it will be equal. It does not always mean that things will feel fair to everyone all the time.
People rightly care a lot about fairness. It brings up a lot of mixed emotions. However, as a society, fairness has got into a right old muddle, especially in our schools and workplaces. So, are we trying to make life too fair? And was my mum, dare I admit it, right all along?
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