📡 On my Radar
Last week, as I was doing my bi-annual talk on civil rights with LAPD officers, the topic of DEI came up.
I talked about the difference between equity and equality. Several officers pushed back - "equity sounds unfair," they said, "equality treats everyone the same."
A few hours later, I covered the same concepts using different words: fairness, level playing field, having the tools to succeed. Same room, same people. Completely different reaction. Suddenly everyone was nodding along.
DEI was never doing to save us. It created a good environment for many, but also generated resentment. To me it always seemed designed to placate people, not create real change. Now that companies are folding under government pressure, we're seeing how shallow it all was.
My six-year-old nephew understands fairness.
It’s why I’ve declined to use language like “DEI” in my work and focused on fairness instead.
Fairness cuts through the noise. It's a policy everyone understands. And here's the secret - fairness is equity in disguise. A fair system gives people what they need to truly compete. Teams can lose gracefully when the game is fair. But nobody accepts losing when one team has their arms tied behind their backs the whole game. That’s inequitable.1
I call this newsletter UnfairNation to bring attention to this challenge - not just unequal policies, but fundamentally unfair ones.
📈 By the Numbers
👊🏽 Make a Difference
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FELLOWSHIP | Charity Entrepreneurship opens applications for their 2026 Incubation Program, a fully funded two-month program to launch high-impact nonprofits.
JOB (2) | CARE is hiring a Research Partnership Manager and Technical Advisor for Cost Analysis.
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