GUEST COLUMN.

The term “social equity” is politically polarizing. Along with its compatriots, diversity and inclusion, it makes up the currently vilified “DEI” acronym, which is being attacked and dismantled across federal and a number of state institutions in the U.S. However, social equity has long been considered a pillar of public administration and is a valuable approach to understanding how to distribute public services fairly.

Social equity examines how historically marginalized community members access public services, the outcomes they experience, the quality of services provided, and how they are incorporated into decision-making processes. Marginalization looks different in different places because of the conditions and decisions that shape representation and service provision, so equity strategies must be localized. For example, stock farmers living in rural Colorado face different equity issues and thus have different needs than people experiencing homelessness in Denver.

What makes social equity budgeting (SEB) most exciting to me is that it can be a pragmatic tool for incorporating social equity values into institutionalized management processes. SEB is a relatively new practice in the United States. The main form we have seen internationally is gender-responsive budgeting (GRB), which has been adopted in over 100 countries worldwide. 

Imagine you work for a city that runs a bus system and is facing budget cuts. You’ve been asked to reduce service operations, but you are given the discretion to decide which routes to cut, knowing your decision must be justified and will be publicly scrutinized. One way to approach this task is to look at ridership during different periods of the day, since ridership brings in the revenue needed to pay for the bus. This is a classic return-on-investment calculation, or an efficiency measure. It also assumes every patron is the same or treats this budgeting decision as neutral. If ridership is lower between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm, then, based on efficiency, you should cut that route. 

Now, let’s say that you approach it from a social equity perspective. SEB requires a deeper examination of who is taking the bus during that time. You will likely have to go to the bus stop and observe the patrons who are using it. You may need to collect more detailed data and talk to people to understand their experiences and where they are going. 

In doing so, you may notice a pattern emerging from your data: all the patrons who ride the bus during this time are women running errands or picking up their children from school. Therefore, if you cut this route, you will effectively eliminate a critical resource that women and children rely on.

This also affects their family and the community. Women no longer shop during those hours, which hurts businesses that lose revenue. In the worst cases, if public buses are how kids get to school, children may not be able to attend schools too far from home without the means to get there. This example illustrates the impacts of SEB and, at its core, how it involves identifying a problem, understanding the extent to which it affects certain community members, in this case women, investigating solutions, and implementing them. 

Aside from a few localities that tried GRB and quickly abandoned it, U.S. governments have only just started exploring SEB in the last few years. In Colorado, where I work and live, as of 2024, several cities incorporated equity into their budgets, with some aligning budget decision-making with equity roadmaps developed in prior years. Others have included it where they felt it was most relevant, such as in their capital budget or in staff professional development and training programs. Other cities are working on this effort, but many lack robust systems to measure what inequities look like and how effective budget decisions were at addressing them.

Moreover, tax revenue is limited, and public services cover vast issues that compete with one another. Budget offices must follow the priorities set by elected and appointed leaders. So, to advance equity, leaders must buy in that disparities exist in the first place and that budgets can be used as tools to correct them.

What I find especially fascinating are the cities and towns that have incorporated equity choices into their budgets through innovative finance mechanisms, what I like to call “implicit equity”. While these localities may not be directly calling their policies “equity work”, they are addressing disparities through direct funding. In Colorado, for example, municipalities can leverage lodging tax revenue to support programs beyond traditional tourism, including workforce housing and childcare. Larimer County has also passed a local ballot initiative to subsidize childcare through a sales tax increase. These policies support underrepresented communities by giving them access to essential services and housing.

These examples show that SEB doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Using methods like these, public administrators and policymakers can incorporate SEB into at least parts of their budgets. Enacting equity can look different in different communities and can be utilized as a mechanism to direct funding to those with greater need.

Preparing public servants for this task first requires a deeper understanding of social equity, political buy-in to support redistributive programs, infrastructure to track performance, and creativity to incorporate equity values into budget plans. With these methods, leaders can use pragmatic tools to make a difference where it is most needed.

The contents of this Guest Column are those of the author, and not necessarily Barrett and Greene, Inc

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