Advancing Equity

Where possible, the indicator data are disaggregated by race and/or ethnicity and shown along a number line. This visually demonstrates the disparities by race/ethnicity and provides consistency from indicator-to-indicator in how the data are displayed. Race/ethnicity data are shown this way when a rate per race or ethnic group can be calculated (e.g., the percentage of Latino residents with a given characteristic out of all Latino residents). When a denominator by race/ethnicity is not available, the data are shown as a distribution in a pie or bar chart (e.g., out of all residents with a given characteristic, the percentage who are Latino). The racial/ethnic categories shown are based on the definitions of the data source. Except when noted otherwise, White is non-Hispanic and Latino is of any race.

Sample Race/Ethnicity Data Visualization

EQUITY GAP SCORE

The Equity Gap Score is a simple, straightforward statistic that documents the scale of the racial or ethnic disparity for a particular indicator. It measures the factor of difference between the highest and lowest rates for a given indicator. For example, a score of 2.0 indicates that the rate of the highest performing group is twice as high as the rate of the lowest performing group, whereas a score of 3.0 suggests that the factor of difference is three times higher. A score of 1.0 implies that little-to-no racial or ethnic inequity is apparent in the data, while a score above 1.0 implies an increasing level of inequity as the number grows.

A few important notes about the Equity Gap Score:

• The Equity Gap Score does not assume that everyone should have the same outcome. Rather, it is based on the core value that different outcomes should not be associated with a group’s racial or ethnic identity.
  
• Equity Gap Scores are calculated for each indicator that has a rate or value per race/ethnicity (that is, charted in the number line format shown in the example above); when only a distribution by race/ethnicity is available (that is, charted as a pie or bar chart), an Equity Gap Score is not appropriate and therefore not calculated.
  
• If the group with the lowest or highest rate is the “other” or “unknown” group, the gap score is calculated on the next lowest or highest rate. The rationale for not including other or unknown in the EGS calculation is that this category lacks meaning from a policy response perspective; it is not clear where to target interventions when the identity of the group is variable or unknown.

MEASURING PROGRESS

Over time, the Equity Gap Score will enable an overall measure of progress. Shrinking Equity Gap Scores will show equity is improving; growing Equity Gap Scores will indicate the opposite. Currently, only two years of Equity Gap Scores are available, which enables comparison, but is not sufficient for trend analysis.

EQUITY GAP SCORES

Equity Gap Scores were possible to calculate for 16 measures in the latest Community Indicators Report. Prenatal care rates and high school graduation rates showed the lowest Equity Gap Scores in the current report. Lower inequity was also documented in median household income and homeownership rates. While the Equity Gap Score improved since the 2020 report for both child welfare and juvenile arrests, these measures still have the highest Equity Gap Scores among the metrics shown.

LIMITATIONS

Data by race/ethnicity are not available for all measures, with particular gaps in the sections related to the Economy and Environment. Opportunities to expand the assessment of equity in these and other sectors will continue to be a priority for San Bernardino County. It is also important to acknowledge that race or ethnicity may not always be the salient variable for assessing inequities in the data. Other factors, such as income, geography, or gender, may be contributing to inequitable outcomes in certain circumstances.