Demographic Parity

A fairness metric requiring that selection rates be equal across demographic groups, regardless of qualification differences.

Demographic parity (also called statistical parity) is a fairness metric that asks whether a model selects from each demographic group at the same rate. If 30% of applicants are women, roughly 30% of approved candidates should be women. This is the most intuitive definition of fairness and often aligns with legal scrutiny, but it ignores differences in qualification rates between groups. Achieving demographic parity typically requires sacrificing predictive parity and can conflict with equalized odds when base rates differ across groups.

Also known as