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Demographic parity

By Updated

A group fairness criterion that holds when the rate of positive decisions is equal across groups; the adverse-impact ratio is its ratio form. It ignores differences in base rates 1.

Developed in
ch. 16, Group fairness metrics
Chapters
ch. 16, Fairness & XAI
Contrast with
Equalised odds
Source
1 numbered reference, listed below

Where it is used

One chapter of the Body of Knowledge uses the term. Each link opens the first section that does.

Demographic parity: mentions per chapter1 mention of the term across 1 of the 23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge; the chapters the glossary cross-references are drawn solid.Cross-referenced chapter16 Fairness & XAI: 1 mention16 Fairness & XAI1No mentions in the other 22 chaptersSource: the Body of Knowledgev0.5.0
Demographic parity: mentions per chapter1 mention of the term across 1 of the 23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge; the chapters the glossary cross-references are drawn solid.Cross-referenced chapter00010203040506070810111213141516 Fairness & XAI: 1 mention11617181920212223Source: the Body of Knowledge v0.5.0
Mentions per chapter How often each chapter names the term, with the chapters the glossary cross-references drawn solid. The longest bar is where to read the term in use; bars spread across many chapters mark a term that runs through the discipline.
Mentions as a table
Mentions of Demographic parity per chapter
ChapterMentionsCross-referenced
00 Preface0No
01 Definition0No
02 Why Now0No
03 Values & Principles0No
04 The Stack0No
05 Patterns0No
06 The Role0No
07 Maturity Model0No
08 Regulatory Map0No
10 Reading List0No
11 AI Defined0No
12 Governance Program0No
13 Risk Management0No
14 Development0No
15 Deployment0No
16 Fairness & XAI1Yes
17 Incidents0No
18 EU AI Act0No
19 Privacy & AI0No
20 Existing Law0No
21 AI Laws Worldwide0No
22 Principles & Standards0No
23 AI Agents0No
Demographic parity: related terms and patternsThe term at the centre; related terms on solid edges, the terms it is contrasted with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer.RelatedContrastDemographic parityRelated terms (2)Adverse-impact ratio (AIR) · RelatedAdverse-impact ratio (AIR)Fairness · RelatedFairnessContrast with (1)Equalised odds · ContrastEqualised odds
Demographic parity: related terms and patternsThe term at the centre; related terms on solid edges, the terms it is contrasted with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer.RelatedContrastRelated terms (2)Adverse-impact ratio (AIR) · RelatedAdverse-impact ratio (AIR)Fairness · RelatedFairnessContrast with (1)Equalised odds · ContrastEqualised oddsDemographicparity
The term's neighbourhood Terms related to this one on solid edges, terms it is often confused with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer. Follow a dashed edge to check the distinction before you use either term.
Neighbourhood as a table
Neighbourhood of Demographic parity
FamilyItemRelation
Related termsAdverse-impact ratio (AIR)Related
Related termsFairnessRelated
Contrast withEqualised oddsContrast
  • Adverse-impact ratio (AIR)

    The selection rate of a group divided by the selection rate of the most-selected group.

  • Fairness

    The property that a system's outcomes and errors do not unjustifiably disadvantage people or groups.

Sources

  1. [1] "Fairness Through Awareness" (Dwork, Hardt, Pitassi, Reingold and Zemel; individual fairness; limits of statistical parity; arXiv 1104.3913). arXiv. 2011-04-20. https://arxiv.org/abs/1104.3913 (verified: primary)

Definitions of legal terms paraphrase the cited text, which governs. Dated statements are as of .

Cite this term

García Aibar, J. (2026). Demographic parity. In AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis & Body of Knowledge (v0.5.0), Glossary. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197. https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/demographic-parity. CC BY 4.0

BibTeX

@misc{aige2026demographicparity,
  author  = {Jorge García Aibar},
  title   = {{Demographic parity}},
  note    = {Glossary, AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis \& Body of Knowledge, version 0.5.0},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.5281/zenodo.22956197},
  url     = {https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/demographic-parity}
}