What is equality?
Equality, as part of EDI, is thrown around a lot these days.
But what does it actually mean?
Let’s start at the beginning
At its most basic, equality means a state of things being in balance. A quick Google gave me similar words like justness, even, fairness, impartiality.
When we consider this in society, connections between people, and in our workplaces, it could mean everyone having access to the same opportunities, resources and benefits as anyone else, regardless of who they are.
So equality is a good thing, right?
In theory, yes. Creating opportunities for equal access to services or opportunities for roles or progression is a good thing. Doing so can tackle some of the problems in society, such as sexism, racism, homophobia, ableism, and more.
Using equality, everyone would be given the same resource to support them and receive the same treatment. For example, making your recruitment process explicitly welcoming of neurodiverse people as well as neurotypical people. Or, everyone in a Sales Advisor role being paid the same regardless of their gender.
Sounds great to me!
Equality as a concept has brought around a lot of positive change in the UK in the last century. Take, for example, women’s rights. The introduction of the Equal Franchise Act 1928 which gave women the same voting rights as men. This can be described as equality of opportunity.
However, would giving everyone the same resource, regardless of who they are, be the best solution? Given everyone is different, would the same opportunities mean the same for everyone? Following women getting the same ability to take part in democracy as men, in March 2024 women only made up 35% of Members of Parliament (MPs). The existence of equality of opportunity does not guarantee equal outcomes.
To tackle this, we need to shift thinking towards equity. It's a very similar term, but means we recognise that people need different resources based on their context. Providing this achieves more equal outcomes.
Does this mean equality has challenges?
Yes – there are lots of graphics that have illustrated this which might help the understanding between equality and equity, including the image on the right from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Equity will be explored in more detail in a future post, but this illustrates the key difference. Equality gives everyone the same, where equity tailors its approach.
So should I forget about equality?
While the concept of equality has its flaws, it’s still useful to bear in mind, and is part of UK law. For example, the Equality Act 2010 exists to protect people from discrimination, which is without doubt a good thing.
However, we can go beyond equality and strive for equity, to achieve a more long-term and sustainable impact on making society truly fair.
Rob Drury Consulting
I’m experienced in areas of equality, equity, diversity and inclusion, and would be thrilled to help you make your business more inclusive. This could be through training, consultation services, conducting reviews and surveys, or something really specific to what you do. Get in touch to start something great!
