EQUALITY VS. EQUITY

We are touching on equality versus equity. What are those, and how are they different?

Well, equality is the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities. Think about the civil rights movement, for example. Black people wanted equal rights as whites because they were forced to sit in the back of buses, they couldn’t vote, they were being beaten, etc. But white people got five-star quality treatment compared to them. On the other hand, equity is the quality of being fair and impartial. You get what you specifically need to be equal to others.

In equality, you get the same thing as other people, no matter your special conditions. In equity, you receive something different than others that will make you equal to them. Look at the image above. In an attempt to see a baseball game over a fence, three kids are using boxes. One kid is very tall, one medium, and one short. If we take on equality, each child will get one box to stand on, but the shortest one won’t be able to see the game, while the other two do. This is not fair. If we take on equity, the short child will get the most boxes to stand on and see the game, the medium child will get less, and the tallest child none at all. Now all of them can see the game.

​ In conclusion, what’s really better to have? Equality or equity? Throughout history we have been arguing “Equality for all!”, but is that really the right choice? In my opinion, I thought deeply and I believe equity is better. Everyone in the world is different, meaning everyone has different needs. If everybody were the same, equality would be more effective because everyone would need the same amount of help. But in a world like this, no. This is not true. This is what I believe, but how about you, our readers?