Equity – What is it?

Given what we know about equity so far, how difficult would it be to get a definition? The answer may be surprising, especially if you were to consider the dictionary meaning: "the quality of being fair and impartial". It may surprise you to know that equity does not mean equality (as I had previously mentioned). In law, the real meaning of equity would be something like: "providing for individual needs in such a manner that the individual can live on equal terms with everyone else" (my words). To give you an idea of what I mean take a look at the following picture:

In the above picture, on the left, we can see that even though each person was treated equally, there is still an imbalance. On the right, each person as been treated according to his individual needs, but the result is that each person has equal opportunity (to view the game). To put it another way, equality is giving each person the same resources; equity is giving each person the resources that he or she needs to achieve equality – equity is the road and equality is the destination.

This is how the legal academic Gary Watt introduces ‘equity’:

The word ‘equity’ is used by the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ in quite different ways, but always to denote something they hope to attain or retain. Whether approached from a religious or secular perspective, whether approached from a starting point of poverty or privilege, equity is universally considered to be something desirable, something to aspire to … Equity therefore has the potential to provide a language capable of traversing or filling some fundamental fissures in modern society.

(Watt, 2012, pp. 37–8)

Equality is a very important idea, and one that should be taken seriously. Since the late 1990s the importance of equality has been cemented in law by a number of high-profile pieces of UK government legislation, including the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010. Yet equality alone cannot provide all the answers. Perhaps, as the image above suggests, when confronted with the novelty of individual needs an alternative method – one that does not rely upon treating everyone as identical – is required to ensure a reasonable chance of justice or fairness being achieved.

Thus, as this brief section has aimed to demonstrate, it is important to be aware of the problems that can and will arise if close attention is not paid to language and the context in which it is used. Where talking about justice, for example, it is not automatically about equality and vice versa. Likewise, equality cannot be automatically exchanged for equity.

© The Open University

In trying to understand equity, we must understand that there are advantages or privileges that exist alongside disadvantages. To achieve equality we must address the imbalances. Consider this: would affirmative action fall under equity, or would it, in its own right, be considered discrimination?

It is worth paying attention to the subjective nature of emotions/feelings, as these play a very important role in whether a person feels he is treated fairly or not. While law has certain objective mechanisms within its structure to help achieve fairness, equity plays a key part in "ensuring a degree of humanity remains within the law". It helps to maintain a degree of balance within the legal system, but there is always that subjective aspect of emotions.

To be continued…