Some people hold that opinion that equality and equity are synonyms of each other. Although, these words sound the same at first glance, but, equality and equity are two different terms. It is very crucial to understand their meanings for educational, social and traditional purpose.
Equality:
The word “Equality” means “the act of giving equal rights, facilities and opportunities to all and sundry”. According to dictionary, the state of being equal in status, rights and opportunities is equality. Equality is giving the equal chances to everyone regardless of their race, language, status, gender, religion etc. It is one of the characteristics of an ideal democratic society and often associated with the progress and prosperity of a community. By establishing equality in a society, the members can enjoy the same rights. It does not consider needs and requirements of people.
The best demonstration of equality is that the workers of all gender doing the same job and receiving equal salary. A transgender person should not be denied entry to a restaurant.
Equity:
While the word “Equity” means “the state of being fair and unbiased”. In other words, assigning the rights, facilities and opportunities to someone according to his/her need. It acknowledges that each person has different circumstances and situations and allocates the exact resources and chances needed to gain an identical upshot. It considers the needs of people.
The example of equity is that a long ladder will be given to short stature person and short ladder to long height person, to pick the fruits from the tree.
According to Paula Dressel:
“The route to achieving equity will not be accomplished through treating everyone equally. It will be achieved by treating everyone exactly according to their conditions.”
Examples to understand the difference:
Simple examples to comprehend the distinction between equity and equality are here:
→If a person gives 100$ to all women regardless of their status, then this is equality. If that person gives 40$ to rich women and 160$ to poor ones on the basis of their financial status, then this is equity.
→If an organization gives scholarships to all sort of students, then this is equality and if that organization gives scholarships to poor and disable students, then this is called equity.
→The equity is that government should levy taxes on rich and well being people and relief the people with low-income.