Equity, not just equality

WHEN Mahatma Gandhi spoke about equality, he also stressed equity – being just and fair. Gandhi knew that equality in the loose sense would favour the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor and weak. That is why no nation that has “haves and have nots” can do without affirmative action or positive discrimination.

While equality means each one of us is given the same resources and opportunities, equity recognises that each person or community has different circumstances. Equity seeks to create the opportunities needed to correct imbalances by setting policies for a just and better outcome. For equity to work, it is not enough to cater to issues made visible through numbers and figures, we must also address underlying historical socioeconomic and sociocultural issues.