Many people think that these two words, equality and equity are or mean the same, including myself before researching, but we are totally wrong because they have different meanings and in turn represent varied important values that we would have to appreciate and put into practice in our daily life .
From one hand in the Cambridge dictionary, the word equality means "the same in importance and deserving the same treatment: All people are equal, deserving the same rights as each other", and in the Oxford dictionary the word equality means "the fact of being equal in rights, status, advantages,etc". In both dictionaries the word equality is expressed in different ways; however, their meanings represent that everyone has to be treated fairly or have the the chance to access to the same things; for example, if I have $ 40,000 pesos and I want to give it to two different people, I have to give $ 20,000 pesos to each people, in order that they receive the same amount of money .
On the other hand, equity is the quality that consists of giving each one what they deserve based on their merits or conditions; for example, I have $ 40,000 pesos that I want to give to two different people, but this time I know who needs more, so the amount of money is delivered depending on their economic situation,so instead of giving the same amount of money for each one, I give to each person what they need to be satisfied, though in balance according to everyone's needs.
A hypothetical example contrasting the two values could be that three people are given the same shirt size, this would be considered as equality since people received the same shirt, but what would happen if these three people are not given three equal shirts, but instead three different shirts depending on the size of each one? Well, this would be considered equity because everyone gets what they need to be equally dressed.
In conclusion, I consider that equity is much more beneficial, effective and is coupled with the needs of people for what it would make for a better world in which we all reach the same point of equality. I think this could be a fair solution so that poverty ends and there are no people suffering or depressed, either because they do not have a stable job that does not bring them so much money or because they are dissatisfied with their life because they do not have a home or the resources to support themselves.
By Catalina Botero C., Step 9 Blue
