Equity and Equality are often used interchangeably as if they were synonyms, but the two words have different meanings and outcomes.

In the workplace context, Equality means giving all individuals fair treatment and equal rights to opportunities, whereas equity refers to providing resources and opportunities to employees based on their individual needs.

Let’s look at three basic points that make equity different from equality and a better approach to meeting the needs of diverse employees –

• Equity is about giving people what they need. It is a need-based approach that empowers every individual. Equality ensures that every individual is the same, therefore, has an equal opportunity to make the most of their potential. This approach offers the same things to all, irrespective of their needs and demand.
• Equity refers to the proportional representation of gender, generation, people from the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, etc., to achieve a fair outcome. Equality might give rise to discrimination as diverse people and groups have different circumstances resulting in unequal access to opportunities or resources.
• Equity displays the mindset of an organization. Creating an equitable workplace means understanding the specific needs, problems, and challenges of a diverse set of people and coming up with a tailor-made solution for every diversity strand or underrepresented group. On the other hand, an organization viewing everyone strictly as equal and nothing more is not equitable. Employee-specific needs are neglected when everyone is treated the same.

It might take effort and time to achieve workplace equity, but it’s definitely worth the investment. Equity facilitates needs-based development for the workforce, which in the long run, contributes significantly to the overall growth of the organization.