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equity

EK-wuh-tee /ˈekwəti/

nounB2GREGMATUPSCIELTS

academicformalprofessional

Fairness and justice in treatment, opportunities, and resource allocation, taking into account existing disadvantages.

Equity means giving people what they need to reach equal outcomes, whereas equality gives everyone the exact same input regardless of need.

The story behind the word. From Latin 'aequitas', meaning evenness or level ground. In English legal history, 'Equity' developed as a branch of law overriding strict rigid statutes to achieve fair justice.

Word relationships

fairness: Fairness is a broad everyday concept; equity carries formal legal and institutional weight.
impartiality: Impartiality means absence of bias, while equity actively corrects historical bias to yield fair results.

inequity: Inequity denotes systemic unfairness or bias in distribution.
bias: Bias is an unfair preference that creates unequal outcomes.

Commonly confused with

equity vs equality: Equality gives everyone identical resources; equity gives resources based on individual need to achieve fair outcomes.

Word family

equitable (adjective): Fair and impartial.
equitably (adverb): In a fair and just manner.

Collocations

health equity
educational equity
pay equity
brand equity
private equity

Example sentences

"Tax policy experts balance considerations of fiscal efficiency with principles of horizontal equity." Public finance
"The commission recommended funding adjustments to ensure educational equity across under-resourced districts." Corporate administration

Memory hook

EQUITY levels the pitch so everyone plays on EQUAL footing. Equity gives what is needed for true fairness.

When not to use

Do not confuse with 'equality' when referring specifically to identical baseline treatment.

Fun facts

In finance, 'equity' also means ownership value in property or shares, derived from the idea of net fair balance.