The Definition of Equality

People tend to treat equality as being fair with resources, opportunities, healthcare and education among others. Considering a situation whereby there are three children looking over a fence that is about five feet tall and their heights are three feet, three and a half feet and four feet. In order for the children to see beyond the fence they need to be more than five feet tall at least meaning they will need to stand on a stool or log that will boost their height. Giving the children a log that is three and half foot tall each to stand on is the definition of equality. The three children have been treated equally and therefore one could say fairness has been exhibited (Mann).

The two genders have different experiences and needs and equality in terms of resources provided to them does make them equal, it does not guarantee their individual successes. For instance providing both male and female students the same opportunities in games does not mean that they will both strive in it. If both girls and boys have equal opportunities in a game like American football it does not guarantee the fact that the girls will also succeed in playing American football. The game is majorly dominated by the male gender and it requires masculine strength in order to play. It does not outright discriminate the female gender but the requirements to play it effectively is a masculine physique. Social justice allows all children despite their backgrounds to receive the same quality of education, it also allows everyone an equal opportunity in finding a job or in finding a place to live whether an immigrant or a citizen.

Social justice makes everyone equal, however it fails to put into consideration the fact that as human beings we are different and diverse. Human beings come from different backgrounds and face different problems which are specific to a certain people. Equality does not completely bridge this gap, instead it empowers a certain group of people while sidelining others. Equality assumes that all the players in the society are uniform, have the same situation and have the aspect of interchangeability. Equality does not necessarily do justice to the poor and less privileged in the society the way the democratic government puts it, it gives equal resources to people from different backgrounds without considering their individual needs. When it comes to opportunities it is important that individuals are given opportunities that suit their expertise or their diverse needs in order to cause success at the end of the day.

Equality only works if the variables in a certain situation are equal. In the case of resources provided in schools, the education system may be the same but the students may come from low income families or they may be from an under privileged race (Tarasov). The scenario would mean that some of the students would require more resources than the other in order to bridge the achievement gap between them. This could be in terms of situation, race, education or health. Justice and fairness in dealings are meant to look more at the differences between players before giving it to them in order to guarantee success (Sensoy). The term equity has therefore come in handy when talking about opportunities that will benefit different stakeholders in their own unique manner while ensuring that they all succeed.