International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8th annually, is a global commemoration of women’s achievements and a call to action for gender equality. This day stands as the pivotal point for women’s rights and recognition of all the great things achieved by women throughout the years. The theme of “Embracing Equity”underscores the vital distinction between equality and equity. Equity plays a critical role in creating a more just and inclusive world for women. But what exactly does “equality” mean in a world tied in systemic barriers, and why is the fight shifting towards a focus on “equity”?
Equality vs Equity
Though the two terms, “Equality” and “Equity” might sound quite similar, but these are quite different from each other. The difference between the two can be described by the famous example of people watching a sport over a fence. Suppose there are three people watching a game over a fence. In an equality approach all the three people, irrespective of their heights will be provided the same height box to stand on. But when equity is judged, the height of each person will be taken into account. So the shortest person will be given more boxes or a box with a larger height, while the tallest person, who might not even need a box in order to see tha game, will be given the box accordingly.
Thus it is now understood that equality and equity are not the same. Equality assumes a level playing field, providing everyone, irrespective of their strengths or weaknesses, with the same resources and opportunities. Equity, on the other hand, recognizes individual circumstances and systemic barriers, tailoring resources and support to address those specific needs and create a truly equal playing field. In case equity all the resources are used up to its proper level considering the individual perspectives. Because if we provide a person with the resources they might never need, it just creates wastage. Instead, giving the same resource to a person in need ensures proper distribution.
Equity for Women
Many people consider feminism as “equality for women”, but this is not the case as feminism deals with the equity for women. Thus the fight for women’s right and gender equality cannot be fully realised without equity as its cornerstone. Throughout history and still today, women are facing many systematic barriers and discrimination. This limits their opportunities and participation in various fields.
From the workplace to education to healthcare, women are facing continuous disadvantages that require more than just equal treatment to be overcome. Equity in the workplace has to deal with recognizing biases in hiring and promotion practices, creating inclusive environments, and providing support for childcare and flexible work arrangements. In education, it involves addressing gender stereotypes, investing in girls’ STEM education, and ensuring access to resources. Equity in healthcare means providing comprehensive reproductive health services, access to cheap or free healthcare resources, addressing disparities in research, and focusing on women’s unique health needs.
A Call to Action:
In order to embarrass equity in all the fields, we need to amplify our fight. We need to step up for our fellow women who are enduring disparity on a daily basis. Here’s how we all can play a part:
Spread awareness: We need to spread awareness for this fight to all sorts of people. We can arrange rallies, fares and interactive sessions to do this.
Educating people: There are many people around us who are illiterate in this sphere. We need to educate them with patience and courage.
Speaking up: We need to speak up against all the discrimination which is occurring around us and stand beside the women in need.
Advocate: We need to advocate our motto by preaching and spreading the aura. Silent support cannot do much in today’s case.
Support: We must support the policies, communities, parties, activities which are amplifying the fight for equality.
True progress towards gender equality demands that we go beyond the simple notion of “equal” and embrace the principle of equity. International Women’s Day provides an opportunity for reflection, but real change requires action. Let’s choose to embrace equity every day of the year.
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Writer
Rifah Zakiah
Intern, Content Writing Department
YSSE