What does equality mean as a core value?
Equality as a core value means believing every person has equal worth and should get the same rights, opportunities and rules, whatever their background or position.
Equality starts from a simple conviction: everyone should have the same rights and the same shot. It’s the parent who gives each child the same chance to try, the manager who opens a development programme to everyone, the friend who notices when some voices count for more around the table. If equality is a core value, unearned advantage bothers you, whether it runs in your favour or against you. You want a level starting line, and the same rules for everyone.
What does equality look like in practice?
- You make opportunities like training or stretch projects open to everyone, including people who don’t usually get asked.
- You check whether people doing the same job are paid and treated the same.
- You give each person’s view the same weight, whatever their seniority.
- You notice when an informal network is deciding who gets on.
- You apply the same rules to yourself that you apply to others.
When is equality overplayed?
Pushed to its limit, equality can become sameness. Treating everyone identically can ignore that people start in different places and need different things, so a rule that looks equal lands unevenly. It can also make you uneasy about recognising exceptional contribution, or lead to long debates about process when a decision is needed. Kept in proportion, it cares about equal worth and equal chances, and accepts that people may need different things to get there. A useful test is to ask what each person needs to have the same real chance, and start there.
Often confused with
Equality vs Fairness
Fairness is giving everyone an even hand in a particular situation, which sometimes means treating people differently. Equality is about everyone having the same rights and chances in the first place.
Equality vs Justice
Justice is standing up for what’s right, especially when something has gone wrong. Equality is the principle that everyone’s rights and chances should be the same.
Equality vs Inclusiveness
Inclusiveness is making sure nobody is left on the outside. Equality is about everyone having the same rights and opportunities once they’re in.
Questions to sit with
- Where do you benefit from an advantage you didn’t earn, and what do you do with it?
- Who in your team or family gets opportunities first, and why them?
- When has treating everyone the same turned out to be unfair to someone?
More values in Ethics
Doing right and treating people fairly.
About the author
Matt Rutherford is a Career and Leadership Coach. The Values Finder is the same exercise he uses with his coaching clients. He also writes Stuff that MattRs, a weekly newsletter with practical ideas to help you think clearer and work better.
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