Equity

This year, the theme of International Women’s Day is ‘embrace equity’, which draws attention to the subtle but significant difference between the related concepts of equity and equality. Where equality seeks to provide the same rights and support for all, equity levels the playing field. Equity recognises that some voices are more marginal than others and seeks to elevate their platform to equal footing with those that have historically had their expressions centred. 

The positive politic that I want to platform this month is the importance of equity as an ideal that champions intersectionality and diversity. It’s the recognition that equity and rights-based activism must take into account the multiple aspects of our identity and how we experience the world. Gender, race, and class (among many others) are entangled signifiers which each individually will affect how much you earn, how people treat you, and even how long you will live. For example, a white transgender woman will experience sexism in very different forms to a cisgender woman of colour.  

You only need to look at the news through a feminist lens to see the wide array of women fighting a wide array of battles. From Iranian women protesting against the government, to British women protesting against rape-culture in the police, each struggle requires bespoke support. Equity and intersectionality are not about division or about an ‘oppression Olympics’ but understanding that a plurality of demands can come together under the same rallying banner in the fight for social justice.  

It is so important and positive that society is opening up to talking about more nuanced ways of tackling oppression, and while this should be celebrated, it is also important to recognise that each of us has different levels of understanding on the subject. For example, I’m aware my experience been moulded by my privilege. For intersectionality and feminism, I recommend Feminism Is for Everybody by bell hooks.