Why Diversity and Equality are different (but should go hand in hand)?
- Viola Marchetti
- Jan 13, 2020
- 2 min read
In the employment world, diversity and equality are commonly used interchangeably. While they are certainly connected, they are not the same. In fact, they are almost each other’s opposite, which is why many people may get confused when talking about them, especially in terms of work environment. The hiring processes itself can be difficult enough, but when you add efforts to ensure candidates represent a diverse population, balancing equal employment opportunities, can easily become a difficult task to manage.
So, what is the difference between equality and diversity and what weight do they have in human resources practices?
Equality is about ensuring everybody has an equal opportunity, and is not treated differently or discriminated because of personal characteristics. On the other hand, diversity in employment practices, involved recognizing and respecting differences, placing a positive value on those differences.
I personally think that these two concepts are distinct, but interrelated. Although they almost seem contradict one another, the aim of equality and diversity is the same: to ensure that everyone has access to the same opportunities and the same fair treatment.
In this article on the Huffington post, the author argues that
“in today’s world we simply can’t afford to have partial equality or unequal diversity: we need both.”
He also states that “it’s much easier to achieve equality without diversity […] Equality among men is one thing, equality for both genders is a much harder thing to achieve. It’s also easier when the term “men” doesn’t apply to males of all races and ethnicities. Similarly, embracing diversity is easier if you don’t believe that you have to give everybody equal opportunities and protections”
I believe that a holistic approach is necessary to manage both sides in Human Resources practices, making a commitment to equality through the recognition of diversity. In fact, equality and diversity exist to ensure an inclusive workplace, which means a place where ‘difference’ is never an impediment to getting a job or progressing in career.
In this regard, the legislation is wide spanning and comprehensive, essentially making sure that companies adhere to the minimum standards set out by a variety of discrimination acts. These include a set of practises defined in the Equality Act, Race Relations Act, Sex Discrimination Act, Disability Discrimination Act and Human Rights Act.
I think that laws and regulation are crucially to eradicate discrimination and biases in the workplace. On the other hand, I also think that equality and diversity are not only achieved by creating new laws and codes or implementing more rules. I believe It can only happens when people realize that despite divergences, despite different ideas, feelings, culture and beliefs, it is still possible to embrace diversity and give people equality of opportunity in all their endless diversity true.
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