The 8 March marks International Women's Day. A global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.

Reflecting on the commitments I made this time last year, I'd like to think I did ok - surrounding myself and my family with lots of fantastically great role models, both male and female. Continuing to educate myself and others to have open conversations on diversity and equality and to empower the women and girls around me.

So, as much as the 8 March is a celebration of the achievements so far, there is still more we can and must do. Why? Because equal opportunities aren't enough. People start from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action.

I truly believe in forging an equal and inclusive world, which means we need to better understand the difference between equity and equality.

The words equity and equality are often used interchangeably, however they are inherently different concepts. So, what's the difference and why is it important to understand, acknowledge and value this?

Equality 

means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. I was taught the concept of "fairness", which is often assumed to mean everyone gets the same thing. If we give everyone the exact same thing, expecting that will make people equal, it assumes that everyone started out in the same place - and this is vastly inaccurate because everyone isn't the same.

So if Equality is not enough, we should look towards equity as a better principle to progress society.

Equity

recognises that each person has different circumstances, that people don't begin life in the same place, and that circumstances can make it more difficult for people to achieve the same goals.

Equity is about allocating the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.

To learn more about Equity vs Equality visit IWD: Equality versus Equity: What's the difference as we #EmbraceEquity for IWD 2023 and beyond? (internationalwomensday.com)

This International Women's Day, let's #EmbraceEquity - together!