5. Approaches to equality
5.1 Why do we need equalities work?
Equality is not about everyone being the same. Individuals have their own life experiences which mean that everyone is different. The aim of equality is that people deal with one another in an equal and fair way which does not lead to certain communities experiencing disadvantage.
At the moment, this does not always happen. People experience disadvantage because of their personal characteristics on a regular basis. Here are just a few examples of how this happens in the UK:
- It is estimated that Gypsies/ Travellers live between 10 and 12 years less than the rest of the UK population.
- Older people in Scotland live in poorer housing, are more likely to experience poor health, live on lower incomes and experience age discrimination.
- Older people from minority ethnic communities or with disabilities are doubly disadvantaged.
- The Equal Opportunities Commission believes it will be 200 years before women become as influential as men in politics.
- Research undertaken in 2004 found that disabled people on benefits needed an extra £200 to £230 a week to achieve the same quality of life as able-bodied people.
|
These statistics demonstrate some shocking differences in quality of life between different communities. They clearly show that it is important to work towards equality at a faster pace than we have been doing so far.
Although these figures do demonstrate the disadvantages faced by some communities, it is actually quite difficult to gather information on the disadvantages experienced by different equalities groups. This is for two main reasons.
Firstly, there is a lack of statistical information about many communities. For example, there is no national figure on the number of people with disabilities or support needs. This information is not gathered by any one organisation. This means that gathering statistics on equality issues can be difficult.
Secondly, disadvantage is not always measurable in numbers. For example, if someone experiences a different quality of service because of their personal characteristics then they are being disadvantaged. Measuring this - and proving it - is very difficult.
Source of support: Why is equality important? In 2007, a review of equality in Britain was undertaken by an Equalities Review Panel established by the government. This report considers what equality is, why it matters, and looks at equality in the past, present and future. |
Section 4.6 << >> Section 5.2