What does equality mean?

The meaning of equality differs for everyone around the world. Everyone has a different viewpoint about it, but for me, equality means that everybody in the world is given equal rights and importance. Some say that equality is everybody having a universal income, some say that equality is not discriminating due to the colour of your skin, but I think that all equality is having universal rights. Meaning that no matter what, everybody should be treated in the same way and manner. Unfortunately, due to many reasons, this vision of equality has been tampered with and for the time being, cannot be achieved. I believe that all people are not really equal.

Introduction to: Are all people really equal?

Have you ever thought, throughout your life, if all people are equal? Did you ever wonder why some people are treated better than others? Well, today I am here to attempt to answer those thoughts. 

We are all humans. We are all born the same way, and hence deserve the same rights and acceptance as long as we all follow the laws and comply with the norms set to protect all individuals. We are all created the same right? Well, conceivably, but throughout history, certain groups of people have faced discrimination, segregation, and injustice just because of their status, colour of their skin, race, culture and much more. Humanity has indeed progressed a lot more in terms of making everyone in society more equal, it has not progressed to the extent that we can say that yes, all people are equal. 

Different types of inequalities

There are several different types of inequalities. Discrimination, social inequality, wealth inequality, life inequality, tax inequality and much more. The vast majority of people don’t tend to look at these factors when arguing all people are equal in some shape way or form. Some of these factors can potentially be solved, but no matter what the circumstances are, one inequality will always prevail as a huge issue in the world. 

Impact of the pandemic on inequality

Unfortunately, these inequalities that I spoke about above have only risen during the pandemic. During the start of the Pandemic, there was excessive hate for Asian people. Examples of this include: An elderly Thai immigrant dies after being shoved to the ground. A Filipino-American is slashed in the face with a box cutter. A Chinese woman is slapped and then set on fire. Eight people were killed in a shooting rampage across three Asian spas in one night. These are just examples of recent violent attacks on Asian Americans, part of a surge in abuse and hate since the start of the pandemic two years ago. They are not at fault at all, however, they are still blamed for something that they were never responsible for.

Asians- Americans have to go out with caution and are full of anxiety and fear. How can they not be scared after witnessing what has happened to their community?

However, for white people or majority communities, have there been any problems? According to the stats, no.

Another impact on inequality during the pandemic is the distribution of vaccines. The number of vaccine doses administered per 100 people was almost 13 times higher in high-income than low-income countries, according to data from the WHO and the World Bank. According to Our World in Data Only 9.7% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. Due to the new Omicron outbreak, this stat has unfortunately only become more evident. People in a place like the UK or America are far safer and can see their friends and families without any fear, however, in a country like Nigeria, do not have the chance to do so. 

Other inequalities in the world 

Now that I have discussed the impact the pandemic had, I am going to discuss inequalities that have been around for ages and still continue to progress. As we progress every year, the wealth gaps between the rich and the poor are getting higher and higher every year. The wealth divide between the global billionaires and the bottom half of humanity is growing steadily, according to Oxfam. From this point of view, some people would maybe even argue that it was a more equal society in the ’80s than it is now. 

Between 2009 and 2018, the number of billionaires it took to equal the wealth of the world’s poorest 50 per cent fell from 380 to 26. The gap is getting bigger every year, and there is nothing that we can do about it. 

Further adding on to this point, the wealthy don’t pay much income tax either. People like us have to pay their income tax, but the rich, while living their extravagant lifestyles always seem to get away with not paying income tax every single time. According to ProPublica, the richest 25 Americans pay less in tax - an average of 15.8% of adjusted gross income - than most mainstream US workers. Can you believe that? The average person may be paying more income tax than the average billionaire is. Perhaps if these millionaires and billionaires actually paid their fair share of income tax, the developments in the country or city could accelerate by a large amount. 

What can you do? 

So, you may ask, what can you do? For now, there is nothing much that we can do about inequality. It’s the brutal truth. All I can say, for now, is that all of you must do your part to strive for equality. That’s the very least that you can do. Treat others the way you yourself would want to be treated. Try your best to help others who need help more than you do, and most importantly, raise awareness about this topic, so that we can get one step closer to equality. 

Conclusion

To summarize my points, I would like to say that even though it is possible to gain equality, for now, there is no simple solution. We have said that equality is improving over the years and that events such as the George Floyd protests or the Civil Rights Act of 1964 contributed toward equality, but here we are, in 2022, with the same problems. All we can do is continue to raise awareness and hope and pray that someday, the day where we are all treated equally comes to life. We may not always achieve perfect equality in this world – but striving for it is always worth our time and effort.