The Definition of Equal Opportunity - Essay Example

A competitive examination may provide equal opportunity for candidates to be tested, but that does not mean they have had an equal opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills required for success, and hence may not be a true guide to talent. The ‘equal access’ mentioned may then be applied to the circumstances in which individuals receive their education, it is argued that equal opportunity in the test requires equal opportunity to acquire the skills to be tested. This may lead to a demand for equal conditions in the period before the rationing or a demand that, because those conditions have not been equal, the procedure takes account of the previous relative lack of resources or opportunities of some competitors by discriminating in their favor (Political Dictionary). In the simplest terms, hiring someone based solely on ethnicity, gender, age, religion, political affiliation or sexual orientation is equally as wrong as refusing to hire a person for the same reasons.

Equal opportunity practices include those that are race-blind or gender-blind, and those that involve or require affirmative action or reverse discrimination (referred to as 'positive discrimination' in the UK). The United States federal government and various state and local governments require affirmative action in governmental hiring and contracting (Equal). The goal of giving all persons an equal chance to an education and employment, and to protect their civil rights, regardless of their race, religious beliefs, or gender. In the United States, various minority groups have been fighting for equal opportunity over the last 150 years (Barron).

Equal opportunity is often criticized on utilitarian grounds because the burden of equal opportunity regulations results in decreased productivity of businesses, thus reducing the well-being of all classes. But, the concept of Equal Opportunity requires that legal censure be taken against those who do not give up their prejudices. Legal censure by the state is objectionable to some. However, in the absence of Equal Opportunity, legal censure would also have to be taken against social and religious activists who aim for equality in society.

Equal Opportunity is often considered separate from basic Freedoms. For example, Freedom of Speech is usually not within the realm of Equal Opportunity but rather within basic rights. Equal Opportunity consists of additional elements crucial to a meritocracy, such as:
• Consideration for employment, housing, and education free from immutable characteristics such as race, age, or disability;
• Equal access to goods and services from the government

The term "equal opportunity" is synonymous with "non-discrimination". Social equity in the labor market is a stronger requirement: it implies that the benefits of employment are broadly and equitably distributed (Report, 1996). Social equality is a social state of affairs in which certain different people have the same status in a certain respect, at the very least in voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, the extent of property rights as well as the access to education, health care, and other social securities.
Thus, in practice, equal opportunity is said to exist when people with similar abilities reach similar results after doing a similar amount of work. Indeed, equal opportunity and equality of outcome are often seen as complementary. Equal opportunity is necessarily associated with rationing. ‘Equal opportunity’ is, however, sometimes misused to support an increase in the supply of some good, for example in the claim that equal opportunity requires that higher education be made available to all who want it. This is better characterized as a demand for equality in distribution.

Adam Smith writes, in The Wealth of Nations, of an individual in a free market that "By pursuing his interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good." Milton Friedman, in Free to Choose, states that Equal Opportunity is an attempt to achieve equal results. Equal opportunity has eroded the possibility for gifted individuals to serve as agents in the free market and has detrimentally affected the value of goods and services by discriminating against those whose aptitude to perform and produce is greater than others. Another common criticism of equal opportunity is the perceived intrinsic prejudice existing in a legally mandated quota system. In the simplest terms, hiring someone based solely on ethnicity, gender, age, religion, political affiliation or sexual orientation is equally as wrong as refusing to hire a person for the same reasons.

Practically, methods for fulfilling equal opportunity can be less than complete or ineffective. Indeed, how to measure the success or failure of equal opportunity policies is unclear. The opportunity itself is often difficult - if not impossible - to accurately measure. Read More