View source for Equal opportunity

{{Short description|State of fairness in which individuals are all treated the same (with justified exceptions)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{liberalism sidebar}}

'''Equal opportunity''' is a state of fairness in which individuals are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers, [[prejudice]]s, or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified.<ref name=twsL19/> For example, the intent of [[equal employment opportunity]] is that the important jobs in an [[organization]] should go to the people who are [[Meritocracy|most qualified]] – persons most likely to perform ably in a given task – and not go to persons for reasons deemed arbitrary or irrelevant, such as circumstances of birth, upbringing, having well-connected [[Nepotism|relatives]] or [[Cronyism|friends]],<ref name=twsH11/> [[Religious discrimination|religion]], [[Sexism|sex]],<ref name=twsL25/> ethnicity,<ref name=twsL25>{{citation|editor=Yo Jackson |title=Encyclopedia of multicultural psychology|publisher=Sage Publications|year=2006|isbn=1-4129-0948-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_hcurFqnQioC&pg=PA19|access-date=2011-09-12}}</ref> [[Racism|race]], [[caste]],<ref name=twsL13/> or involuntary personal attributes such as [[Ableism|disability]], [[Ageism|age]].<ref name=twsL13/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kamarck |first1=Kristy N. |title=Diversity, Inclusion, and Equal Opportunity in the Armed Services: Background and Issues for Congress |url=https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/77558/CRS_Diversity_Inclusion_and_EO_in_the_Armed_Services_1017.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |website=eCommons |publisher=Cornell University Library |access-date=7 November 2021 |page=42}}</ref>

According to proponents of the concept, chances for advancement should be open to everybody without regard for wealth, status, or membership in a [[Social privilege|privileged]] group.<ref name=twsH77c>{{citation|author=John W. Gardner|title=Excellence: Can we be equal and excellent too?| publisher=Norton |pages=47|year=1984 |isbn=0-393-31287-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=liE59woX624C&q=%22equality+of+opportunity%22&pg=PA46|access-date=2011-09-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-12-16|title=Gender Equality|url=https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/gender-equality|access-date=2020-10-04|website=www.un.org|language=en}}</ref> The idea is to remove arbitrariness from the selection process and base it on some "pre-agreed basis of [[Social justice|fairness]], with the assessment process being related to the type of position"<ref name=twsH11/> and emphasizing procedural and legal means.<ref name=twsL13/> Individuals should succeed or fail based on their efforts and not extraneous circumstances such as having well-connected parents.<ref name=tws2X31>{{citation|author=Valentino Dardanoni, University of Palermo, Gary S. Fields, Cornell University, John E. Roemer, Yale University, Maria Laura Sánchez Puerta, The World Bank|title=How Demanding Should Equality of Opportunity Be, and How Much Have We Achieved?|work=Cornell University – Digital Commons ILR|quote=Agreement is widespread that equality of opportunity holds in a society if the chances that individuals have to succeed depend only on their efforts and not on extraneous circumstances.|year=2006|url=https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/articles/270/|access-date=2012-07-24}}</ref> It is opposed to [[nepotism]]<ref name=twsH11/> and plays a role in whether a [[social structure]] is [[Legitimacy (political)|seen as legitimate]].<ref name=twsH11/><ref name=twsL13/><ref name=twsL15>{{cite news|author=Marjorie Conley|title=Sciences Po – an elite institution's introspection on its power, position and worth in French society|publisher=portfolio|quote=created new entrance criteria for students coming from less economically favored social strata.|date=September 9, 2003|url=http://journalism.nyu.edu/publishing/archives/portfolio/conley/sciencespo.html|access-date=2011-09-12}}</ref>

The concept is applicable in areas of public life in which benefits are earned and received such as [[employment]] and [[education]], although it can apply to many other areas as well. Equal opportunity is central to the concept of [[meritocracy]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Crossman|first=Ashley|title=Understanding Meritocracy From a Sociological Perspective|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/meritocracy-definition-3026409|access-date=2020-10-04|website=ThoughtCo|language=en}}</ref>

There are two major types of equality:<ref name="EU" /> ''formal equality'', the individual merit-based comparison of opportunity, and ''[[substantive equality]]'', which moves away from individual merit-based comparison towards group [[equality of outcome]]s.

== Differing political viewpoints ==
[[File:Admiral John Fisher.jpg|thumb|Equal opportunity for all: "We fight God when our Social System dooms the brilliant clever child of a poor man to the same level as his father", [[John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher|British Admiral Jacky Fisher]], ''[https://archive.org/stream/cu31924027924509#page/n100/mode/1up Records]'' (1919)]]
People with differing political viewpoints often view the concept differently.<ref name=twsH77bxx>{{citation|author= Ricardo Paes de Barros. Francisco H. G. Ferreira, Jose R. Molinas Vega, and Jaime Saavedra Chanduvi|title= Measuring inequality of opportunity in Latin America and the Caribbean|publisher= Palgrave Macmillan and the World Bank|quote= page xvii|year= 2009|isbn= 978-0-8213-7745-1|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ABHXr54-XXUC&q=%22equality+of+opportunity%22&pg=PA32|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> The meaning of equal opportunity is debated in fields such as political philosophy, [[sociology]] and [[psychology]]. It is being applied to increasingly wider areas beyond employment,<ref name=twsL22/> including lending,<ref>Swire, Peter P. "Equality of opportunity and investment in creditworthiness. (Symposium – Shaping American Communities: Segregation, Housing & the Urban Poor)". ''[[University of Pennsylvania Law Review]]''. University of Pennsylvania, Law School. 1995. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070125054610/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-17237458.html Highbeam Research article] September 12, 2012.</ref> housing, college admissions, voting rights, and elsewhere.<ref name=twsL19>{{citation|author= Paul de Vries|title= equal opportunity|work= Blackwell Reference|date= September 12, 2011 |url= http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9780631233176_chunk_g97814051001378_ss1-15|access-date= 2011-09-12}}</ref> In the classical sense, equality of opportunity is closely aligned with the concept of [[equality before the law]] and ideas of [[meritocracy]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Rise of the Meritocracy |last=Young |first=Michael |author-link= Michael Young, Baron Young of Dartington |orig-year= 1958 |year=1963 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=Great Britain |isbn=1-56000-704-4 |page=129 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e_rTyIMJR9kC |access-date=2011-01-12}}</ref>

Generally, the terms ''equality of opportunity'' and ''equal opportunity'' are interchangeable, with occasional slight variations; the former has more of a sense of being an abstract political concept while "equal opportunity" is sometimes used as an adjective, usually in the context of employment regulations, to identify an employer, a hiring approach, or the law. Equal opportunity provisions have been written into regulations and have been debated in courtrooms.<ref name=twsH44>{{cite news|author= Steven Greenhouse|title= E.E.O.C. Sues Kaplan Over Hiring|newspaper= [[The New York Times]]|quote=the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the Kaplan Higher Education Corporation |date= December 21, 2010 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/22/business/22kaplan.html|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> It is sometimes conceived as a [[Rights|legal right]] against [[discrimination]].<ref name=twsL13>{{citation|author1=Nicole Richardt |author2=Torrey Shanks |title= Equal Opportunity|publisher= International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences|quote= via Encyclopedia.com|year= 2008|url= http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Equal_Opportunity.aspx|access-date= 2011-09-12}}</ref><ref name=twsH73>{{cite book |last1=Hill |first1=Gerald N. |last2=Hill |first2=Kathleen |title=Real life dictionary of the law: taking the mystery out of legal language |date=1997 |publisher=General Pub. Group |location=Los Angeles |isbn=9781575440545}}</ref><ref name=twsH75>{{citation|title= equal opportunity|publisher= Merriam-Webster|url= http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/equal%20opportunity|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> It is an ideal which has become increasingly widespread<ref name=twsL21>{{citation|editor= Mark Bevir |title= Encyclopedia of Political Theory|publisher= Sage Publications|quote= (see pp. 452–453) |year= 2010|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wVIoCtB3m74C&q=%28%22equal+opportunity%22+OR+%22equality+of+opportunity%22%29+encyclopedia&pg=PA452|access-date= 2011-09-12|isbn= 9781412958653}}</ref> in Western nations during the last several centuries and is intertwined with [[social mobility]], most often with [[upward mobility]] and with [[rags to riches]] stories: {{blockquote|The coming President of France is the grandson of a shoemaker. The actual President is a peasant's son. His predecessor again humbly began life in the shipping business. There is surely equality of opportunity under the new order in the old nation.<ref name=twsH45>{{cite news|author= The Montreal Gazette|title= Equal Opportunity|newspaper= The New York Times|quote= The coming President of France is the grandson of a shoemaker. |date= January 20, 1906 |url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60F13FD3B5A12738DDDA90A94D9405B868CF1D3|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref>}}

== Theory ==
=== Outline of the concept ===
[[File:Lamp factory.png|thumb|In a factory setting, equality of opportunity is often seen as a procedural fairness along the lines of "if you assemble twice as many lamps, you'll be paid double" and in this sense the concept is in contrast to the concept of [[equality of outcome]], which might require that all workers be paid similarly regardless of how many lamps they made.]]
According to the ''[[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]'', the concept assumes that society is stratified with a diverse range of roles, some of which are more desirable than others.<ref name=twsH11/> The benefit of equality of opportunity is to bring fairness to the selection process for coveted roles in [[corporations]], [[Voluntary association|associations]], [[nonprofit organizations|nonprofits]], [[universities]] and elsewhere.<ref name=twsL11>{{citation|author= Boyd Childress|title= Equal Opportunity|publisher= Encyclopedia of Business|date= September 12, 2011|url= http://www.enotes.com/biz-encyclopedia/equal-opportunity|access-date= 2011-09-12|archive-date= October 20, 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171020152639/https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/describe-equal-opportunity-employment-468910|url-status= dead}}</ref> According to one view, there is no "formal linking" between equality of opportunity and political structure, in the sense that there can be equality of opportunity in [[democracy|democracies]], [[autocracy|autocracies]] and in [[communism|communist nations]],<ref name=twsH11/> although it is primarily associated with a [[competitive market]] economy<ref name=twsH11/> and embedded within the legal frameworks of democratic societies.<ref name=twsL26>{{citation |editor-first1=John Michael |editor-last1=Jenkins |editor-first2=J. J. J. |editor-last2=Pigram |title= Encyclopedia of leisure and outdoor recreation|publisher= Routledge|page=141 |year= 2005|isbn= 0-203-67317-4|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=aNM4HnqDbAgC&q=%28%22equal+opportunity%22+OR+%22equality+of+opportunity%22%29+encyclopedia&pg=PA141|access-date= 2011-09-12}}</ref> People with different political perspectives see equality of opportunity differently: [[Liberalism|liberals]] disagree about which conditions are needed to ensure it and many "old-style" conservatives see inequality and hierarchy in general as beneficial out of a respect for tradition.<ref name=twsL12/> It can apply to a specific hiring decision, or to all hiring decisions by a specific company, or rules governing hiring decisions for an entire nation. The scope of equal opportunity has expanded to cover more than issues regarding the rights of minority groups, but covers practices regarding "recruitment, hiring, training, layoffs, discharge, recall, promotions, responsibility, wages, sick leave, vacation, overtime, insurance, retirement, pensions, and various other benefits".<ref name=twsL11/>

The concept has been applied to numerous aspects of public life, including accessibility of polling stations,<ref name=twsH15>{{cite news|author= staff writers|title= Equality of opportunity committee|publisher= BBC|date= September 21, 2010|url= https://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/wales/newsid_9019000/9019507.stm|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> care provided to [[HIV]] patients,<ref name=twsH17>{{cite news|author= staff writers|title= The Royal College of Nursing has called for an increase in the number of specialist nurses working with HIV patients.|work= BBC News|date= November 30, 2009|url= https://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/wales/newsid_8386000/8386264.stm|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> whether men and women have equal opportunities to travel on a spaceship,<ref name=twsH24>{{cite news|author1=Takao Ikeuchi |author2=Kaori Saito |title= Space mom wants equal opportunity for all|newspaper=[[The Japan Times]] |date= April 17, 2010|url= http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100417f3.html|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> [[bilingual education]],<ref name=twsH31>{{cite news|author= Robert Garcia|title= Bilingual Education Means Equal Opportunity (letter to the editor)|newspaper= The New York Times|date= August 18, 1989|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/18/opinion/l-bilingual-education-means-equal-opportunity-513289.html|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> skin color of models in [[Brazil]],<ref name=twsH43>{{cite news|title= Brazil fashion week goes equal opportunity|newspaper= The Daily Telegraph|date= June 20, 2009|url= http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/news/brazil-fashion-week-goes-equal-opportunity/story-e6frf00r-1225737622432|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> television time for political candidates,<ref name=twsL24>{{cite news|author= Howard Klieman|title= Equal Time Rule: U.S. Broadcasting Regulatory Rule|publisher= Museum of Broadcast Communications|date= September 12, 2011|url= http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=equaltimeru|access-date= 2011-09-12|archive-date= May 16, 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130516151215/http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=equaltimeru|url-status= dead}}</ref> army promotions,<ref name=twsH54>{{cite news|title= Army Promotion Process Is Held Unconstitutional by U.S. Judge|newspaper= The New York Times|date= March 5, 2002|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/05/us/army-promotion-process-is-held-unconstitutional-by-us-judge.html|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> admittance to universities<ref name=twsH55>{{cite news|title= Illiterate Americans (opinion)|newspaper= The New York Times|date= September 14, 1993|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/14/opinion/illiterate-americans.html|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> and [[ethnicity in the United States]].<ref name=twsH62>{{cite news|author= Celia W. Dugger|title= U.S. Study Says Asian-Americans Face Widespread Discrimination|work= The New York Times|date= February 29, 1992|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/29/us/us-study-says-asian-americans-face-widespread-discrimination.html|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> The term is interrelated with and often contrasted with other conceptions of equality such as [[equality of outcome]] and [[equality of autonomy]]. Equal opportunity emphasizes the personal ambition and talent and abilities of the individual, rather than his or her qualities based on membership in a group, such as a social class or race or extended family.<ref name=twsL13 /> Further, it is seen as unfair if external factors that are viewed as being beyond the control of a person significantly influence what happens to him or her.<ref name=twsL13 /> Equal opportunity then emphasizes a fair process whereas in contrast [[equality of outcome]] emphasizes an equal outcome.<ref name=twsL13 /> In sociological analysis, equal opportunity is seen as a factor correlating positively with [[social mobility]], in the sense that it can benefit society overall by maximizing well-being.<ref name=twsL13 />

=== Different types ===
There are different concepts lumped under equality of opportunity.<ref name=twsL18>{{citation|author= Laura, Laubeová|title= Encyclopedia of The World's Minorities|publisher= Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers|quote= This complex and contested concept&nbsp;...|year= 2000|url= http://instituty.fsv.cuni.cz/~laubeova/anglicky/research/encyclopedia/equal.htm|access-date= 2011-09-12|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120113053952/http://instituty.fsv.cuni.cz/~laubeova/anglicky/research/encyclopedia/equal.htm|archive-date = January 13, 2012|df= mdy-all}}</ref><ref name=twsL21/><ref>Barbara Bagihole, Equal Opportunities and Social Policy: Issues of gender, race and disability, (pp. 37–39, 183–84)London: Longman, 1997</ref><ref name=twsL21xx>{{citation|editor= Mark Bevir |title= Encyclopedia of Political Theory|publisher= Sage Publications|year= 2010|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wVIoCtB3m74C&q=%28%22equal+opportunity%22+OR+%22equality+of+opportunity%22%29+encyclopedia&pg=PA452|access-date= 2011-09-12|isbn= 9781412958653}}</ref>

[[#Formal equality of opportunity|Formal equality of opportunity]] describes equal opportunities based only on merit but these opportunities should not depend on your identity such as gender or race. Formal equality does not guarantee equal outcomes for groups or equal representation of groups, but requires that deliberate discrimination be only meritocratic.<ref name="EU" /> For instance, job interviews should only discriminate against applicants based on job competence. Meritocratic universities should not accept a less-capable applicant instead of a more-capable applicant who cannot pay tuition. Formal equality can be called [[racial color blindness]] and [[Gender-blind|gender blindness]].<ref>[https://www.lac.org.na/projects/grap/Pdf/unravellingt.pdf#page=94 Hubbard, Dianne. "Ideas about equality: Gender, sexuality and the law." Unravelling Taboos (2007): 86.]</ref>

[[#Substantive equality|Substantive equality]] describes equal outcomes for groups or equal representation of identities such as gender or race. Substantive does not guarantee equality of opportunity based only on merit. For instance, substantive equality includes that jobs are distributed according to the race and gender proportions of the whole population.<ref name="EU" />

[[Equality before the law]] describes where the law does not discriminate explicitly based on protected identity such as gender or race. Equality before the law does not imply Formal equality of opportunity or substantive equality. If firing any pregnant employee is legal, it would meet Equality before the law but would violate both Formal equality of opportunity and substantive equality.

Formal equality of opportunity is often more difficult to measure.<ref name=twsH77b>{{citation|author= Ricardo Paes de Barros. Francisco H. G. Ferreira, Jose R. Molinas Vega, and Jaime Saavedra Chanduvi|title= Measuring inequality of opportunity in Latin America and the Caribbean|publisher= Palgrave Macmillan and the World Bank|quote= (p. 32 Box 1.1)|year= 2009|isbn= 978-0-8213-7745-1|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ABHXr54-XXUC&q=%22equality+of+opportunity%22&pg=PA32|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> A political party that formally allows anyone to join, but meets in a non-wheelchair-accessible building far from public transit, substantively discriminates against both young and old members as they are less likely to be able-bodied car-owners. However, if the party raises membership dues in order to afford a better building, it discourages poor members instead. A workplace in which it is difficult for persons with special needs and disabilities to perform can considered as a type of substantive inequality, although job restructuring activities can be done to make it easier for disabled persons to succeed. Grade-cutoff university admission is formally fair, but if in practice it overwhelmingly picks women and graduates of expensive user-fee schools, it is substantively unfair to men and the poor. The unfairness has already taken place and the university can choose to try to counterbalance it, but it likely can not single-handedly make pre-university opportunities equal. [[Social mobility]] and the [[Great Gatsby curve]] are often used as an indicator of substantive equality of opportunity.<ref name="Corak-2013">{{cite journal |last1=Corak |first1=Miles |title=Income Inequality, Equality of Opportunity, and Intergenerational Mobility |journal=Journal of Economic Perspectives |date=1 August 2013 |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=79–102 |doi=10.1257/jep.27.3.79 |s2cid=11052119 |url=https://milescorak.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/income-inequality-equality-of-opportunity-and-intergenerational-mobility.pdf |access-date=11 November 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

Both equality concepts say that it is unfair and inefficient if extraneous factors rule people's lives. Both accept as fair inequality based on relevant, meritocratic factors. They differ in the scope of the methods used to promote them. The difference between the two equality concepts is also referred to as ''Dilemma of Difference''.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Minow | first1=Martha | title=Learning to Live with the Dilemma of Difference: Bilingual and Special Education | journal=Law and Contemporary Problems | date=1985 | volume=48 | issue=2 | pages=157–211 | doi=10.2307/1191571 | jstor=1191571 | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1191571 }}</ref> 

==== Formal equality of opportunity ====
Formal equality of opportunity<ref name=twsL18/><ref>{{Citation|last=Arneson|first=Richard|title=Equality of Opportunity|date=2015|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2015/entries/equal-opportunity/|encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|editor-last=Zalta|editor-first=Edward N.|edition=Summer 2015|publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University|access-date=2020-10-04}}</ref> is sometimes referred to as the nondiscrimination principle<ref name=twsH74/> or described as the absence of direct discrimination,<ref name=twsL18/> or described in the narrow sense as equality of access.<ref name=twsL18/><ref>Cashmore, Ellis, ''Dictionary of Race and Ethnic Relations'', London: Routledge, 1996 {{page?|date=August 2024}}</ref> It is characterized by:
# Open call. Positions bringing superior advantages should be open to all applicants<ref name=twsL21/> and job openings should be publicized in advance giving applicants a "reasonable opportunity" to apply. Further, all applications should be accepted.<ref name=twsH11/>
# Fair judging. Applications should be judged on their merits,<ref name=twsH11/> with procedures designed to identify those best-qualified.<ref name=twsL21/> The evaluation of the applicant should be in accord with the duties of the position and for the job opening of choir director, for example, the evaluation may judge applicants based on musical knowledge rather than some arbitrary criterion such as hair color.<ref name=twsH11/> [[Blind audition]]s and [[Interview#Blind interview|blind interviews]] have been shown to improve equal opportunity.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Claire Cain |title=Is Blind Hiring the Best Hiring? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/is-blind-hiring-the-best-hiring.html |website=The New York Times |date=25 February 2016}}</ref>
# An application is chosen. The applicant judged as "most qualified" is offered the position while others are not. There is agreement that the result of the process is again unequal, in the sense that one person has the position while another does not, but that this outcome is deemed fair on procedural grounds.

The formal approach is limited to the [[public sphere]] as opposed to private areas such as the [[family]], [[marriage]], or [[religion]].<ref name=twsL13/> What is considered "fair" and "unfair" is spelled out in advance.<ref name=twsL17>{{cite news|author= Research Machines|title= equal-opportunity policy|publisher= Farlex|year= 2009|url= http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/equal-opportunity+policy|access-date= 2011-09-12}}</ref> An expression of this version appeared in ''The New York Times'': "There should be an equal opportunity for all. Each and every person should have as great or as small an opportunity as the next one. There should not be the unfair, unequal, superior opportunity of one individual over another."<ref name=twsH33>{{cite news|author= Leonard K. Hirshberg|title= What 'Equal Opportunity to All' Really Means|newspaper= The New York Times|date= December 30, 1917|url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10710F6355E11738DDDA90B94DA415B878DF1D3|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref>

[[File:Osaka07 D3M Ulrike Urbansky.jpg|thumb|The formal conception focuses on procedural fairness during the competition: are the hurdles the same height? (photo: athletes [[Ulrike Urbansky]] and [[Michelle Carey (athlete)|Michelle Carey]] in Osaka)]]
This sense was also expressed by [[economist]]s [[Milton Friedman|Milton]] and [[Rose Friedman]] in their 1980 book ''[[Free to Choose]]''.<ref name=twsH72/> The Friedmans explained that equality of opportunity was "not to be interpreted literally" since some children are born blind while others are born sighted, but that "its real meaning is&nbsp;... a career open to the talents".<ref name=twsH72/> This means that there should be "no arbitrary obstacles" blocking a person from realizing their ambitions: "Not birth, nationality, color, religion, sex, nor any other irrelevant characteristic should determine the opportunities that are open to a person – only his abilities".<ref name=twsH72>{{citation|author1=Milton Friedman |author2=Rose D. Friedman |title= Free to choose: a personal statement|publisher= Harcourt|year= 1980|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=F5z1B5SwGUEC&q=%22milton+friedman%22+%22free+to+choose%22|access-date= 2011-09-08|isbn=0547539754}}</ref>

It is a relatively straightforward task for legislators to ban blatant efforts to favor one group over another and encourage equality of opportunity as a result. [[Japan]] banned gender-specific job descriptions in advertising as well as [[sexual discrimination]] in employment as well as other practices deemed unfair,<ref name=twsH34>{{cite news |author=Akemi Nakamura |title=New equal opportunity law called a start|newspaper=The Japan Times |date= March 31, 1999 |url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn19990331a4.html |access-date= 2011-09-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015023242/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn19990331a4.html |archive-date= October 15, 2012}}</ref> although a subsequent report suggested that the law was having minimal effect in securing Japanese women high positions in management.<ref name=twsH42>{{cite news |author=Martin Fackler |title=Career Women In Japan Find A Blocked Path, Despite Equal Opportunity Law |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 6, 2007 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9906E3DC1430F935A3575BC0A9619C8B63 |access-date=2011-09-08}}</ref>{{update inline|reason=this is nearly ten years old, has the situation changed?|date=May 2017}} In the [[United States]], the [[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]] sued a private [[test preparation]] firm, [[Kaplan, Inc.|Kaplan]], for unfairly using credit histories to discriminate against [[African Americans]] in terms of hiring decisions.<ref name=twsH44/> According to one analysis, it is possible to imagine a democracy which meets the formal criteria (1 through 3), but which still favors wealthy candidates who are selected in free and fair elections.<ref>{{cite book|last=Christiano|first=Thomas|year=1996|title=The Rule of the Many: Fundamental Issues in Democratic Theory|location=Boulder|publisher=Westview Press|isbn=0813314542}}{{page?|date=August 2024}}</ref>

===== Meritocracy =====
{{Main|Meritocracy}}
There is some overlap among these different conceptions with the term ''[[meritocracy]]'' which describes an administrative system which rewards such factors as individual [[intelligence]], [[credentials]], [[education]], [[morality]], [[knowledge]] or other criteria believed to confer merit. Equality of opportunity is often seen as a major aspect of a meritocracy.<ref name=twsL18/><ref name=twsH11/> One view was that equality of opportunity was more focused on what happens before the race begins while meritocracy is more focused on fairness at the competition stage.<ref name=twsH77b/> The term ''meritocracy'' can also be used in a negative sense to refer to a system in which an elite hold themselves in power by controlling access to merit (via access to education, experience, or bias in assessment or judgment).{{blockquote|Therein lies the problem with the idea of equal opportunity for all. Some people are simply better placed to take advantage of opportunity.|Deborah Orr in ''[[The Guardian]]'', 2009<ref name=twsH23>{{cite news|author= Deborah Orr|title= The problem with equal opportunity for all: Some people are better placed to take advantage of equal opportunity in our schools|newspaper= The Guardian|quote= Therein lies the problem with the idea of equal opportunity for all. Some people are simply better placed to take advantage of opportunity |date= November 5, 2009|url= https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/nov/05/equal-opportunity-education|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref>}}

==== Substantive equality ====
{{Main|Substantive equality}}
[[File:The Great Gatsby Curve.png|thumb|300px|The [[Great Gatsby Curve]] shows that countries with more equality of wealth also have more social mobility, which indicates that equality of wealth and equality of opportunity go together:<ref name="Corak-2013"/> <blockquote>If higher inequality makes intergenerational mobility more difficult, it is likely because opportunities for economic advancement are more unequally distributed among children.<ref>[http://ftp.iza.org/dp7155.pdf Inequality of Opportunity, Income Inequality and Economic Mobility: Some International Comparisons], Paolo Brunori, University of Bari, Francisco H. G. Ferreira, World Bank and IZA, Vito Peragine, University of Bari, Discussion Paper No. 7155, January 2013.</ref></blockquote>]]
Substantive equality of opportunity, sometimes called fair equality of opportunity,<ref name=twsL21/> is a somewhat broader<ref name=twsL13/> and more expansive concept than the more limiting formal equality of opportunity and it deals with what is sometimes described as indirect discrimination.<ref name=twsL18/> It goes farther and is more controversial<ref name=twsL13/> than the formal variant;<ref name=twsL13/> and has been described as "unstable",<ref name=twsL21/> particularly if the society in question is unequal to begin with in terms of great disparity of wealth.<ref name=twsH19>{{cite news|author= Daron Acemoglu|title= How does inequality matter? (letter to the editor)|newspaper= The Economist|quote=equality of opportunity may be harder to achieve in an unequal society |date= January 23, 2011|url= http://www.economist.com/economics/by-invitation/guest-contributions/economic_power_begets_political_power|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> 
The substantive equality embraced by [[Court of Justice of the European Union]] focuses on [[equality of outcome]]s for group characteristics and group outcomes.<ref name="EU">{{cite journal | last1=De Vos | first1=Marc | title=The European Court of Justice and the march towards substantive equality in European Union anti-discrimination law | journal=International Journal of Discrimination and the Law | date=2020 | volume=20 | pages=62–87 | doi=10.1177/1358229120927947 | url=https://doi.org/10.1177/1358229120927947 }}</ref>
{{blockquote|text=Indirect discrimination rests upon the cardinal assumption that a formally neutral measure is suspicious when it has substantive disadvantages for a formally protected group.<ref name="EU" />}}

Substantive equality has been identified as more of a left-leaning political position,<ref name=twsL27>{{cite news|title= Socialism And Social Democracy|publisher= Encyclopedia69.com|year= 2011|url= http://www.encyclopedia69.com/eng/d/socialism-and-social-democracy/socialism-and-social-democracy.htm|access-date= 2011-09-12}}</ref> but this is not a hard-and-fast rule. The substantive model is advocated by people who see limitations in formal equality. In the substantive approach, the starting point before the race begins is unfair since people have had differing experiences before even approaching the competition. The substantive approach examines the applicants themselves before applying for a position and judges whether they have equal abilities or talents; and if not, then it suggests that authorities (usually the government) take steps to make applicants more equal before they get to the point where they compete for a position and fixing the before-the-starting-point issues has sometimes been described as working towards "fair access to qualifications".<ref name=twsL21/> The success of this approach is evaluated by [[equality of outcome]] for disadvantaged and marginalized people and groups.<ref name=":1">Cusack, Simone, Ball, Rachel (2009) "Eliminating Discrimination and Ensuring Substantive Equality". Public Interest Law Clearing House and Human Rights Law Resource Centre Ltd.</ref>

According to John Hills, children of wealthy and well-connected parents usually have a decisive advantage over other types of children and he notes that "advantage and disadvantage reinforce themselves over the life cycle, and often on to the next generation" so that successful parents pass along their wealth and education to succeeding generations, making it difficult for others to climb up a social ladder.<ref name=twsH14>{{cite news|author= John Hills|title= Equality of opportunity remains a distant ideal|newspaper= The Guardian|date= January 27, 2010|url= https://www.theguardian.com/society/joepublic/2010/jan/27/social-groups-equality-gap|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> However, so-called positive action efforts to bring an underprivileged person up to speed before a competition begins are limited to the period of time before the evaluation begins. At that point, the "final selection for posts must be made according to the principle the best person for the job", that is, a less qualified applicant should not be chosen over a more qualified applicant.<ref name=twsL18/> Regardless of the nuances, the overall idea is still to give children from less fortunate backgrounds more of a chance,<ref name=twsH14/> or to achieve at the beginning what some theorists call equality of condition.<ref name=twsL18/> Writer Ha-Joon Chang expressed this view: {{blockquote|We can accept the outcome of a competitive process as fair only when the participants have equality in basic capabilities; the fact that no one is allowed to have a head start does not make the race fair if some contestants have only one leg.<ref name=twsH18>{{cite news|author= Ha-Joon Chang|title= We lost sight of fairness in the false promise of wealth: Acceptance of inequality rests on assumptions that 'free markets' make us all richer in the end. Growth figures tell it differently|work= The Guardian|date= August 30, 2010|url= https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/30/fairness-inequality-free-market-growth|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref>}}

In a sense, substantive equality of opportunity moves the "starting point" further back in time. Sometimes it entails the use of [[affirmative action]] policies to help all contenders become equal before they get to the starting point, perhaps with greater training, or sometimes redistributing resources via [[restitution]] or [[taxation]] to make the contenders more equal. It holds that all who have a "genuine opportunity to become qualified" be given a chance to do so and it is sometimes based on a recognition that unfairness exists, hindering [[social mobility]], combined with a sense that the unfairness should not exist or should be lessened in some manner.<ref name=twsH13>{{cite news|author= Paul Krugman|title= Economics and Morality|newspaper= The New York Times|quote=Access to good schools, good health care, and job opportunities depends on lot on choosing the right parents.|date= January 10, 2011|url= https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/economics-and-morality/|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> One example postulated was that a warrior society could provide special nutritional supplements to poor children, offer scholarships to military academies and dispatch "warrior skills coaches" to every village as a way to make opportunity substantively more fair.<ref name=twsH11/> The idea is to give every ambitious and talented youth a chance to compete for prize positions regardless of their circumstances of birth.<ref name=twsH11/>

The substantive approach tends to have a broader definition of extraneous circumstances which should be kept out of a hiring decision. One editorial writer suggested that among the many types of extraneous circumstances which should be kept out of hiring decisions was personal beauty, sometimes termed "[[lookism]]": {{blockquote|Lookism judges individuals by their physical allure rather than abilities or merit. This naturally works to the advantage of people perceived to rank higher in the looks department. They get preferential treatment at the cost of others. Which fair, democratic system can justify this? If anything, lookism is as insidious as any other form of bias based on caste, creed, gender and race that society buys into. It goes against the principle of equality of opportunity.<ref name=tws2X32>{{cite news|title= For Equality of Opportunity|date= September 8, 2011|url= http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-08/edit-page/30123525_1_discrimination-lookism-beauty|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121025122849/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-08/edit-page/30123525_1_discrimination-lookism-beauty|url-status= dead|archive-date= October 25, 2012|work= [[The Times of India]]|access-date= 2012-07-24}}</ref>|source=}}

The substantive position was advocated by [[Bhikhu Parekh]] in 2000 in ''Rethinking Multiculturalism'', in which he wrote that "all citizens should enjoy equal opportunities to acquire the capacities and skills needed to function in society and to pursue their self-chosen goals equally effectively" and that "equalising measures are justified on grounds of justice as well as social integration and harmony".<ref name=twsL18/><ref>Parekh, Bhikhu, "Rethinking Multiculturalism". ''Cultural Diversity and Political Theory'', pp. 210–211, 240, London: Macmillan Press, 2000</ref>

[[Affirmative action]] programs usually fall under the substantive category.<ref name=twsL13/> The idea is to help disadvantaged groups get back to a normal starting position after a long period of [[discrimination]]. The programs involve government action, sometimes with resources being transferred from an advantaged group to a disadvantaged one and these programs have been justified on the grounds that imposing [[:wikt:Quota|quotas]] counterbalances the past discrimination<ref name=twsH11/> as well as being a "compelling state interest" in diversity in society.<ref name=twsL13/> For example, there was a case in [[São Paulo]] in [[Brazil]] of a quota imposed on the [[São Paulo Fashion Week]] to require that "at least 10 percent of the models to be black or indigenous" as a coercive measure to counteract a "longstanding bias towards white models".<ref name=twsH43/> It does not have to be accomplished via government action: for example, in the 1980s in the United States, President [[Ronald Reagan]] dismantled parts of affirmative action, but one report in the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' suggested that companies remained committed to the principle of equal opportunity regardless of government requirements.<ref name=twsH64>{{cite news|author= Carol Kleiman|title= Equal Opportunity: It's Good Business|newspaper= Chicago Tribune|date= January 19, 1986|url= https://www.chicagotribune.com/1986/01/19/equal-opportunity-its-good-business/|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> In another instance, upper-middle-class students taking the [[Scholastic Aptitude Test]] in the United States performed better since they had had more "economic and educational resources to prepare for these test than others".<ref name=twsL13/> The test itself was seen as fair in a formal sense, but the overall result is seen as unfair in a substantive sense. In [[India]], the [[Indian Institutes of Technology]] found that to achieve substantive equality of opportunity the school had to reserve 22.5 percent of seats for applicants from "historically disadvantaged schedule castes and tribes".<ref name=twsL13/><ref name=twsL14>{{cite news|author= Kanta Murali|title= The IIT Story: Issues and Concerns|publisher= Frontline|quote= Volume 20 – Issue 03|date= February 1–14, 2003|url= http://www.flonnet.com/fl2003/stories/20030214007506500.htm|access-date = 2011-09-12|url-status= dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060326171945/http://www.flonnet.com/fl2003/stories/20030214007506500.htm|archive-date= March 26, 2006|df= mdy-all}}</ref> Elite universities in [[France]] began a special "entrance program" to help applicants from "impoverished suburbs".<ref name=twsL13/>

=====Luck egalitarianism=====
[[Luck egalitarianism]] views the unequal outcomes that are connected to bad luck of unchosen circumstances as unjust, but just if when connected to circumstances chosen by the individual and that weighing matters such as personal responsibility was important.<ref name=twsL21/> A somewhat different view was expressed by [[John Roemer]], who used the term ''nondiscrimination principle'' to mean that "all individuals who possess the attributes relevant for the performance of the duties of the position in question be included in the pool of eligible candidates, and that an individual's possible occupancy of the position be judged only with respect to those relevant attributes".<ref name=twsH74>{{citation|author= John E. Roemer|title= Equality of Opportunity (book title)|publisher= Harvard College|quote= (see pp. 1, 2)|year= 1998|isbn= 0-674-25991-2|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=2LfA_KjvOAsC&q=%22equality+of+opportunity%22|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> [[Matt Cavanagh]] argued that race and sex should not matter when getting a job, but that the sense of equality of opportunity should not extend much further than preventing straightforward discrimination.<ref name=twsH77a/> 

===== Equality of fair opportunity =====
Philosopher [[John Rawls]] offered this variant of substantive equality of opportunity and explained that it happens when individuals with the same "native talent and the same ambition" have the same prospects of success in competitions.<ref name=twsH11/><ref name=twsH77e>{{cite news|author= John Rawls|title= A Theory of Justice|publisher= Harvard College|year= 1971|isbn= 9780674042605|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=tUEO9SuNG1oC&q=%22equality+of+opportunity%22&pg=PA83|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref><ref>Rawls, John, 1999, A Theory of Justice, revised edition, Cambridge: Harvard University Press</ref><ref>Rawls, John, 2001, Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, ed. by Erin Kelly, Cambridge, Harvard University Press.</ref> [[Gordon Marshall (sociologist)|Gordon Marshall]] offers a similar view with the words "positions are to be open to all under conditions in which persons of similar abilities have equal access to office".<ref name=twsL12/> An example was given that if two persons X and Y have identical talent, but X is from a poor family while Y is from a rich one, then equality of fair opportunity is in effect when both X and Y have the same chance of winning the job.<ref name=twsH11/> It suggests the ideal society is "classless" without a social hierarchy being passed from generation to generation, although parents can still pass along advantages to their children by [[genetics]] and [[socialization]] skills.<ref name=twsH11/> One view suggests that this approach might advocate "invasive interference in family life".<ref name=twsH11/> Marshall posed this question: {{blockquote|Does it demand that, however unequal their abilities, people should be equally empowered to achieve their goals? This would imply that the unmusical individual who wants to be a concert pianist should receive more training than the child prodigy.<ref name=twsL12/>}}

Economist [[Paul Krugman]] agrees mostly with the [[Rawlsian]] approach in that he would like to "create the society each of us would want if we didn't know in advance who we'd be".<ref name=twsH12/> Krugman elaborated: "If you admit that life is unfair, and that there's only so much you can do about that at the starting line, then you can try to ameliorate the consequences of that unfairness".<ref name=twsH12/>

===== Level playing field =====
[[File:Cesc Fàbregas Anderson.jpg|thumb|The match's outcome is deemed legitimate if there is a level playing field and rules do not favor either player or team arbitrarily. (photo: [[w:Cesc Fàbregas|Cesc Fàbregas]] duels with [[w:Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira|Anderson]] in a [[football (soccer)|football]] match in 2008)]]
Some theorists have posed a level playing field conception of equality of opportunity,<ref name=twsH11/><ref name=twsL21/> similar in many respects to the substantive principle (although it has been used in different contexts to describe formal equality of opportunity){{cn|date=August 2022}} and it is a core idea regarding the subject of [[distributive justice]] espoused by [[John Roemer]]<ref name=twsH74/><ref>Roemer, John, 1995, "Equality and Responsibility", ''Boston Review'', April–May issue, pp. 3–7.</ref><ref>Roemer, John, 1998, Equality of Opportunity, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</ref> and [[Ronald Dworkin]]<ref>Dworkin, Ronald, 2000, ''Sovereign Virtue'', Cambridge: Harvard University Press, chapters 1–3.</ref><ref name=twsH21>{{cite news|author= staff writer|title= Forgotten value|newspaper= The Economist|quote= (reviews of books by Dworkin and Cohen)|date= September 21, 2000|url= https://www.economist.com/culture/2000/09/21/forgotten-value|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> and others. Like the substantive notion, the level playing field conception goes farther than the usual formal approach.<ref name=twsH74/> The idea is that initial "unchosen inequalities" – prior circumstances over which an individual had no control, but which impact his or her success in a given competition for a particular post – these unchosen inequalities should be eliminated as much as possible, according to this conception. According to Roemer, society should "do what it can to level the playing field so that all those with relevant potential will eventually be admissible to pools of candidates competing for positions".<ref name=twsH74/> Afterwards, when an individual competes for a specific post, he or she might make specific choices which cause future inequalities – and these inequalities are deemed acceptable because of the previous presumption of fairness.<ref name=twsH77f>{{cite news|author= Richard Arneson|title= 4. The Level Playing Field Conception|publisher= Stanford University|date= October 8, 2002|url= http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/equal-opportunity/|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> This system helps undergird the legitimacy of a society's divvying up of roles as a result in the sense that it makes certain achieved inequalities "morally acceptable", according to persons who advocate this approach.<ref name=twsH11/> This conception has been contrasted to the substantive version among some thinkers and it usually has ramifications for how society treats young persons in such areas as [[education]] and [[socialization]] and [[health care]], but this conception has been criticized as well.<ref>[[Elizabeth S. Anderson|Anderson, Elizabeth]], 1999, "What Is the Point of Equality?", ''[[Ethics (journal)|Ethics]]'' 109, pp. 287–337.</ref><ref>Pogge, Thomas W., 2000, "Justice for People with Disabilities: the Semiconsequentialist Approach", in Leslie Pickering Francis and Anita Silvers. eds., ''Americans with Disabilities: Exploring Implications of the Law for Individuals and Institutions'', New York and London: Routledge, pp. 34–53.</ref><ref>Buchanan, Allen, Brock, Dan W., Daniels, Norman, and Wikler, Daniel, 2000, ''From Chance to Choice – Genetics and Justice'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, chapters 3, 4 and 7.</ref> [[John Rawls]] postulated the [[Justice as Fairness|difference principle]] which argued that "inequalities are justified only if needed to improve the lot of the worst off, for example by giving the talented an incentive to create wealth".<ref name=twsL18/><ref name=twsL12>{{citation|author= Gordon Marshall|title= Social justice|publisher= Encyclopedia.com|quote=John Rawls's famous 'difference principle'&nbsp;... (see his A Theory of Justice, 1972)|year= 1998|url= http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O88-justicesocial.html|access-date= 2011-09-12}}</ref><ref name=twsH21/>

=== Moral senses ===
There is general agreement that equality of opportunity is good for society, although there are diverse views about how it is good since it is a [[value judgement]].<ref name=twsL12/> It is generally viewed as a positive political ideal in the abstract sense.<ref name=twsH11>{{cite encyclopedia|author= Richard Arneson|title= Equality of Opportunity|encyclopedia= Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|quote= (Fall 2008 Edition)|date= August 29, 2008|url= http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/equal-opportunity/|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> In nations where equality of opportunity is absent, it can negatively impact [[economic growth]], according to some views and one report in [[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]] suggested that [[Egypt]], [[Tunisia]] and other [[Middle East]]ern nations were stagnating economically in part because of a dearth of equal opportunity.<ref name=twsH56>{{cite news|title= Exaggerated hopes for Mideast prosperity?|publisher= Al Jazeera|quote= Tunisia: Advances without equal opportunity&nbsp;... Egypt: Stagnation without equal opportunity |date= March 24, 2011|url= http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/03/2011321124926433486.html|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref>

== Practical considerations ==
=== Difficulties with implementation ===
There is general agreement that programs to bring about certain types of equality of opportunity can be difficult and that efforts to cause one result often have unintended consequences or cause other problems.{{weasel inline|date=October 2021}}

A government policy that requires equal treatment can pose problems for lawmakers. A requirement for the government to provide equal health care services for all citizens can be prohibitively expensive. {{according to whom|date=October 2021}}{{disputed inline|date=October 2021}} If the government seeks equality of opportunity for citizens to get health care by rationing services using a maximization model to try to save money, new difficulties might emerge. For example, trying to ration health care by maximizing the "quality-adjusted years of life" might steer monies away from disabled persons even though they may be more deserving, according to one analysis.<ref name=twsH11/><ref>Brock, Dan W., 2000, "Health Care Resource Prioritization and Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities", in Leslie Pickering Francis and Anita Silvers, eds., ''Americans with Disabilities: Exploring Implications of the Law for Individuals and Institutions'', New York and London: Routledge, pp. 223–235.</ref> In another instance, BBC News questioned whether it was wise to ask female army recruits to undergo the same strenuous tests as their male counterparts since many women were being injured as a result.<ref name=twsH36>{{cite news|title= Are equal opportunity policies right for every profession?|work= BBC News|date= January 7, 2002 |url= https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/1740348.stm|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref>{{non sequitur|date=October 2021}}

Age discrimination can present vexing challenges for policymakers trying to implement equal opportunity.<ref name=twsH11/><ref>Daniels, Norman, 1985, Just Health Care, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press</ref><ref>McKerlie, Dennis, 1989, "Equality and Time", ''Ethics'' 99, pp. 475–491</ref> According to several studies, attempts to be equally fair to both a young and an old person are problematic because the older person has presumably fewer years left to live and it may make more sense for a society to invest greater resources in a younger person's health.<ref>McKerlie, Dennis, 1999, "Justice Between the Young and the Old", ''[[Philosophy & Public Affairs]]'' 30, pp. 152–17</ref><ref>Temkin, Larry S., 1993, Inequality, New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, chapter 8</ref> Treating both persons equally while following the letter of the equality of opportunity seems unfair from a different perspective.{{weasel inline|date=October 2021}}

Efforts to achieve equal opportunity along one dimension can exacerbate unfairness in other dimensions. {{according to whom|date=October 2021}} For example, public bathrooms: If for the sake of fairness the physical area of men's and women's bathrooms is equal, the overall result may be unfair since men can use urinals, which require less physical space.<ref name=twsMolotch/> In other words, a more fair arrangement may be to allot more physical space for women's restrooms. The sociologist [[Harvey Molotch]] explained: "By creating men's and women's rooms of the same size, society guarantees that individual women will be worse off than individual men."<ref name="twsMolotch">{{Cite journal |last=Molotch |first=Harvey |author-link=Harvey Molotch |date=1988 |title=The Rest Room and Equal Opportunity |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/684625 |journal=Sociological Forum |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=128–132 |doi=10.1007/BF01115127 |jstor=684625|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Another difficulty is that it is hard for a society to bring substantive equality of opportunity to every type of position or industry. If a nation focuses efforts on some industries or positions, then people with other talents may be left out. For example, in an example in the ''[[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]'', a warrior society might provide equal opportunity for all kinds of people to achieve military success through fair competition, but people with non-military skills such as farming may be left out.<ref name=twsH11/>

Lawmakers have run into problems trying to implement equality of opportunity. In 2010 in [[United Kingdom|Britain]], a legal requirement "forcing public bodies to try to reduce inequalities caused by class disadvantage" was scrapped after much debate and replaced by a hope that organizations would try to focus more on "fairness" than "equality" as fairness is generally seen as a much unclear concept than equality,<ref name=twsH22>{{cite news|author= Amelia Gentleman|title= Theresa May Scraps Legal Requirement to Reduce Inequality|newspaper= The Guardian|date= November 17, 2010 |url= https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/nov/17/theresa-may-scraps-legal-requirement-inequality|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> but easier for politicians to manage if they are seeking to avoid fractious debate. In [[New York City]], mayor [[Ed Koch]] tried to find ways to maintain the "principle of equal treatment" while arguing against more substantive and abrupt transfer payments called minority set-asides.<ref name=twsH25>{{cite news|author= Edward I. Koch|title= Equal Opportunity – Without Minority Set-Asides|work= The New York Times |department=Opinion|date= February 20, 1989 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/20/opinion/equal-opportunity-without-minority-set-asides.html|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref>

[[Cultural diversity]] of lifestyles, value systems, traditions, and beliefs<ref name="Stamatopolou772">{{Cite book |last=Stamatopoulou |first=Elsa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yDD_ssy97Q4C |title=Cultural Rights in International Law: Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Beyond |date=2007 |publisher=B)till |isbn=978-90-04-15752-1 |location=Leiden |pages=77–79 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Garner |first=Ben |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/51608.pdf |title=Cultural and Ethical Turns: Interdisciplinary Reflections on Culture, Politics and Ethics |publisher=Inter-Disciplinary Press |year=2011 |editor-last=Garner |editor-first=Ben |location=Oxford |pages=26–27 |chapter=Globalisation, Cultural Diversity and the Search for a New Global Ethics |oclc=1289758860 |access-date=2023-05-22 |editor-last2=Pavlenko |editor-first2=Sonia |editor-last3=Shaheen |editor-first3=Salma |editor-last4=Wolanski |editor-first4=Alison |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419143521/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/51608.pdf |archive-date=2023-04-19 |url-status=live}}</ref> can explain differences in outcomes between subgroups.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-9236(01)00143-9 | doi=10.1016/S0167-9236(01)00143-9 | title=Cultural differences explaining the differences in results in GSS: Implications for the next decade | date=2002 | last1=Tung | first1=Lai Lai | last2=Quaddus | first2=M.A. | journal=Decision Support Systems | volume=33 | issue=2 | pages=177–199 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Measures ===
Many economists measure the degree of equal opportunity with measures of [[economic mobility]]. For instance, [[Joseph Stiglitz]] asserts that with five economic divisions and full equality of opportunity, "20 percent of those in the bottom fifth would see their children in the bottom fifth. Denmark almost achieves that&nbsp;– 25 percent are stuck there. Britain, supposedly notorious for its class divisions, does only a little worse (30 percent). That means they have a 70 percent chance of moving up. The chances of moving up in America, though, are markedly smaller (only 58 percent of children born to the bottom group make it out), and when they do move up, they tend to move up only a little". Similar analyses can be performed for each economic division and overall. They all show how far from the ideal all industrialized nations are and how correlated measures of equal opportunity are with [[income inequality]] and [[wealth inequality]].<ref>Stiglitz, Joseph E. (2012). ''The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future'' (pp. 18–19). Norton. Kindle Edition.</ref> Equal opportunity has ramifications beyond income; the American Human Development Index, rooted in the capabilities approach pioneered by [[Amartya Sen]], is used to measure opportunity across geographies in the U.S. using health, education, and standard of living outcomes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.measureofamerica.org/human-development/|title=Measure of America - Human Development}}</ref>
{{blockquote|There is little income mobility – the notion of America as a land of opportunity is a myth.|Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2012<ref>Stiglitz, Joseph E. (2012). ''The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future'' (p. 25). Norton. Kindle Edition.</ref>}}

==== Difficulties with measurement ====
The consensus view is that trying to measure equality of opportunity is difficult<ref name=twsH77b/> whether examining a single hiring decision or looking at groups over time.
* Single instance. It is possible to reexamine the procedures governing a specific hiring decision, see if they were followed, and re-evaluate the selection by asking questions such as "Was it fair? Were fair procedures followed? Was the best applicant selected?". This is a judgment call and biases may enter into the minds of decision-makers. The determination of equality of opportunity in such an instance is based on mathematical [[probability]]: if equality of opportunity is in effect, then it is seen as fair if each of two applicants has a 50 percent chance of winning the job, that is, they both have equal chances to succeed (assuming of course that the person making the probability assessment is unaware of all variables – including valid ones such as talent or skill as well as arbitrary ones such as race or gender). However, it is hard to measure whether each applicant had a 50 percent chance based on the outcome.
* Groups. When assessing the equal opportunity for a type of job or company or industry or nation, then [[statistical analysis]] is often done by looking at patterns and abnormalities,<ref name=twsH11/> typically comparing subgroups with larger groups on a percentage basis. Averaging opportunities over subgroups allows to determine if there are [[Statistical significance|statistically significant]] differences in outcomes between subgroups. For factors where [[blinded experiment]]s are feasible, the equality or lack of equality of opportunity due to this factor can be determined up to statistical significance.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Lippens | first1=Louis | last2=Vermeiren | first2=Siel | last3=Baert | first3=Stijn | title=The state of hiring discrimination: A meta-analysis of (almost) all recent correspondence experiments | journal=European Economic Review | date=2023 | volume=151 | article-number=104315 | doi=10.1016/j.euroecorev.2022.104315 | url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2022.104315 | doi-access=free | hdl=1854/LU-8771122 | hdl-access=free }}</ref> While [[substantive equality]] for group outcomes can be measured by comparing statistically significant differences in subgroup outcomes, formal equality of opportunities does not require equal outcomes between groups. If equality of opportunity is violated, perhaps by [[discrimination]] which affects a subgroup or population over time, it is possible to make this determination using statistical analysis, but there are numerous difficulties involved.<ref name=twsH11/> Nevertheless, entities such as city governments<ref name=twsP44a>{{citation|title= Job Description: Equal Opportunity Programs Assistant|publisher= City of Phoenix|quote=(job description:) Performs statistical research and analysis (required knowledge&nbsp;...)|date= September 16, 2011 |url= http://phoenix.gov/employment/descrip/code/07050.html|access-date= 2011-09-16|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120402071401/http://phoenix.gov/employment/descrip/code/07050.html|archive-date= April 2, 2012 |url-status= dead}}</ref> and universities<ref name=twsP43>{{citation|title= 1690 Equal Opportunity Specialist|publisher= Missouri State University|quote= Skills:&nbsp;... Strong quantitative and statistical analysis skills are required.|year= 2011|url= http://www.missouristate.edu/human/jobdescriptions/21180.htm|access-date= 2011-09-16|archive-date= January 18, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120118153122/http://www.missouristate.edu/human/jobdescriptions/21180.htm|url-status= dead}}</ref> have hired full-time professionals with knowledge of statistics to ensure compliance with equal opportunity regulations. For example, [[Colorado State University]] requires the director of its Office of Equal Opportunity to maintain extensive statistics on its employees by job category as well as [[Minority group|minorities]] and [[gender]].<ref name=twsP42>{{citation|title= Affirmative Action Program – IV. Utilization Analyses/Workforce Analyses|publisher= Colorado State University|quote= Note: Colorado State university keeps separate counts for each type of position for these categories |year= 2010|url= http://oeo.colostate.edu/affirmative-action.aspx|access-date= 2011-09-16|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120125101304/http://oeo.colostate.edu/affirmative-action.aspx|archive-date= January 25, 2012 |url-status= dead}}</ref> In Britain, [[Aberystwyth University]] collects information including the "representation of women, men, members of racial or ethnic minorities and people with disabilities amongst applicants for posts, candidates interviewed, new appointments, current staff, promotions and holders of discretionary awards" to comply with equal opportunity laws.<ref name=twsP44f/>

It is difficult to prove unequal treatment although statistical analysis can provide indications of problems, it is subject to conflicts over interpretation and methodological issues. For example, a study in 2007 by the [[University of Washington]] examined its treatment of [[women]]. Researchers collected statistics about female participation in numerous aspects of university life, including percentages of [[women]] with full professorships (23 percent), enrollment in programs such as nursing (90 percent), engineering (18 percent).<ref name=twsP44b>{{cite news|author= Ben Schock|title= Study Finds Women Underrepresented In Some Fields|newspaper= The Daily of the University of Washington|quote= The study notes that women are genuinely equitably represented as compared to men|date= December 4, 2007 |url= http://dailyuw.com/news/2007/dec/04/study-finds-women-underrepresented-in-some-fields/|access-date= 2011-09-16|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120328191930/http://dailyuw.com/news/2007/dec/04/study-finds-women-underrepresented-in-some-fields/|archive-date= March 28, 2012 |url-status= dead}}</ref> There is wide variation in how these statistics might be interpreted. For example, the 23 percent figure for women with full professorships could be compared to the total population of women (presumably 50 percent) perhaps using census data,<ref name=twsP44d>{{cite news|author= (UW) President's Advisory Committee on Women|title= Term Definitions|publisher= University of Washington|quote= Utilization analysis – These data are calculated based on the comparative hiring pool.|year= 2007|url= http://depts.washington.edu/pacw/reports/women2007/terms.shtml|access-date= 2011-09-16|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111015092237/http://depts.washington.edu/pacw/reports/women2007/terms.shtml|archive-date= October 15, 2011 |url-status= dead}}</ref> or it might be compared to the percentage of women with full professorships at competing universities. It might be used in an analysis of how many women applied for the position of full professor compared to how many women attained this position. Further, the 23 percent figure could be used as a benchmark or baseline figure as part of an ongoing longitudinal analysis to be compared with future surveys to track progress over time.<ref name=twsP44f>{{cite news|title= General: Guidelines to Policy Implementation|publisher= Aberystwyth university|quote= Aberystwyth University will assemble statistical information concerning the composition of its staff and student body |date= December 21, 2004|url= http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/hr/equalopp/equal-opportunities-diversity-policy/implementation-general/|access-date= 2011-09-16}}{{Dead link|date=August 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=twsP44ekk>{{citation|author= Marcia Killien|title= PACW's 2007 Report on Women at UW – Executive Summary|publisher= University of Washington|year= 2007|url= http://depts.washington.edu/pacw/reports/women2007/execSummary.shtml|access-date= 2011-09-16|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111015092222/http://depts.washington.edu/pacw/reports/women2007/execSummary.shtml|archive-date= October 15, 2011|url-status= dead}}</ref> In addition, the strength of the conclusions is subject to statistical issues such as [[Sample size determination|sample size]] and [[Bias (statistics)|bias]]. For reasons such as these, there is considerable difficulty with most forms of statistical interpretation.

[[File:Facciata dell'ateneo principale dell'Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro.jpg|thumb|A computerized statistical analysis suggested [[nepotism]] and practice of unequal opportunity within Italy's academic community. (photo: [[University of Bari]])<ref name=twsP44f545q/>]]
Statistical analysis of equal opportunity has been done using sophisticated examinations of computer databases. An analysis in 2011 by [[University of Chicago]] researcher Stefano Allesina examined 61,000 names of [[Italy|Italian]] professors by looking at the "frequency of last names", doing one million random drawings and he suggested that Italian academia was characterized by violations of equal opportunity practices as a result of these investigations.<ref name=twsP44f545q>{{citation|author= staff writer; Stefano Allesina (researcher)|title= Italian academia is a family business, statistical analysis reveals|publisher= The University of Chicago Medical Center|quote=University of Chicago researcher Stefano Allesina found the pattern to be incompatible with unbiased, equal opportunity hiring.|date= August 3, 2011 |url= http://www.uchospitals.edu/news/2011/20110803-nepotism.html|access-date= 2011-09-16}}</ref> The last names of Italian professors tended to be similar more often than predicted by random chance.<ref name=twsP44f545q/> The study suggested that newspaper accounts showing that "nine relatives from three generations of a single-family (were) on the economics faculty" at the [[University of Bari]] were not aberrations, but indicated a pattern of [[nepotism]] throughout Italian academia.<ref name=twsP44f545q/>

Substative equality is typically measured by the criteria of [[equality of outcome]] for groups,<ref name=twsO45>{{cite news|author= Anne Phillips|title= Defending Equality of Outcome|publisher= Journal of Political Philosophy|year= 2004|pages= 1–19|url= http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/533/|access-date= 2011-07-15}}</ref> although with difficulty. In one example, an analysis of relative equality of opportunity was done based on outcomes, such as a case to see whether hiring decisions were fair regarding men versus women – the analysis was done using statistics based on average salaries for different groups.<ref name=twsH52/><ref name=twsH32>{{cite news|author= Susie O'Brien|title= Equal opportunity still a way off because 'men don't get it'|newspaper= The Daily Telegraph|quote= WOMEN earn 16 percent less than men on average for the same work.|date= March 8, 2011 |url= http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/equal-opportunity-still-a-way-off-because/story-fn7ki9fd-1226017403362|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> In another instance, a cross-sectional statistical analysis was conducted to see whether [[social class]] affected participation in [[the United States Armed Forces]] during the [[Vietnam War]]: a report in ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' by the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] suggested that soldiers came from a variety of social classes and that the principle of equal opportunity had worked,<ref name=twsH65>{{cite magazine|title= Equal Opportunity War|magazine= [[Time (magazine)|Time]] |quote= A new study&nbsp;... shows that the 58,000 Americans who died in the war represented a good cross-section of the nation.|date= November 9, 1992 |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,976950,00.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100812195633/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,976950,00.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= August 12, 2010 |access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> possibly because soldiers had been chosen by a [[lottery]] process for [[conscription]]. In college admissions, equality of outcome can be measured directly by comparing offers of admission given to different groups of applicants: for example, there have been reports in newspapers of [[discrimination]] against [[Asian Americans]] regarding [[college admissions in the United States]] which suggest that Asian American applicants need higher grades and test scores to win admission to prestigious universities than other ethnic groups.<ref name=twsL11vbvb>{{cite news|agency= Associated Press|title= Some Asians' college strategy: Don't check 'Asian'|newspaper= USA Today|date= December 4, 2011 |url= https://www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2011-12-03/asian-students-college-applications/51620236/1|access-date= 2011-12-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title= Do colleges redline Asian-Americans?|author= Kara Miller|newspaper= Boston Globe|date= February 8, 2010 |url= https://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/02/08/do_colleges_redline_asian_americans/|access-date= 2011-01-02}}</ref>

=== Marketplace considerations ===
Equal opportunity of opportunity has been described as a fundamental basic notion in [[business]] and [[commerce]] and described by [[economist]] [[Adam Smith]] as a basic economic precept.<ref name=twsL19/> There has been research suggesting that "competitive markets will tend to drive out such discrimination" since employers or institutions which hire based on arbitrary criteria will be weaker as a result and not perform as well as firms that embrace equality of opportunity.<ref name=twsH11/> Firms competing for overseas contracts have sometimes argued in the press for equal chances during the bidding process, such as when American oil corporations wanted equal shots at developing oil fields in [[Sumatra]];<ref name=twsH41>{{cite news|title= Hughes Demands Equal Opportunity In Dutch Oil Field|newspaper= The New York Times|quote=a vigorous note has been delivered to the Dutch Government |date= April 30, 1921 |url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60E1EF93A5B1B7A93C2AA178FD85F458285F9|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> and firms, seeing how fairness is beneficial while competing for contracts, can apply the lesson to other areas such as internal hiring and promotion decisions. A report in ''[[USA Today]]'' suggested that the goal of equal opportunity was "being achieved throughout most of the business and government labor markets because major employers pay based on potential and actual productivity".<ref name=twsH52>{{cite news|author= Don Raiff|title= Roundup: Average pay comparisons misleading|newspaper= USA Today|date= May 18, 2011 |url= https://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/letters/2011-05-19-equal-pay-and-obama-doctrine_n.htm|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref>

Fair opportunity practices include measures taken by an organization to ensure efficiency effectiveness and fairness in the employment process. A basic definition of equality is the idea of equal treatment and respect. In job advertisements and descriptions, the fact that the employer is an equal opportunity employer is sometimes indicated by the abbreviations EOE or MFDV, which stands for Minority, Female, Disabled, Veteran. Analyst Ross Douthat in ''[[The New York Times]]'' suggested that equality of opportunity depends on a rising [[economy]] which brings new chances for [[social mobility#Upward and downward mobility|upward mobility]] and he suggested that greater equality of opportunity is more easily achieved during "times of plenty".<ref name=twsH16>{{cite news|author= Ross Douthat|title= Budgeting for Opportunity|newspaper= The New York Times|quote= In times of plenty, they can budget for upward mobility and equality of opportunity.|date= April 10, 2011|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/11/opinion/11douthat.html|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> Efforts to achieve equal opportunity can rise and recede, sometimes as a result of economic conditions or political choices.<ref name=twsH28>{{cite news|author= Claudia H. Deutsch|title= The Ax Falls On Equal Opportunity|newspaper= The New York Times|date= January 4, 1987|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/04/business/the-ax-falls-on-equal-opportunity.html|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> Empirical evidence from public health research also suggests that equality of opportunity is linked to better health outcomes in the United States and Europe.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Venkataramani |first1=Atheendar S. |last2=Chatterjee |first2=Paula |last3=Kawachi |first3=Ichiro |last4=Tsai |first4=Alexander C. |title=Economic Opportunity, Health Behaviors, and Mortality in the United States |journal=American Journal of Public Health |date=March 2016 |volume=106 |issue=3 |pages=478–484 |doi=10.2105/AJPH.2015.302941|pmid=26691108 |pmc=4758869 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gugushvili |first1=Alexi |last2=Kaiser |first2=Caspar |title=Equality of opportunity is linked to lower mortality in Europe |journal=Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health |date=5 November 2019 |volume=74 |issue=2 |pages=jech-2019-212540 |doi=10.1136/jech-2019-212540|pmid=31690589 |pmc=6993020 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== History ===
According to professor [[David Christian (historian)|David Christian]] of Macquarie University, an underlying [[Big History]] trend has been a shift from seeing people as resources to exploiting towards a perspective of seeing people as individuals to empower. According to Christian, in many ancient agrarian civilizations, roughly nine of every ten persons was a peasant exploited by a ruling class. In the past thousand years, there has been a gradual movement in the direction of greater respect for equal opportunity as political structures based on generational hierarchies and [[feudalism]] broke down during the late [[Middle Ages]] and new structures emerged during the [[Renaissance]]. [[monarchy|Monarchies]] were replaced by [[democracy|democracies]]: kings were replaced by parliaments and congresses. [[Slavery]] was also abolished generally. The new entity of the [[nation state]] emerged with highly specialized parts, including [[corporation]]s, laws, and new ideas about [[citizenship]] as well as values about [[individual rights]] found expression in constitutions, laws, and statutes.

[[File:Thurgoodmarshall1967.jpg|thumb|[[African Americans|African-American]] [[civil rights]] lawyer [[Thurgood Marshall]] fought numerous battles in the courts for equal opportunity for all races in the United States; argued the 1954 ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' case and won, and in 1967 was appointed to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]].]]
In the United States, one legal analyst suggested that the real beginning of the modern sense of equal opportunity was in the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]] which provided "equal protection under the law".<ref name=twsL11/> The amendment did not mention equal opportunity directly, but it helped undergird a series of later rulings which dealt with legal struggles, particularly by [[African Americans]] and later women, seeking greater political and economic power in the growing republic. In 1933, a congressional "Unemployment Relief Act" forbade [[discrimination]] "based on race, color, or creed".<ref name=twsL11/> The [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]]'s 1954 ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' decision furthered government initiatives to end discrimination.<ref name=twsL11/>

In 1961, President [[John F. Kennedy]] signed [[Executive Order 10925]] which enabled a presidential committee on an equal opportunity,<ref name=twsL11/> which was soon followed by President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]'s [[Executive Order 11246]].<ref name=twsL33>{{citation|title= The Executive Order 11246|publisher= United States Department of Labor|quote= The Executive Order 11246 (E.O 11246)&nbsp;... requires covered contractors to take affirmative action to ensure that equal opportunity is provided in all aspects of their employment.|date= September 12, 2011 |url= http://www.dol.gov/compliance/laws/comp-eeo.htm|access-date= 2011-09-12|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110904064525/http://www.dol.gov/compliance/laws/comp-eeo.htm|archive-date = September 4, 2011 |df= mdy-all}}</ref> The [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] became the legal underpinning of equal opportunity in employment.<ref name=twsL11/> Businesses and other organizations learned to comply with the rulings by specifying fair hiring and promoting practices and posting these policy notices on bulletin boards, employee handbooks, and manuals as well ain s training sessions and films.<ref name=twsL11/> Courts dealt with issues about equal opportunities, such as the 1989 Wards Cove decision, the Supreme Court ruled that statistical evidence by itself was insufficient to prove racial discrimination. The [[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]] was established, sometimes reviewing charges of discrimination cases which numbered in the tens of thousands annually during the 1990s.<ref name=twsL11/> Some law practices specialized in [[employment law]]. The conflict between formal and substantive approaches manifested itself in backlashes, sometimes described as [[reverse discrimination]], such as the [[Regents of the Univ. of Cal. v. Bakke|Bakke case]] when a white male applicant to medical school sued based on being denied admission because of a quota system preferring minority applicants.<ref name=twsL13/><ref>Dreyfuss, Joel (1979). ''The Bakke Case: the Politics of Inequality''. New York and London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.</ref> In 1990, the [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990|Americans with Disabilities Act]] prohibited discrimination against disabled persons, including cases of equal opportunity. In 2008, the [[Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act]] prevents employers from using genetic information when [[Recruitment|hiring]], [[Termination of employment|firing]], or [[Promotion (rank)|promoting]] employees.<ref name="OMB support">[http://www.genome.gov/Pages/PolicyEthics/GeneticDiscrimination/SAPonHR493.pdf Statement of Administration policy], Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, April 27, 2007</ref>

[[File:US Army 51194 AMC Equal Opportunity- Equal Employment Opportunity roundtable.jpg|thumb|Equal opportunity issues are discussed at an army roundtable in [[Alabama]].]]
Many countries have specific bodies tasked with looking at equality of opportunity issues. In the United States, for example, it is the [[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]];<ref name=twsH44/><ref name=twsH27>{{cite news|author= Robin Finn|title= An Equal Opportunity Enemy of Bias|newspaper= The New York Times|quote=Equal Employment Opportunity Commission&nbsp;... a workplace free of discrimination that becomes a reality for everybody regardless of race, gender or disability is my mission.|date= October 5, 2007 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/05/nyregion/05lives.html|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> in [[United Kingdom|Britain]], there is the Equality of Opportunity Committee<ref name=twsH15/> as well as the Equality and Human Rights Commission;<ref name=twsL17/> in [[Canada]], the [[Royal Commission on the Status of Women]] has "equal opportunity as its precept";<ref name=twsH51>{{cite news|author= Peter Bregg|title= Equality First: The Royal Commission on the Status of Women|publisher= CBC Digital Archives|date= February 3, 1967 |url= http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/rights_freedoms/topics/86/|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> and in [[China]], the [[Equal Opportunities Commission (Hong Kong)|Equal Opportunities Commission]] handles matters regarding ethnic prejudice.<ref name=twsH61>{{cite news|author= Timothy Chui|title= EOC: Discrimination cases warrant special tribunal|newspaper= China Daily|quote= The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC)&nbsp;... there is a need for a simplified process for adjudication of equal opportunity cases. |date= June 18, 2010 |url= http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2010-06/18/content_9986601.htm|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> In addition, there have been political movements pushing for equal treatment, such as the Women's Equal Opportunity League which in the early decades of the twentieth century, pushed for fair treatment by employers in the United States.<ref name=twsH37>{{cite news|title= Women's Work Limited By-Law; Equal Opportunity League Fighting Legislation Which Restricts Their Hours of Labor A Case In Point.|work= The New York Times|date= January 18, 1920|url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10A10FB395B11728DDDA10994D9405B808EF1D3|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> One of the group's members explained: {{blockquote|I am not asking for sympathy but for an equal right with men to earn my own living in the best way open and under the most favorable conditions that I could choose for myself.<ref name=twsH37/>|source=}}Global initiatives such as the United Nations [[Sustainable Development Goal 5]] and [[Sustainable Development Goal 10|Goal 10]] are also aimed at ensuring equal opportunities for women at all levels of decision making, and reducing inequalities of outcome.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender equality|url=https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs/sdg-5-gender-equality|access-date=2020-09-23|website=UN Women|language=en|archive-date=November 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126102330/https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs/sdg-5-gender-equality|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Goal 10 targets|url=https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-10-reduced-inequalities/targets.html|access-date=2020-09-23|website=UNDP|language=en|archive-date=November 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127140337/https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-10-reduced-inequalities/targets.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Criticism ==
There is agreement that the concept of equal opportunity lacks a precise definition.<ref name=twsH11/><ref>Rabe, Johan. 2001. Equality, Affirmative Action, and Justice. Books on Demand. p. 83</ref> While it generally describes "open and fair competition" with equal chances for achieving sought-after jobs or positions<ref name=twsL13/> as well as an absence of [[discrimination]],<ref name=twsL13/><ref name=twsL22>{{citation|author= Carol Kitman|title= equal opportunity|publisher= Merriam-Webster Dictionary|date= September 12, 2011 |url= http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/equal%20opportunity|access-date= 2011-09-12}}</ref><ref name=twsL16aa>{{cite book |title=The American Heritage dictionary. |date=2012 |publisher=Dell |location=New York |isbn=9780553583229 |edition=5th, Dell mass market}}</ref> the concept is elusive with a "wide range of meanings".<ref name=twsH77a/> Formal equality is hard to measure, and implementation of [[substantive equality]] poses problems<ref name=twsH11/> as well as disagreements about what to do.<ref name=twsL21/>

There have been various criticisms directed at both the substantive and formal approaches. One account suggests that left-leaning thinkers who advocate equality of outcome fault even formal equality of opportunity because it "legitimates inequalities of wealth and income".<ref name=twsL21/> [[John W. Gardner]] suggested several views: (1) that inequalities will always exist regardless of trying to erase them; (2) that bringing everyone "fairly to the starting line" fails to deal with the "destructive competitiveness that follows"; (3) that any equalities achieved will entail future inequalities.<ref name=twsH77c11>{{cite news|author= John William Gardner|title= Excellence: Can we be equal and excellent too?|publisher= Norton|year= 1984|isbn= 0-393-31287-9|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=liE59woX624C&q=%22equality+of+opportunity%22&pg=PA46|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> Substantive equality of opportunity has led to concerns that efforts to improve fairness "ultimately collapses into the different one of equality of outcome or condition".<ref name=twsL21/>

Economist [[Larry Summers]] advocated an approach of focusing on equality of opportunity and not equality of outcomes and that the way to strengthen equal opportunity was to bolster [[public education]].<ref name=tws2X33>{{cite news|author= Lawrence Summers|title= Focus on equality of opportunity, not outcomes|work= Reuters|quote=Perhaps the focus of debate and policy needs to shift from a focus on inequality in outcomes, where attitudes divide sharply and there are limits to what can be done, to a focus on inequalities in opportunity. |date= July 15, 2012 |url= http://blogs.reuters.com/lawrencesummers/2012/07/15/focus-on-equality-of-opportunity-not-outcomes-2/|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120720014121/http://blogs.reuters.com/lawrencesummers/2012/07/15/focus-on-equality-of-opportunity-not-outcomes-2|url-status= dead|archive-date= July 20, 2012 |access-date= 2012-07-24}}</ref> A contrasting report in ''[[The Economist]]'' criticized efforts to contrast equality of opportunity and equality of outcome as being opposite poles on a hypothetical ethical scale, such that equality of opportunity should be the "highest ideal" while equality of outcome was "evil".<ref name=tws2X35>{{cite news|title= Inequality and mobility: Against equality of opportunity|newspaper= The Economist|quote=The distinction between equality of outcome and equality of opportunity is mostly illusory. |date= April 20, 2012 |url= https://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2012/04/inequality-and-mobility|access-date= 2012-07-24}}</ref> Rather, the report argued that any difference between the two types of equality was illusory and that both terms were highly interconnected.<ref name=tws2X35/> According to this argument, wealthier people have greater opportunities – wealth itself can be considered as "distilled opportunity" – and children of wealthier parents have access to better schools, health care, nutrition and so forth.<ref name=tws2X35/> Accordingly, people who endorse equality of opportunity may like the idea of it in principle, yet at the same time, they would be unwilling to take the extreme steps or "titanic interventions" necessary to achieve real intergenerational equality.<ref name=tws2X35/> A slightly different view in ''[[The Guardian]]'' suggested that equality of opportunity was merely a "buzzword" to sidestep the thornier political question of income inequality.<ref name=tws2X34>{{cite news|author= Daniel Knowles|title= 'Equality of opportunity is a buzzword designed to get around talking about inequality of income|work= The Guardian|quote=But it does seem likely that there is a direct link between how much money your parents have and how well you do. |date= May 21, 2012 |url= http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielknowles/100159296/equality-of-opportunity-is-a-buzzword-designed-to-get-around-talking-about-inequality-of-income/|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120523223045/http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielknowles/100159296/equality-of-opportunity-is-a-buzzword-designed-to-get-around-talking-about-inequality-of-income/|url-status= dead|archive-date= May 23, 2012 |access-date= 2012-07-24}}</ref>

There is speculation that since equality of opportunity is only one of sometimes competing "justice norms", there is a risk that following equality of opportunity too strictly might cause problems in other areas.<ref name=twsH11/><ref>Estlund, David, 2000, "Political Quality", ''Social Philosophy and Policy'' 17, pp. 127–160.</ref> A hypothetical example was suggested: suppose wealthier people gave excessive amounts of campaign contributions; suppose further that these contributions resulted in better regulations, and then laws limiting such contributions based on equal opportunity for all political participants may have the unintended long term consequence of making political decision-making lackluster and possibly hurting the groups that it was trying to protect.<ref name=twsH11/> Philosopher [[John Kekes]] makes a similar point in his book ''The Art of Politics'' in which he suggests that there is a danger to elevating any one particular political good&nbsp;– including equality of opportunity&nbsp;– without balancing competing goods such as justice, property rights and others.<ref name=twsH77h>{{cite news|author= Collin May (book reviewer) John Kekes (author of the book)|title= Review: 'The Art of Politics: The New Betrayal of America and How to Resist It'|work= c2c Journal|quote= Kekes contrasts what he calls the 'balanced view' with the ideological. |date= June 22, 2009 |url= http://www.c2cjournal.ca/blog-articles/view/review-the-art-of-politics-the-new-betrayal-of-america-and-how-to-resist-it|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> Kekes advocated having a balanced perspective, including a continuing dialog between cautionary elements and reform elements.<ref name=twsH77h/> A similar view was expressed by [[Ronald Dworkin]] in ''The Economist'': {{blockquote|It strikes us as wrong – or not right – that some people starve while others have private jets. We are uncomfortable when university professors earn less, for example than junior lawyers. But equality appears to pull against other important ideals such as liberty and efficiency.<ref name=twsH21/>}}

Economist [[Paul Krugman]] sees equality of opportunity as a "non-Utopian compromise" which works and is a "pretty decent arrangement" which varies from country to country.<ref name=twsH12>{{cite news|author= Paul Krugman|title= More Thoughts on Equality of Opportunity|newspaper= The New York Times|date= January 11, 2011|url= https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/more-thoughts-on-equality-of-opportunity/|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> However, there are differing views such as by [[Matt Cavanagh]], who criticised equality of opportunity in his 2002 book ''[[Against Equality of Opportunity]]''.<ref name=twsH77a>{{cite news|author= Matt Cavanagh|title= Against equality of opportunity|publisher= Oxford|year= 2002|isbn= 9780191584046|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ol-4VmG9ksgC&q=%22equality+of+opportunity%22|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> Cavanagh favored a limited approach of opposing specific kinds of discrimination as steps to help people get greater control over their lives.<ref>[http://www.spectator.co.uk/books/19930/part_2/more-like-a-beauty-contest.thtml Against Equality of Opportunity | Matt Cavanagh | Review by The Spectator] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504134943/http://www.spectator.co.uk/books/19930/part_2/more-like-a-beauty-contest.thtml |date=May 4, 2011 }}</ref>

[[Conservatism|Conservative]] thinker [[Dinesh D'Souza]] criticized equality of opportunity on the basis that "it is an ideal that cannot and should not be realized through the actions of the government" and added that "for the state to enforce equal opportunity would be to contravene the true meaning of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration]] and to subvert the principle of a free society".<ref name=twsH63>{{cite magazine|author= Timothy Noah|title= Dinesh D'Souza vs. 'Equality of Opportunity'|magazine= [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |quote= (review of D'Souza's book ''The Virtue of Prosperity'')|date= October 10, 2000 |url= http://www.slate.com/id/1006238/|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> D'Souza described how his parenting undermined equality of opportunity: {{blockquote|I have a five-year-old daughter. Since she was born&nbsp;... my wife and I have gone to great lengths in the Great Yuppie Parenting Race.&nbsp;... My wife goes over her workbooks. I am teaching her chess. Why are we doing these things? We are, of course, trying to develop her abilities so that she can get the most out of life. The practical effect of our actions, however, is that we are working to give our daughter an edge&nbsp;– that is, a better chance to succeed than everybody else's children. Even though we might be embarrassed to think of it this way, we are doing our utmost to undermine equal opportunity. So are all the other parents who are trying to get their children into the best schools<ref name=twsH63/>}}

[[File:BillyMills Crossing Finish Line 1964Olympics.jpg|thumb|Equal opportunity theorists generally agree that once the race begins, who wins is a function of talent, hard work, and competitive drive. (photo: runner [[Billy Mills]] crossing the finish line in the [[1964 Summer Olympics|1964 Olympics]])]]
D'Souza argued that it was wrong for the government to try to bring his daughter down, or to force him to raise other people's children,<ref name=twsH63/> but a counterargument is that there is a benefit to everybody, including D'Souza's daughter, to have a society with less anxiety about downward mobility, less class resentment, and less possible violence.<ref name=twsH63/>

An argument similar to D'Souza's was raised in ''[[Anarchy, State, and Utopia]]'' by [[Robert Nozick]], who wrote that the only way to achieve equality of opportunity was "directly worsening the situations of those more favored with opportunity, or by improving the situation of those less well-favored".<ref name=twsH77d>{{citation|author= Robert Nozick|title= Anarchy, State, and Utopia|publisher= Basic Books|quote= (p. 235)|year= 1974|isbn= 0-465-00270-6|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hAi3CdjXlQsC&q=%22equality+of+opportunity%22&pg=PA235|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> Nozick gave an argument of two suitors competing to marry one "fair lady": X was plain while Y was better looking and more intelligent. If Y did not exist, then "fair lady" would have married X, but Y exists and so she marries Y. Nozick asks: "Does suitor X have a legitimate complaint against Y based on unfairness since Y did not earn his good looks or intelligence?".<ref name=twsH77d33>{{citation|author= Robert Nozick|title= Anarchy, State, and Utopia|publisher= Basic Books|quote= (see page 235)|year= 1974|isbn= 0-465-00270-6|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hAi3CdjXlQsC&q=%22equality+of+opportunity%22&pg=PA235|access-date= 2011-09-08}}</ref> Nozick suggests that there are no grounds for complaint. Nozick argued against equality of opportunity because it violates the [[rights]] of property since the equal opportunity maxim interferes with an owner's right to do what he or she pleases with a property.<ref name=twsH11/>

Property rights were a major component of the philosophy of [[John Locke]] and are sometimes referred to as "Lockean rights".<ref name=twsH11/> The sense of the argument is along these lines: equal opportunity rules regarding, say, a hiring decision within a factory, made to bring about greater fairness, violate a factory owner's rights to run the factory as he or she sees best; it has been argued that a factory owner's right to property encompasses all decision-making within the factory as being part of those property rights. That some people's "natural assets" were unearned is irrelevant to the equation according to Nozick and he argued that people are nevertheless entitled to enjoy these assets and other things freely given by others.<ref name=twsL12/>

[[Friedrich Hayek]] felt that luck was too much of a variable in economics, such that one can not devise a system with any kind of fairness when many market outcomes are unintended.<ref name=twsL12/> By sheer chance or random circumstances, a person may become wealthy just by being in the right place and time and Hayek argued that it is impossible to devise a system to make opportunities equal without knowing how such interactions may play out.<ref name=twsL12/> Hayek saw not only equality of opportunity, but all of [[social justice]] as a "mirage".<ref name=twsL12/>

Some conceptions of equality of opportunity, particularly the substantive and level playing field variants, have been criticized on the basis that they make assumptions to the effect that people have similar genetic makeups.<ref name=twsH11/> Other critics have suggested that social justice is more complex than mere equality of opportunity.<ref name=twsH11/> Nozick made the point that what happens in society can not always be reduced to competition for a coveted position and in 1974 wrote that "life is not a race in which we all compete for a prize which someone has established", that there is "no unified race" and there is not someone person "judging swiftness".<ref name=twsH77d33/>

== See also ==
{{columns-list|colwidth=22em|
* [[Affirmative action in the United States]]
* [[Asset-based egalitarianism]]
* [[Bona fide occupational qualifications|''Bona fide'' occupational qualifications]]
* [[Civil liberties]]
* [[Egalitarianism]]
* [[Equal employment opportunity]]
* [[Ethnic penalty]]
* [[Free education]]
* [[Inclusion (education)]]
* [[Law of equal liberty]]
* [[Polarization (economics)]]
* [[Procedural rights]]
* [[Simultaneous recruiting of new graduates]]
* [[Title IX]]
* [[Universal access]]
* [[Universal access to education]]
* [[Women and children first]]
*[[Substantive equality]]}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
* United Kingdom
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20031019111733/http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/ UK Government Women & Equality Unit]
* United States
** [https://www.eeoc.gov/ U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (US)] – the branch of the U.S. government that enforces equal opportunity laws in workplaces
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20031003144225/http://www.doi.gov/diversity/ Department of the Interior Office for Equal Opportunity (US)]
* [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/equal-opportunity/ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Equality of Opportunity]

==Further reading== 
* Dias Pereira, Rita (2022). "[https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/248790/1/21108.pdf Genetic Advantage and Equality of Opportunity in Education: Two Definitions and an Empirical Illustration]." ''Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper'', No. TI 2021-108/V, Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. {{doi|10.2139/ssrn.4116304}}

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[[Category:Disability rights]]
[[Category:Anti-racism]]
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[[Category:Identity politics]]