The ‘Gender-Equity’ Catchphrase is Just Another Way of Gaslighting Women

There is no Equity without an Acknowledgement of Equality

I heaved a sigh of exasperation as I skimmed through an academic essay on the topic of women’s rights. The assertions made in the essay were enough to release the breath that I didn’t know I was holding. My brain needed the time to process what I had read. So I went from initial reaction to reflection, to process and finally to arriving at a good response. The writer of this essay had stated quite boldly that by virtue of gender differences, women shouldn’t be clamouring for equality, but for equity. What this does is to equate gender differences to gender inequality.

Thinking long and hard about this subject, I decided to separate what is generally known as formal (quantitative) equality from substantive (qualitative) equality. When women talk about gender equality, what they are striving for is substantive equality, which is basically the belief that all humans are of equal value and status and are therefore entitled to equitable and fair treatment in any society. In the context of women’s right, it seems quite halfwitted for anyone to assume that formal/quantitative equality is what women are talking about. According to the essay, equality implies that everyone, irrespective of their differences…