What does equal opportunity mean?

Definitions for equal opportunity
equal op·por·tu·ni·ty

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word equal opportunity.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. equal opportunitynoun

    the right to equivalent opportunities for employment regardless of race or color or sex or national origin

Wikipedia

  1. Equal opportunity

    Equal opportunity is a state of fairness in which job applicants are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers or prejudices or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. The intent is that the important jobs in an organization should go to the people who are 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 relatives or friends, religion, sex, ethnicity, race, caste, or involuntary personal attributes such as disability, age, gender identity, or sexual orientation.Chances for advancement should be open to everybody interested, such that they have "an equal chance to compete within the framework of goals and the structure of rules established". The idea is to remove arbitrariness from the selection process and base it on some "pre-agreed basis of fairness, with the assessment process being related to the type of position" and emphasizing procedural and legal means. Individuals should succeed or fail based on their own efforts and not extraneous circumstances such as having well-connected parents. It is opposed to nepotism and plays a role in whether a social structure is seen as legitimate. 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.

ChatGPT

  1. equal opportunity

    Equal opportunity refers to the principle that all individuals should have the same rights and opportunities to education, employment, social activities, and benefits, regardless of their race, gender, age, religion, disability, or socioeconomic status. It emphasizes fairness and aims to eliminate discrimination in any form.

Wikidata

  1. Equal opportunity

    Equal opportunity is a stipulation that all people should be treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers or prejudices or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. The aim according to this often complex and contested concept is that important jobs should go to those “most qualified” – persons most likely to perform ably in a given task – and not go to persons for arbitrary or irrelevant reasons, such as circumstances of birth, upbringing, friendship ties to whoever is in power, religion, sex, ethnicity, race, caste, or involuntary personal attributes such as disability, age, or sexual orientation. Chances for advancement should be open to everybody interested such that they have “an equal chance to compete within the framework of goals and the structure of rules established.” The idea is to remove arbitrariness from the selection process and base it on some “pre-agreed basis of fairness, with the assessment process being related to the type of position,” and emphasizing procedural and legal means. Individuals should succeed or fail based on their own efforts and not extraneous circumstances such as having well-connected parents. It is opposed to nepotism and plays a role in whether a social structure is seen as legitimate.

Editors Contribution

  1. equal opportunity

    The right to equal and equivalent opportunities for all people.

    Every person has the right to equal opportunity and this is respected and provided by every form of unity government and employers.


    Submitted by MaryC on March 13, 2015  

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of equal opportunity in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of equal opportunity in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of equal opportunity in a Sentence

  1. Linda Nielsen:

    Be an equal opportunity child, you need to start treating your father the same way you treat your mother.

  2. Rand Paul:

    I think I should have some more patience, but I think I'm pretty equal opportunity, i will have to get better at holding my tongue and holding my temper.

  3. Rush Limbaugh:

    America guarantees equal opportunity, not equal outcome.

  4. Ray Buford:

    HUNDREDS OF GYMNASTS ACROSS US ALLEGE SEXUAL ABUSE, INVESTIGATION REVEALS Buford, Hardin, Dior Johnson and Tamarion Johnson weresuspended earlier this seasonfor violating team rules after a woman accused them of sexual assault. No criminal charges were ever filed and the players were then reinstated. But the woman went to court andtook out restraining ordersbarring the athletes from TCF Bank Stadium. Both sides eventually reached an agreement after the woman testified, detailing a graphic encounter with multiple players. These latest indefinite suspensions are a result of an internal University of Minnesota investigation into the allegations, conducted by the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action. Some of the 10 Gophers players are facing not just team suspensions but expulsion from the university. Buford's father said his understanding is that the number of players grew to double digits because of their proximity to what allegedly happened during the alleged sexual assault. He insists his son will continue tofight. If you can be tried for the same thing -- this is like the 4th different entity -- the more you go at something, the better the successrateis.

  5. Benno C. Schmidt, Jr.:

    Yale is a crucible in American life for the accommodation of intellectual achievement, of wisdom, of refinement, with the democratic ideals of openness, of social justice and of equal opportunity.


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"equal opportunity." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 Dec. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/equal+opportunity>.

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