A sense and measure of justice or fairness in the treatment of individuals and groups according to their needs, histories and aspirations. Equitable treatment is not synonymous with equal treatment and, in fact, to treat everyone equally might well lead to significant inequities. Equity takes account of the differences between individuals and groups and tailors the distribution of resources (of all types—physical, social, emotional etc) to the specifics of each case. Equal treatment submerges such differences and views universality or sameness as its aim.
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