Equity vs. Parity: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 25, 2023
Equity involves fairness and justice in treatment, access, and opportunity, while parity is about equal status or value.
Key Differences
Equity is a principle that emphasizes fairness and justice. It seeks to understand and give individuals what they need to enjoy full, healthy lives. Equity acknowledges that different people have different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.
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Parity refers to the state of being equal, especially regarding status or pay. It's often used in discussions about financial markets, where it implies that two currencies have the same value, or in gender discussions, suggesting men and women are on equal footing in some aspect.
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Nov 08, 2023
Equity is often used in social contexts, where it addresses systemic inequalities. It's the attempt to compensate for historical and social disadvantages that prevent individuals from operating on a level playing field.
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In contrast, parity is used in situations where measurable equality is required or has been achieved. For example, gender parity in an organization means that there is an equal number of men and women in certain positions or having equal pay.
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In essence, while equity seeks to promote justice and fairness by acknowledging and addressing unequal starting points, parity is focused on achieving an equal state without necessarily considering the underlying factors that contribute to inequalities.
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Comparison Chart
Context
Social justice, healthcare, education
Finance, gender equality, negotiations
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Equity and Parity Definitions
Equity
Justice according to natural law or right.
The nonprofit organization aimed to increase equity in education.
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Parity
The quality or state of being equal or equivalent.
The goal is to achieve pay parity for all employees.
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Equity
A branch of law that developed alongside common law to remedy some of its defects in fairness and justice.
Equity will not suffer a wrong to be without a remedy.
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Nov 08, 2023
Parity
Equality of status or functional value.
Parity bits are used in computing to detect errors in binary codes.
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Equity
The quality of being fair and impartial.
The city's new policy was guided by principles of equity.
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Parity
Functional equivalence, as in the weaponry or military strength of adversaries
"A problem that has troubled the U.S.-Soviet relationship from the beginning has been the issue of parity" (Charles William Maynes).
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Oct 19, 2023
Parity
The equivalent in value of a sum of money expressed in terms of a different currency at a fixed official rate of exchange.
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Oct 19, 2023
Equity
Justice achieved not simply according to the strict letter of the law but in accordance with principles of substantial justice and the unique facts of the case.
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Oct 19, 2023
Parity
A level for farm-product prices maintained by governmental support and intended to give farmers the same purchasing power they had during a chosen base period.
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Oct 19, 2023
Equity
An equitable right or claim
An analysis of the equities and inequities brought about by the current trade bill.
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Oct 19, 2023
Parity
(Mathematics) The even or odd quality of an integer. If two integers are both odd or both even, they are said to have the same parity; if one is odd and one even, they have different parity.
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Oct 19, 2023
Equity
Ownership interest in a corporation, property, or other holding, usually calculated as the value of the holding after subtracting any debt or liabilities.
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Parity
An intrinsic symmetry property of a physical system, such as a subatomic particle, that specifies how the system would behave if the three spatial coordinates were reversed from x, y, z to -x, -y, -z.
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Parity
A quantum number, either +1 (even) or -1 (odd), that mathematically represents this property.
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Parity
The even or odd quality of the number of 1's or 0's in a binary code, often used to determine the integrity of data especially after transmission.
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Oct 19, 2023
Equity
Subordinated to all other claims on income, earnings, or assets
The equity tranche.
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Oct 19, 2023
Equity
Fairness, impartiality, or justice as determined in light of "natural law" or "natural right".
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Equity
(legal) Various related senses originating with the Court of Chancery in late Medieval England
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Equity
(legal) The power of a court of law having extra-statutory discretion, to decide legal matters and to provide legal relief apart from, though not in violation of, the prevailing legal code; in some cases, a court "sitting in equity" may provide relief to a complainant should the code be found either inapplicable or insufficient to do so.
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Parity
A set with the property of having all of its elements belonging to one of two disjoint subsets, especially a set of integers split in subsets of even and odd elements.
Parity is always preserved in such operations.
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Equity
(legal) A right which accrues to a party in a transaction because of the nature of the transaction itself, and which is exercisable upon a change of circumstances or conditions; in other words, an equitable claim.
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Parity
The classification of an element of a set with parity into one of the two sets.
The particles' parities can switch at random.
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Equity
The body of law which was developed in the English Court of Chancery, which Court had extra-statutory discretion, and is now administered alongside the common law of Britain.
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Oct 19, 2023
Parity
(computing) The count of one bits in a value, reduced to even or odd or zero or one.
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Oct 19, 2023
Equity
Value of property minus liens or other encumbrances.
Home equity
I have a lot of equity in my house.
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Equity
(business) Ownership, especially in terms of net monetary value of some business.
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Oct 19, 2023
Equity
(accounting) Ownership interest in a company as determined by subtracting liabilities from assets.
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Parity
The number of delivered pregnancies reaching viable gestational age, usually between 20-28 weeks
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Parity
The quality or condition of being equal or equivalent; a like state or degree; equality; equivalence; close correspondence; analogy; as, parity of reasoning.
Equality of length and parity of numeration.
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Equity
Equality of rights; natural justice or right; the giving, or desiring to give, to each man his due, according to reason, and the law of God to man; fairness in determination of conflicting claims; impartiality.
Christianity secures both the private interests of men and the public peace, enforcing all justice and equity.
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Oct 19, 2023
Equity
An equitable claim; an equity of redemption; as, an equity to a settlement, or wife's equity, etc.
I consider the wife's equity to be too well settled to be shaken.
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Parity
A property assigned to elementary particles, conceptualized as a form of symmetry, representing the fact that no fundamental distinctions can be observed between right-handed and left-handed systems of particles in their interactions, and supported by the typical observation that the total parity of a system is unchanged as particles are created or annihilated; however, certain interactions involving the weak force have been shown to violate the principle of conservation of parity.
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Equity
A system of jurisprudence, supplemental to law, properly so called, and complemental of it.
Equity had been gradually shaping itself into a refined science which no human faculties could master without long and intense application.
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Parity
A property of the wave function of a system, which takes the value of +1 or -1, indicating whether the value of the wave function changes sign if each of the variables of the system is replaced by its negative.
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Equity
The difference between the market value of a property and the claims held against it
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Parity
The property of being even or odd; as, 3 has odd parity, but 6 has even parity.
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Equity
Conformity with rules or standards;
The judge recognized the fairness of my claim
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Parity
The property of having an even or odd number of bits set to the value of 1 (as opposed to 0); - applied to bytes or larger groups of bits in a data structure. It is used mostly in the process of parity checking. The parity of a data structure can be changed by changing the value of the parity bit.
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Equity
The value of shares issued by a company.
He invested most of his savings into the equity of emerging tech companies.
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Nov 08, 2023
Parity
(obstetrics) the number of live-born children a woman has delivered;
The parity of the mother must be considered
A bipara is a woman who has given birth to two children
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Equity
The difference between the value of the assets and the cost of the liabilities of something owned.
After ten years, they had built up significant equity in their home.
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Parity
(mathematics) a relation between a pair of integers: if both integers are odd or both are even they have the same parity; if one is odd and the other is even they have different parity
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Oct 19, 2023
Parity
(computer science) abit that is used in an error detection procedure in which a 0 or 1 is added to each group of bits so that it will have either an odd number of 1's or an even number of 1's; e.g., if the parity is odd then any group of bits that arrives with an even number of 1's must contain an error
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Oct 19, 2023
Parity
(physics) parity is conserved in a universe in which the laws of physics are the same in a right-handed system of coordinates as in a left-handed system
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Parity
A situation or state of a currency being equal in value to the currency of another country.
Currency parity between the euro and the dollar made European products more expensive for Americans.
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Parity
Symmetry of physical properties.
The experiment tested parity in weak nuclear interactions.
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Parity
Equal representation of women and men.
The board achieved gender parity for the first time this year.
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Nov 08, 2023
Repeatedly Asked Queries
Can equity exist without parity?
Yes, equity can exist without parity, as equity is tailored to needs, which may not always lead to equal outcomes.
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Nov 08, 2023
What is equity?
Equity is fairness and justice in the way people are treated and the distribution of resources.
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What does parity mean in the workplace?
In the workplace, parity often refers to equal pay and representation across genders and other demographics.
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How is equity measured?
Equity is measured by assessing the fairness of processes, access, and distribution of resources.
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Does equity focus on individual or group needs?
Equity focuses on the needs of both individuals and groups, particularly those disadvantaged.
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Is parity important in sports?
Yes, parity is important in sports to ensure fair competition.
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What is parity?
Parity is the state of being equal, particularly in status, pay, or value.
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Nov 08, 2023
How does equity apply in education?
Equity in education means ensuring all students have the resources they need to succeed.
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Are equity and equality the same?
No, equity involves fairness and addressing unequal starting points, while equality means giving everyone the same resources.
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In what fields is equity a major concern?
Equity is a major concern in fields like healthcare, education, and social welfare.
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Nov 08, 2023
How does one demonstrate parity?
One can demonstrate parity through statistics and data showing equal numbers or values.
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Nov 08, 2023
How is parity achieved?
Parity is achieved through the equal distribution or status of opportunities and resources.
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Nov 08, 2023
Where is parity a significant goal?
Parity is a significant goal in employment, pay, and representation.
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Nov 08, 2023
How does equity affect policy-making?
Equity affects policy-making by prioritizing fairness and justice for all societal members.
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Is parity always fair?
Parity implies equality, but without considering individual circumstances, it may not always be fair.
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What role does parity play in finance?
In finance, parity involves equal values in exchange rates or financial instruments.
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Nov 08, 2023
Can there be parity in equity?
Parity can be an aspect of equity when equal outcomes are a goal for everyone involved.
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Why is parity important in negotiations?
Parity in negotiations is important to ensure all parties are treated equally and with respect.
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Nov 08, 2023
Is equity more subjective than parity?
Equity can be more subjective, as it involves considerations of fairness, not just numerical equality.
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What is a common misconception about equity?
A common misconception is that equity means giving everyone the same thing, rather than what they need to succeed.
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Nov 08, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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