Glossary

Gender equality is based on the concepts of no discrimination, human equivalency, and recognition of differences. Equality does not mean that women, men and other gender identities are the same, but rather that opportunities, rights and responsibilities must not depend on the sex with which one is born, nor on one’s sexual and gender identity. All people must enjoy the same human rights, goods valued by the society, opportunities, resources and benefits of human development. The criteria of visibility, recognition, participation, access and control, and representation help us analyse how these principles of equality are expressed in practice.

A significant difference between gender equality and gender equity is that equality is an universal legal principal, recognized by international human rights documents such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and therefore it is a legal obligation that states cannot evade.