We all like to think that we live in an equal society.  With the era of women going to extremes to win the right to vote and black and gay people being publicly excluded from certain places now over, and with equality principles firmly enshrined in law, it’s all too easy to mistake the world around us for a discrimination-free society filled with opportunities for all.

This passive acceptance of ‘our world’ as a fair world is clear in the widespread abandonment of the equality cause.  Feminism has become something that most western women recoil at the idea of associating themselves with, so widespread is the view that ‘the battle has been won.’  Those who continue to campaign for equal rights for ethnic and minority groups, be they for lesbians, gays and transsexuals, disabled people, older people or gypsies, risk being labelled as ‘whingers’ – people who are never satisfied and who continue to complain about things for little reason.

But it only takes a brief look beneath the surface of the world around us to see a rather different picture. Whether we like it or not, there are still a significant number of heterosexual men who would prefer not to employ an openly gay man, a sizeable majority of adults with children who are unable to overcome the financial and social barriers to being able to return to study, a lot of ethnic minority groups who justifiably feel unsafe travelling to certain other countries....Is this really the equal world we have always dreamt of living in?  Are we honestly content for such a society to remain static, and for such prejudices and discrimination to take ever-greater root in the conscious and unconscious behaviour of our fellow citizens?
ESU believes that equality for all is a fundamental cornerstone of society, and one which needs considerable more work to achieve.  And with many of the prejudices and discriminatory behaviour we see exhibited having its origins in our education, we believe we have a major responsibility to tackle this issue at its very root.  The equity project we are currently running is just one example of our work in this field – including training student representatives across Europe to deliver greater equity within their national learning environments.  

If there is one lesson for all of us in terms of prejudice and discrimination, it is that none of us are above it.  Complacency and lack of awareness are as great a danger as the prejudices themselves.  ESU is aware on an organisational level, and we will continue to do as much as we can to deliver a truly equitable society for all.