Synonyms
Definition
According to the 12th Edition Collins English Dictionary, equal opportunity is defined as “the offering of employment, pay, or promotion equally to all, without discrimination as to sex, race, colour, disability, etc.” (2014). This definition of equal opportunity focuses on economic inclusion and equality among people to promote shared prosperity. In addition to the monetary perspective, the equality of opportunity is a complex and contested concept in the field of political philosophy, often associated with the metaphors of “levelling the playing field” and “starting gate equality” (Anderson 1999; Rawls 2009; Roemer 2009). Furthermore, beyond that of political theory, the concept of equality of opportunity has been applied in various domains, including sociology, education, psychology, public health, and economics. Also, equal opportunity is often linked with antidiscrimination, fairness,...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Agyeman J, Evans T (2003) Toward just sustainability in urban communities: building equity rights with sustainable solutions. Ann Am Acad Pol Soc Sci 590:35–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716203256565
Agyeman J, Schlosberg D, Craven L, Matthews C (2016) Trends and directions in environmental justice: from inequity to everyday life, community, and just sustainabilities. Annu Rev Environ Resour 41: 321–340. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-110615-090052
Anderson ES (1999) What is the point of equality? Ethics 109:287–337. https://doi.org/10.1086/233897
Arneson R (2015) Equality of opportunity. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2015/entries/equal-opportunity
Becker S, Crandall M, Fisher KE, Kinney B, Landry C, Rocha A (2010) Opportunity for all: how the American public benefits from Internet access at U.S. libraries. Institute of Museum and Library Services
Béné C, Arthur R, Norbury H, Edward H. Allison, Beveridge M, Bush S, Campling L, Leschen W, Little D, Squires D, Shakuntala H. Thilsted, Troell M, Williams M (2016) Contribution of Fisheries and Aquaculture to Food Security and Poverty Reduction: Assessing the Current Evidence. World Develop 79:177–196
Blanc DL (2015) Towards integration at last? The sustainable development goals as a network of targets. Sustain Dev 23:176–187. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1582
Brondizio ES, Tourneau F-ML (2016) Environmental governance for all. Science 352(6291):1272–1273
Castro CJ (2004) Sustainable development: mainstream and critical perspectives. Organ Environ 17:195–225. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086026604264910
Cohen GA (2009) Rescuing justice and equality. Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Copiello S (2015) Achieving affordable housing through energy efficiency strategy. Ener Pol 85:288–298
Cowell R, Bristow G, Munday M (2011) Acceptance, acceptability and environmental justice: the role of community benefits in wind energy development. J Environ Plan Manage 54(4):539–557
Dempsey N, Bramley G, Power S, Brown C (2011) The social dimension of sustainable development: defining urban social sustainability. Sustain Dev 19:289–300. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.417
Dworkin R (2002) Sovereign virtue: the theory and practice of equality. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Employment and Social Development Canada (2018) Canada’s first poverty reduction strategy (navigation page). Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/poverty-reduction/reports/strategy.html
Giddens A (1979) Agency, structure. In: Giddens A (ed) Central problems in social theory: action, structure and contradiction in social analysis. Contemporary social theory. Macmillan Education UK, London, pp 49–95. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-16161-4_3
Giddens A (1984) The constitution of society: outline of the theory of structuration. University of California Press, Berkeley
Giddens M (2018) The SDGs Are An Opportunity, Not Just A Challenge. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelegiddens/2018/05/24/the-sdgs-are-an-opportunity-not-just-a-challenge/
Hajer M, Nilsson M, Raworth K, Bakker P, Berkhout F, de Boer Y, Rockström J, Ludwig K, Kok M, Hajer M, Nilsson M, Raworth K, Bakker P, Berkhout F, de Boer Y, Rockström J, Ludwig K, Kok M (2015) Beyond cockpit-ism: four insights to enhance the transformative potential of the sustainable development goals. Sustainability 7:1651–1660. https://doi.org/10.3390/su7021651
Hák T, Janoušková S, Moldan B (2016) Sustainable Development Goals: a need for relevant indicators. Ecol Indic 60:565–573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.08.003
Harvey D (2010) Social justice and the city (Vol. 1) University of Georgia Press, Atlanta
Holden E, Linnerud K, Banister D (2014) Sustainable development: Our Common Future revisited. Glob Environ Chang 26:130–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.04.006
Holliday CO, Schmidheiny S, Watts P (2017) Walking the Talk: The Business Case for Sustainable Development. Routledge, New York
Kanbur R, Rhee C, Zhuang J (2014) Inequality in Asia and the Pacific: trends, drivers, and policy implications. Routledge, Hoboken
Kay A (2005) Territorial justice and devolution. Br J Polit Int Rel 7:544–560. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-856x.2005.00200.x
Koehler G (2016) Tapping the Sustainable Development Goals for Progressive Gender Equity and Equality Policy? Gender Develop 24(1):53–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552074.2016.1142217
Ministry of Social Development (2004) Opportunity for all New Zealanders. Ministry of Social Development, Wellington
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2006) Sustainable Communities: Building for the future. Retrieved from https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120919140956/http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/146289.pdf
Purfield C, Finger H, Ongley K, Baduel B, Castellanos C, Pierre G, Stepanyan V, Roos E (2018) Opportunity for all: promoting growth and inclusiveness in the Middle East and North Africa. The International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC
Rawls J (2009) A theory of justice. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Robinson J (2004) Squaring the circle? Some thoughts on the idea of sustainable development. Ecol Econ 48(4):369–384
Roemer JE (2002) Equality of opportunity: a progress report. Soc Choice Welf 19:455–471. https://doi.org/10.1007/s003550100123
Roemer JE (2009) Equality of opportunity. Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Sachs JD (2015) The age of sustainable development. Columbia University Press, New York
Seyfang G, Smith A (2007) Grassroots innovations for sustainable development: Towards a new research and policy agenda. Environ Pol 16(4):584–603
Sheller M (2015) Racialized Mobility Transitions in Philadelphia: Connecting Urban Sustainability and Transport Justice. City Soc 27(1):70–91. https://doi.org/10.1111/ciso.12049
Shi L, Chu E, Anguelovski I, Aylett A, Debats J, Goh K, Schenk T, Seto KC, Dodman D, Roberts D, Roberts JT, VanDeveer SD (2016) Roadmap towards justice in urban climate adaptation research. Nat Clim Chang 6(2):131–137
Son HH (2013) Inequality of human opportunities in developing Asia. Asian Dev Rev 30:110–130. https://doi.org/10.1162/ADEV_a_00017
Watts J (2018) We have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe, warns UN. The Guardian
Weaver, Paul, Leo Jansen, Geert van Grootveld, Egbert van Spiegel, Philip Vergragt (2017) Sustainable Technology Development. Routledge, New York. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351283243
Wolff RP (1990) Understanding Rawls: a reconstruction and critique of a theory of justice. Peter Smith, Gloucester
World Bank (2016) Doing business 2017: equal opportunity for all (No. 109551). The World Bank Group, Washington, DC
World Health Organization (2015) Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water: 2015 Update and MDG Assessment. World Health Organization
Acknowledgments
In addition to Olga Kuznetsova’s thorough editorial review, I am immensely grateful to Amrita Daniere, Scott Drinkall, and Shahin Rahman for their valuable insights that significantly improved the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Cai, Y. (2020). Opportunities for All: Inclusive and Equitable Sustainable Development. In: Leal Filho, W., Marisa Azul, A., Brandli, L., Gökçin Özuyar, P., Wall, T. (eds) Sustainable Cities and Communities. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95717-3_83
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95717-3_83
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-95716-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-95717-3
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences