Christie Evans
Equal opportunity means that every person can participate freely and equally in areas of public life such as in the workplace, in education, or in accessing goods and services without disadvantage or less favourable treatment, due to their unique attributes. Everyone has rights and responsibilities under equal opportunity and anti-discrimination legislation to prevent discrimination, harassment, vilification or victimisation.
Equal opportunity is an integral part of the employment life cycle, applicable to recruitment, retention, performance management, promotion, talent identification, succession planning, remuneration, professional development and end of employment. Equality of opportunity in education is where everyone has fair and equal access to a good quality education regardless of social background, race, gender or religion and where people achieve success in education according to their efforts and ability, free of any form of discrimination.