While this seems like a good idea what I've observed is that, for many, equity feels like a zero-sum game - I must lose for you to win. Those who have position and power fear that they will lose if they must make space for others. There is a sense that the pie can only be cut into so many pieces, or that my piece of the pie must become smaller if you are also to have a slice.

Even processes such as quotas and ratios can communicate that someone will have to give up their seat at the table to make space for another to come in. Questions are raised around whether those who come in have done so because of skill and ability or merely because they can fill part of the quota. And those who are fast-tracked to a role because they fit a particular demographic are unwittingly set up to fail because the ‘table’ is not ready for them – the systems and processes that work for those already around the table are not necessarily geared for the new people who come in.

Equilibrium on the other hand is all about embracing the different skills, insight and outlooks that people bring to a problem, to a workplace, to a project, purely because of their varying life experiences and backgrounds. Equilibrium involves not a zero-sum game in a limited and tightly bounded playing field, but the exploration and incorporation of an ever-increasing galaxy of opportunities and possibilities.

One of the best and easily accessible examples of equilibrium rather than equity is the human body. Not all body parts have equal strength or ability, but all are needed to maintain the equilibrium of the body. Take the forearm and the hand. The hand can do so much more than the forearm can, but without the forearm, the hand cannot function. Our toes can seem like odd appendages but without them our ability to balance is compromised. Different body parts are not equal. They have different functions. There is equilibrium rather than equity.

While the body has finite boundaries it is not limited by fixed roles and abilities. If someone is born without hands, toes take on the function of fingers. If a person has a catastrophic accident and becomes paralysed activities such as painting that were once under the control of hands and fingers are now done by holding a paintbrush in the mouth. The equilibrium of the body is maintained.

Equilibrium rather than equity is needed in our workplaces. The equilibrium that values, encourages and embraces difference – different skills, backgrounds, outlooks. The equilibrium that brings balance and fairness to work environments, that is open to the new and not afraid to shatter the status quo.

Equilibrium rather than equity is the way forward. Where openness, balance and opportunity are valued. Where the galaxy of possibilities and opportunities is ever-expanding.

Let’s chase equilibrium, rather than being satisfied with merely equity.