We often talk about equality, but equality isn't simply about being given the same opportunities on paper. Our standing and circumstances can determine how easily those opportunities become available to us.
Some people are born into circumstances that naturally give them a platform or an edge. They have access, connections, confidence, education, money, or circumstances that put them out in front.
Others have to work harder, have just as much to contribute, and still struggle to get noticed. Many people have grown up in environments where being seen rather than heard was the expectation – where children were present but not always included in conversations or encouraged to share their perspectives.
I was that child.
Our early experiences shape how comfortable we feel in making our voices heard, even when we have valuable things to offer.
But it does mean the playing field was never level to begin with.
Living with a disability has taught me a lot. That being treated the same as everyone else doesn't make what you deal with equal.
And that's an important distinction.
Equality isn't always about treating everyone the same. Equality should mean recognising that people don't start from the same place.
We cannot control every advantage or disadvantage we're born into. But neither should we resent others simply because their circumstances have given them the opportunities we haven't had.
We all, to some extent, have control over our lives and the choices we make. But none of us choose where we start from, and like me, some have had more obstacles to overcome.
Others have more doors open to them than others.
Perhaps your experiences have made you think about this more deeply. My experiences have.
Perhaps that's worth thinking about when we consider what equality really means.
We all to some extent have control over our lives. But we should acknowledge inequality when we see it.
Perhaps part of the problem is that we have become too accustomed to judging the value of a person's voice by their standing – by how well known, popular or visible they already are.
Perhaps we should be more willing to question that.
There are many people with ability and insight whose voices struggle to be heard simply because they don't have a platform or a voice, but they do have something interesting to say, to contribute.
It's a stigma we need to move away from.
Instead of asking how well known someone is, we should be looking more closely at merit – and what they genuinely have to offer. They deserve that.
For me, this goes back much further than adulthood.
It stems back to childhood to learning early on that having something to say and being given the opportunity to say it are not always the same thing.
Being heard depends on whether someone is willing to hear what you have to say, and to take what you have to say seriously.
For me, living with a disability has reinforced that lesson in different ways, but the underlying feeling was always the same.
Decades later and I have a voice now – and now my voice is hoping someone will listen.
