Equality of opportunity refers to the fairness of processes through which individuals with different backgrounds or from different social groups reach particular outcomes, such as educational or occupational goals. Sociologists have developed several alternative approaches to defining and assessing equality of opportunity in each outcome domain, including trends in demographic gaps, residual differences after relevant qualifications are taken into account, process differences in the variables linking individual attributes to outcomes, and structural differences in the barriers encountered in preparing for, learning about, or obtaining particular educational or occupational achievements. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages for particular scientific, policy, and practical purposes.

Trends in Demographic Gaps

Equality of opportunity is usually judged with reference to major demographic groupings, such as race, sex, or socioeconomic status. When there are significant changes over an extended period of time in educational or occupational outcome gaps for major...