Equal opportunity is the goal of laws, regulations, and policies attempting to ensure that similarly situated people are treated equally in virtually all aspects of life, including jobs, education, housing, public accommodations, and so forth.

The United States has a long and difficult history regarding equality based on race, religion, gender, ethnicity, and other characteristics. Women, blacks, Native Americans, Asians, Jews, gays, the differently abled, and others were variously denied the right to vote, not given equal pay for equal work, not allowed to hold certain jobs, denied access to equal education, denied access to public facilities, and generally prevented from enjoying the same quality of life as more privileged citizens.

In an effort to live up to the statement in the Declaration of Independence that all ...