90 Equality Quotes About the Importance of How We Treat Each Other

By Stephanie Kirby

Writer, Entrepreneur and Inspirational quote curator

Published September 10, 2022

The world is made up of different types of unique people.

And the world equally needs these unique people.

That is how we all experience our best, as the equality quotes below show.

Wouldn’t the world be so boring if we were all the same?

Our world provides an incredibly diverse environment with equally diverse people to match.

From our personalities to characteristics there are things that make each person unique.

When we embrace that diversity equally is when we truly experience the best that this world has to offer us.

These equality quotes show the importance of treating each other right and why it matters so much.

If you like this article, we suggest you explore our most popular quotes article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily encouragement.

Check out more inspirational quotes on our motivational quotes category page.

Best equality quotes

1. “Equality is the soul of liberty; there is, in fact, no liberty without it.” – Frances Wright

2. “The word ‘equality’ shows up too much in our founding documents for anyone to pretend it’s not the American way.” – Martha Plimpton

3. “There’s nothing complicated about equality.” – Alice Paul

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4. “I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and justice and prosperity for all people.” – Rosa Parks

5. “I just believe in equality for all.” – Ashley Wagner

6. “I never doubted that equal rights was the right direction. Most reforms, most problems are complicated. But to me, there is nothing complicated about ordinary equality.” – Alice Paul

7. “Equality implies individuality.” – Trey Anastasio

8. “Martin Luther King, Jr. didn’t carry just a piece of cloth to symbolize his belief in racial equality; he carried the American flag.” – Adrian Cronauer

9. “Race, gender, religion, sexuality, we are all people and that’s it.” – Connor Franta

10. “We are all equal in the fact that we are all different.” – C. Joybell C.

11. “In order for us to have gender equality, we have to stop making it a girl fight, and we have to stop being so interested in seeing girls try to tear each other down.” – Taylor Swift

Equality quotes about fairness in life

12. “These men ask for just the same thing, fairness and fairness only. This so far as in my power, they, and all others, should have.” – Abraham Lincoln

13. “Fairness does not mean everyone gets the same. It means everyone gets what they need.” – Rick Riordan

14. “Fairness is man’s ability to rise above his prejudices.” – We Fesler

15. “Fairness is such a valuable thing that no money can buy it.” – Alain Rene Lesage

16. “Fairness is not an attitude. It’s a professional skill that must be developed and exercised.” – Brit Hume

17. “Play fair, be prepared for others to play dirty, and don’t let them drag you into the mud.” – Richard Branson

18. “No matter who or what you support, I believe in supporting fairness first.” – Jennette McCurdy

19. “Fairness is what justice really is.” – Potter Stewart

20. “It is not fair to ask of someone else what you are not willing to do yourself.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

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Equality quotes about justice

21. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – Martin Luther King

22. “Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.” – Cornel West

23. “Nobody is poor unless he stands in need of justice.” – Lactantius

24. “True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

25. “It is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

26. “Justice has always evoked ideas of equality, of proportion of compensation. Equity signifies equality. Rules and regulations, right and righteousness are concerned with equality in value. If all men are equal, then all men are of the same essence, and the common essence entitles them of the same fundamental rights and equal liberty… In short justice is another name of liberty, equality and fraternity.” – B.R. Ambedkar

27. “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” – Benjamin Franklin

28. “The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.” – Proverbs 29:7

29. “I should like to be able to love my country and still love justice.” – Albert Camus

30. “I think that the day a justice forgets that each decision comes at a cost to someone, then I think you start losing your humanity.” – Sonia Sotomayor

Equality quotes on the importance of equality for all

31. “To live anywhere in the world today and be against equality because of race or color is like living in Alaska and being against snow.” – William Faulkner

32. “The future is all of us… We need to add seats to the table. We’re not taking away seats. We need to include everyone. This is for the betterment of everyone’s world.” – Natalie Portman

33. “Equality of opportunity is an equal opportunity to prove unequal talents.” – Viscount Samuel

34. “We call upon all communities to be tolerant—to reject prejudice based on cast, creed, sect, religion or gender. To ensure freedom and equality for women so that they can flourish. We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” – Malala Yousafzai

35. “All men are equal: it is not birth, but virtue alone, that makes the difference.” – Voltaire

36. “Until we get equality in education, we won’t have an equal society.” – Sonia Sotomayor

37. “Achieving gender equality requires the engagement of women and men, girls and boys. It is everyone’s responsibility.” – Ban Ki-moon

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38. “Equality is not in regarding different things similarly, equality is in regarding different things differently.” – Tom Robbins

39. “Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.” – Kofi Annan

40. “Gender equality must become a lived reality.” – Michelle Bachelet

More equality quotes and sayings

41. “Before God we are all equally wise- and equally foolish.” – Albert Einstein

42. “Women will only have true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg

43. “Democracy does not guarantee equality of conditions- it only guarantees equality of opportunity.” – Irving Kristol

44. “The history of the past is but one long struggle upward to equality.” – Elizabeth Cady Stanton

45. “I want for myself what I want for all women, absolute equality.” – Agnes Macphail

46. “For a modern woman it is important to be supported and that there is equality in every aspect, and that it’s not two halves that make a whole. It’s two wholes that make a whole.” – Katy Perry

47. “All imaginable futures are not equally possible.” – Kevin Kelly

48. “Equality is like gravity. We need it to stand on this earth as men and women.” – Joss Whedon

49. “Any serious shift towards more sustainable societies has to include gender equality.” – Helen Clark

50. “I hope that we always have diversity and that we have equality and representation every step of the way.” – Marsai Martin

Fairness and Equality Quotes To Inspire Everyday Living

51. I hope that people will finally come to realize that there is only one ‘race’ – the human race – and that we are all members of it.” — Margaret Atwood

52. The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.” — Aristotle

53. “The only stable state is the one in which all men are equal before the law.” — Aristotle

54. “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” — George Orwell

55. “Equal rights for all, special privileges for none” — Thomas Jefferson

56. “We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” — Martin Luther King

57. “There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequal people.” — Thomas Jefferson

58. “Joy can only spring up among people who feel equal.” — Honoré de Balzac

59. “No man is above the law, and no man is below it.” — Theodore Roosevelt

60. “Equality consists in the same treatment of similar persons.” — Aristotle

More Equality Quotes To Motivate and Inspire Justice For All

61. “In order to be great, you just have to care. You have to care about your world, community, and equality.” – Katori Hall

62.“We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.” – Maya Angelou

63. “I want our future leaders to know what’s possible and to be part of a world where diversity and gender equality aren’t special programs but the natural way of operating.” – Pierre Nanterme

64. “I believe we are here on the planet Earth to live, grow up and do what we can to make this world a better place for all people to enjoy freedom.” — Rosa Park

65. “Collective action remains the best way of renewing the march towards the great trinity of liberty, equality, and solidarity.” – Guy Standing

66. “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.” — Rosa Park

67. “All the citizens of a state cannot be equally powerful, but they may be equally free.” – Voltaire

68. “All this talk about equality. The only thing people really have in common is that they are all going to die.” – Bob Dylan

69. “From the equality of rights springs identity of our highest interests; you cannot subvert your neighbor’s rights without striking a dangerous blow at your own.” – Carl Shurz

70. “If we were to select the most intelligent, imaginative, energetic, and emotionally stable third of mankind, all races would be present.” – Franz Boas

Equality Quotes To Promote Peace Amongst Us

71. “By nature all men are equal in liberty, but not in other endowments.” — St. Thomas Aquinas

72. “I believe I’ve always been a big believer in equality. No one has ever been able to tell me I couldn’t do something because I was a girl.” — Anne Hathaway

73. “As equality increases, so does the number of people struggling for predominance.” — Mason Cooley

74. “I believe in equality for everyone.” — Mahatma Gandhi

75. “The true and solid peace of nations consists not in equality of arms, but in mutual trust alone.”— Pope John XXIII

76. “We are all equal because we are all the property of God.” — John Locke

77. “Equality must be maintained, if it is promised.”— Janet Morris

78. “Equality, first of all means absence of special privilege.” — I. N. Srivastava

79. “In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread.” — Anatole France

80. “People are treated as equals when they are made equal in welfare — except when differences in welfare will produce very much more welfare overall.” — Ronald Dworkin

Equality Quotes About Treating Everyone The Same

81. “A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.” – Gloria Steinem

82. “Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we’re opened, we’re red.” — Clive Barker

83.“Whatever is my right as a man is also the right of another.” — Thomas Paine

84. “When I look at a person, I see a person – not a rank, not a class, not a title.” — Criss Jami

85. “The parts of me that used to think I was different or smarter or whatever, almost made me die.” — David Foster

86. “It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” — Audre Lorder

87. “Being different is a revolving door in your life where secure people enter and insecure exit.” – Shannon Alder

88. “Our differences do matter, but our common humanity matters more.” — Bill Clinton

89. “As much as I live I shall not imitate them or hate myself for being different to them.” — Orhan Pamuk

90. “Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play.” — Jane Goodall

Which of these equality quotes resonated with you best?

There have been and continue to be many wise men and women who fight for equality for all.

Some of their words and messages are shared in the quotes above.

It’s important that we can acknowledge the progress that has been made while still being able to acknowledge the places we still need to address.

Be encouraged by the words above and make sure you pay attention to the way that you treat those around you on a daily basis.

Even our little words and deeds can go a long way in moving the needle forward in equality for all.