internal equity

Meanings

1. 1noununcountablebusiness

   the principle that employees doing similar work should receive similar pay and treatment within the same organization.

   Grammar: No plural form; use 'a sense of internal equity' or 'internal equity in pay'.

   Patterns

   • internal equity in something
   • achieve internal equity
   • maintain internal equity
   • internal equity among employees

   The company reviewed its salary structure to ensure internal equity.

   Internal equity means that two people with the same role should not be paid very differently.

   Managers discussed how to improve internal equity among the staff.

2. 2noununcountable

   fairness in the way people are treated inside a group or system, not just in pay.

   Grammar: Used more generally; still uncountable.

   Patterns

   • promote internal equity
   • internal equity in a system
   • a matter of internal equity

   The new policy aims to promote internal equity in how promotions are given.

   Students complained about a lack of internal equity in grading.

Common combinations

ensure internal equity

The board wants to ensure internal equity before hiring new staff.

internal equity in pay

Internal equity in pay is often compared with external competitiveness.

maintain internal equity

It is difficult to maintain internal equity when budgets are cut.

a sense of internal equity

A sense of internal equity helps keep employees motivated.

Synonyms and how they differ

fairness

A general word for treating people justly; internal equity is the specific idea of fairness inside one organization.

consistency

Focuses on treating similar cases in the same way, while internal equity also includes ideas of justice and value.

Opposites

Word family

equitable adjective

fair and reasonable; treating everyone equally.

equity noun

fairness, or the value of a company's shares.

inequity noun

unfairness; a lack of equity.

Commonly confused: internal equity or external equity?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “internal equity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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