Epätasaarvoiset

Epätasaarvoiset is an Finnish adjective used to describe situations, groups, or distributions that are not equal in value, status, or condition. The term is common in sociology, economics, law and public discourse to refer to disparities or unfairness between people, groups or outcomes.

The word is formed with the negating prefix epä- and the stem tasaarvoinen (having equal value). Therefore epätasaarvoinen literally means not equally valued or not equal in distribution. In everyday language it can modify nouns such as mahdollisuudet (opportunities), tulot (income), kohtelu (treatment) or pääsy (access), for example epätasaarvoiset mahdollisuudet or epätasaarvoisen kohtelun syyt.

In social sciences and policy discussions, epätasaarvoiset describes observable or perceived inequalities between groups based on factors such as income, education, gender, ethnicity or geography. The term is often used to discuss fairness, justice, and the effectiveness of redistributive or affirmative policies aimed at reducing disparities. In mathematics or statistics, related concepts concern inequality between quantities, with epätasa-arvo (inequality) serving as the more common noun form; epätasaarvoiset is primarily a qualitative descriptor in non-mathematical contexts.

See also: tasaarvo (equality), tasa-arvoisuus (equality in principle), epätasa-arvo (inequality). The concept of epätasaarvoiset thus encompasses a broad range of unevenness, from concrete numerical differences to broader social and ethical disparities.