Epätasapuolista

Epätasapuolista is a Finnish adjective that describes something that is not fair or is biased. It is used to characterize actions, policies, or distributions that do not treat people or things equally. The term is commonly employed in discussions of law, ethics, economics, education, and human resources to critique unequal outcomes or processes.

The word stems from the negating prefix epä- combined with tasapuolinen, meaning fair or equal. In Finnish, epätasapuolista typically appears with nouns in the partitive case, for example epätasapuolista kohtelua (unfair treatment), epätasapuolista jaottelua (unfair distribution), or epätasapuolista kilpailua (unfair competition).

Usage reflects judgments about bias, partiality, or unequal access to opportunities. Epätasapuolista can describe both deliberate discrimination and more incidental imbalances. While not every instance constitutes illegal discrimination, many legal and policy frameworks promote tasapuolisuus and prohibit epätasapuolisuus, especially in employment, education, procurement, and public services.

Related concepts include tasapuolisuus (fairness), oikeudenmukaisuus (justice), syrjintä (discrimination), and tasa-arvo (equality). The term is often found in debates about creating level playing fields, ensuring equal treatment, and evaluating the fairness of procedures and outcomes.