Within the United Kingdom (UK), many of the arguments driving devolution and Brexit focused on equality. This article assesses how notions of equality have been shaped over the past two decades. Using a chronology of theoretical, political and public interpretations of equality between 1998 and 2018, the article highlights the shifting positions of Northern Ireland (NI) and the rest of the UK. NI once led the way in relation to equality legislation, and equality was the cornerstone of the Good Friday/Belfast peace agreement. However, the Equality Act 2010 in Great Britain meant that NI was left behind. The nature of future UK/EU relationships and how these might influence the direction and extent of the equality debate in the UK is unclear. While this article focuses on the UK, the questions that it raises have global application, due to the international influences on equality discourse and legislation.

在英国 (UK) 内部，推动权力下放和英国退欧的许多论点都集中在平等上。本文评估了过去二十年来平等观念是如何形成的。本文使用 1998 年至 2018 年间对平等的理论、政治和公众解释的年表，重点介绍了北爱尔兰 (NI) 和英国其他地区的立场转变。NI 曾经在平等立法方面处于领先地位，平等是耶稣受难日/贝尔法斯特和平协议的基石。然而，英国 2010 年的平等法案意味着 NI 被抛在了后面。未来英国/欧盟关系的性质以及这些关系如何影响英国平等辩论的方向和程度尚不清楚。虽然本文关注的是英国，但它提出的问题具有全球适用性，