This book offers original contributions to the debate over the issue of equality of opportunity. Lesley Jacobs sets out a theory of equality of opportunity that presents equal opportunities as a normative device for the regulation of competition for scarce resources. He then considers the practical ways that courts, legislatures or public policy makers can address racial, class or gender injustices. Jacobs examines standardized tests, affirmative action, workfare, universal health-care, comparable worth, and the economic consequences of divorce in this context.

1. Introduction; 2. Equal opportunities as a regulative ideal; 3. Equal opportunity without natural inequalities; Part I. Race: 4. Equal opportunities and civil rights: merit, standardized tests, and higher education; 5. Integration, diversity, and affirmative action; Part II. Class: 6. Justifying workfare; 7. Universal access to health care; Part III. Gender: 8. Gender inequalities in the workplace; 9. Equal opportunities after divorce.