The problem for mine, is that a lot of the discourse on the topic of equality tends to treat equality as a value in and off itself. I'm not convinced that this is an especially helpful way of framing issues associated with gender/racial/religious divides. A lot of the discussions of the inherent issues focus on equality as something to be promoted and actively pursued, almost as if it is a concept that can be reached out and touched. In my mind, actual equality is more in fact about the absence of direness and horribleness, rather than the presence of positiveness. I fear a lot of initiatives designed to actively positively promote equality, for instance, tend to emphasise the differences between people of different backgrounds etc... rather than play them down.
I remember as a child, of 4 or 5 years old, the entire school being marched into an assembly to be given presentations on diversity. The aim of this session was obviously not ignoble, but what I very clearly remember from that experience was being told you shouldn't treat someone differntly because of their skin colour. I simply couldn't understand why anyone would do that. I hadn't even entertained the possibility of such a thing. From that point onward I recall there was a considerable increase in incidents regarding the kids of ethnic minority backrounds (not that there were many) being bullied and so on.
This is obviously purely anecdotal, but it is perhaps reflective of why I'm sceptical of initiatives designed to enhance diversity that have existed to date.
