What is equitable resilience?

•The concept of resilience has often been critiqued as it underestimates issues of equity and power in human-environmental systems.•This paper, based on an analytical literature review, reveals four themes essential in understanding equitable resilience in practice.•The themes (subjectivities, inclusion, cross-scale interactions, and transformation) are embedded in a definition of ‘equitable resilience’.•By proposing a middle-range theory, we expand the system to include social, cultural and political factors that distribute resilience outcomes.•Equitable resilience can be applied alongside existing resilience indicators to drive resilience practice towards more equitable outcomes.