Purpose: This article aims to instigate a focused dialogue of social justice in Hong Kong schools and of the responsibilities this holds for school leaders. Design/methodology/approach: The authors draw on economic, psychological, and sociological research to illustrate how the unequal allocation of resources and school status hierarchies affects students and challenges leaders' understandings and actions. Findings: This article identifies several contextual factors prevalent in Hong Kong that maintain inequality and then applies research findings to explain how these discriminate against both disadvantaged and advantaged students. To address social justice issues, school leaders can start by understanding these inequality mechanisms, their own values and beliefs, and those prevalent in their communities. Then, they can introduce structural and cultural changes to reduce inequality. Originality/value: This article exposes several mechanisms that sustain inequality in Hong Kong schools and suggests how leaders can address them through specific pragmatic actions. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)