Increasingly, the term ‘Equal Opportunities’ is making way for discussions on ‘Diversity’ as this term is much broader in its scope and gets to the heart of the integration challenges the country faces.
Over the past five decades our society has become increasingly complex and diverse. The UK population is growing rapidly and subsequently becoming more diverse and with an aging population. Changes to immigration laws and better health care are contributing factors to the changing makeup of Great Britain and our subsequent workforce.
When asked, staff often perceive diversity as being a focus on ethnicity and race whereas issues of gender equality are often overlooked or misunderstood. Subsequently, diversity is actually a much broader term than a few labels and includes those other – difficult to define – human qualities that are dissimilar to our own perceptions or those of our communities but are widely prevalent in other communities. It is this fundamental difference that Diversity looks to both celebrate and accept alongside our own perceptions.
Whilst recent equality laws have helped to challenge discrimination and prejudice we still face equality gaps in the workplace, some larger than others. In response to the increasingly diverse needs of our communities the government have delegated a duty of responsibility on councils and their partners, including publicly funded bodes, such as the education and health care sectors, to be more accountable for ensuring everyone has an equal chance in life regardless of background.
To this end, in order to meet both government legislation and the diverse needs of our workforce, organisations need to ensure they build an inclusive culture where diversity is celebrated and everyone has equal opportunity. That said, this is clearly easier said than done, so here are six values that can help an organisations better promote a culture of equality and diversity.
- Value Feedback – Seek regular opportunities for staff feedback to impact on organisational practices and change behaviours.
- Value Experience – Create an inclusive culture by including staff in both strategic and operational planning ensuring they have equal access to opportunities to enable staff to fully participate.
- Value Fairness – equality comes when staff are confident their employer’s policies, procedures and practices are fair to all and don’t discriminate.
- Value Development – enable all staff to develop to their full potential though equal opportunities for training, empowerment and progression.
- Value Planning – make certain that staff resources do not discriminate against any individuals, groups or reinforce negative stereotypes.
- Value Collaboration – through effective training equip all staff with the skills to challenge inequality and discrimination in their workplace.
JD
The Equality Blog 