Equality and diversity (United Kingdom)
Encyclopedia
Equality and diversity is a term used in the United Kingdom
to define and champion equality
, diversity
and human rights
as defining values of society
. It promotes equality of opportunity for all, giving every individual the chance to achieve their potential, free from prejudice
and discrimination
.
UK legislation requires public authorities to promote equality in everything that they do, also making sure that other organisations meet their legal duties to promote equality while also doing so themselves.
In the UK there are certain legal requirements under existing legislation to promote equality in the areas of disability, gender and race. These are often collectively referred to as the general duties to promote equality.
As the independent advocate for equality and human rights in Britain, a Commission of Equality and Human Rights (EHRC) exists that aims to reduce inequality, eliminate discrimination, strengthen good relations between people and promote and protect human rights. EHRC has a duty to challenge prejudice and disadvantage and promote the importance of human rights, enforcing equality laws
on age
, disability
, gender
, gender reassignment, race, religion
or belief
and sexual orientation
and encourage compliance with the Human Rights Act
.
1. Eliminate unlawful discrimination
2. Promote equality of opportunity
3. Promote good relations between people of different racial groups
4. Eliminate unlawful discrimination
5. Eliminate harassment of disabled people that is related to their disabilities
6. Promote equality of opportunity between disabled people and others
7. Take steps to take account of disabled people’s disabilities, even where that involves treating them more favourably than others
8. Promote positive attitudes towards disabled people
9. Encourage participation by disabled people in public life
10. Eliminate unlawful sex discrimination
11. Eliminate unlawful harassment
12. Promote equality of opportunity between men and women
The requirements to eliminate unlawful sex discrimination and harassment also include discrimination and harassment on the basis of gender reassignment.
It follows that:
It is unlawful for age to be the cause of less favourable treatment in a workplace or in vocational training, unless there is an objective justification for doing so.
Religion and belief
Religion or belief should not interfere with anybody’s right to be treated fairly at work, at school, in shops or while accessing public services such as health care and housing.
Disability
If one has a physical or mental impairment, that person has specific rights that protect them against discrimination. Employers and service providers are obliged to make relevant adjustments. Under certain circumstances this protection also extends to their carers http://www.carersuk.org/Newsandcampaigns/Carersinaction/1216739551
Gender
Men, women and transgender people should not be treated unfairly because of their gender, because they are married or because they are bringing up a family.
Race
Wherever one was born, wherever their parents came from, whatever the colour of their skin, they have a right to be treated fairly and be protected against racial discrimination and prejudice.
Sexual orientation
Whether one is straight, gay, lesbian or bisexual should not put them at a disadvantage. The law protects the citizen against discrimination in the workplace, including harassment, on grounds of sexual orientation.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to define and champion equality
Social equality
Social equality is a social state of affairs in which all people within a specific society or isolated group have the same status in a certain respect. At the very least, social equality includes equal rights under the law, such as security, voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, and the...
, diversity
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
as defining values of society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
. It promotes equality of opportunity for all, giving every individual the chance to achieve their potential, free from prejudice
Prejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
and discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
.
UK legislation requires public authorities to promote equality in everything that they do, also making sure that other organisations meet their legal duties to promote equality while also doing so themselves.
In the UK there are certain legal requirements under existing legislation to promote equality in the areas of disability, gender and race. These are often collectively referred to as the general duties to promote equality.
As the independent advocate for equality and human rights in Britain, a Commission of Equality and Human Rights (EHRC) exists that aims to reduce inequality, eliminate discrimination, strengthen good relations between people and promote and protect human rights. EHRC has a duty to challenge prejudice and disadvantage and promote the importance of human rights, enforcing equality laws
Social equality
Social equality is a social state of affairs in which all people within a specific society or isolated group have the same status in a certain respect. At the very least, social equality includes equal rights under the law, such as security, voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, and the...
on age
Ageing
Ageing or aging is the accumulation of changes in a person over time. Ageing in humans refers to a multidimensional process of physical, psychological, and social change. Some dimensions of ageing grow and expand over time, while others decline...
, disability
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
, gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
, gender reassignment, race, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
or belief
Belief
Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.-Belief, knowledge and epistemology:The terms belief and knowledge are used differently in philosophy....
and sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
and encourage compliance with the Human Rights Act
Human Rights Act
A human rights act is a statute that sets out individual rights and freedoms under the law. Many jurisdictions have bills of rights enshrined into law and called the "Human Rights Act". This naming convention is commonly used in Commonwealth nations...
.
Requirements and duties
Below a list of requirements of each equality duty that are actioned within the UK:- Due regard must be paid to the following requirements of the race equality duty:
1. Eliminate unlawful discrimination
2. Promote equality of opportunity
3. Promote good relations between people of different racial groups
- Due regard must be paid to the following requirements of the disability equality duty:
4. Eliminate unlawful discrimination
5. Eliminate harassment of disabled people that is related to their disabilities
6. Promote equality of opportunity between disabled people and others
7. Take steps to take account of disabled people’s disabilities, even where that involves treating them more favourably than others
8. Promote positive attitudes towards disabled people
9. Encourage participation by disabled people in public life
- Due regard must be paid to the following requirements of the gender equality duty:
10. Eliminate unlawful sex discrimination
11. Eliminate unlawful harassment
12. Promote equality of opportunity between men and women
The requirements to eliminate unlawful sex discrimination and harassment also include discrimination and harassment on the basis of gender reassignment.
It follows that:
Equality and discrimination
AgeIt is unlawful for age to be the cause of less favourable treatment in a workplace or in vocational training, unless there is an objective justification for doing so.
Religion and belief
Religion or belief should not interfere with anybody’s right to be treated fairly at work, at school, in shops or while accessing public services such as health care and housing.
Disability
If one has a physical or mental impairment, that person has specific rights that protect them against discrimination. Employers and service providers are obliged to make relevant adjustments. Under certain circumstances this protection also extends to their carers http://www.carersuk.org/Newsandcampaigns/Carersinaction/1216739551
Gender
Men, women and transgender people should not be treated unfairly because of their gender, because they are married or because they are bringing up a family.
Race
Wherever one was born, wherever their parents came from, whatever the colour of their skin, they have a right to be treated fairly and be protected against racial discrimination and prejudice.
Sexual orientation
Whether one is straight, gay, lesbian or bisexual should not put them at a disadvantage. The law protects the citizen against discrimination in the workplace, including harassment, on grounds of sexual orientation.
See also
- British labour lawBritish labour lawUnited Kingdom labour law involves the legal relationship between workers, employers and trade unions. People at work in the UK benefit from a minimum charter of employment rights...
- Gender equalityGender equalityGender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...
- Gender inequalityGender inequalityGender inequality refers to disparity between individuals due to gender. Gender is constructed both socially through social interactions as well as biologically through chromosomes, brain structure, and hormonal differences. Gender systems are often dichotomous and hierarchical; binary gender...
- DisabilityDisabilityA disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
- Equal pay for womenEqual pay for womenEqual pay for women is an issue regarding pay inequality between men and women. It is often introduced into domestic politics in many first world countries as an economic problem that needs governmental intervention via regulation...
- Mental HealthMental healthMental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
- Human RightsHuman rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
- Antiracism
- Antisemitism
- Political correctnessPolitical correctnessPolitical correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
- multi culturalism
External links
- Equality and Human Rights Commission - The EHRC brings together the work of the three provision Commissions, the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), Disability Rights Commission (DRC) and Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC)
- Health Information Plus Website - Quality assured health information for patients, carers and the public with evaluated information sources including: NHS ScotlandNHS ScotlandNHS Scotland is the publicly funded healthcare system of Scotland. Although they are separate bodies the organisational separation between NHS Scotland and the other three healthcare organisations each commonly called the National Health Service in the United Kingdom tends to be hidden from its...
, BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
HealthHealthHealth is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
, and published healthcare research. - The Picker Institute Europe - undertakes a combination of research, development and policy activity within the healthcare sector.
- Stonewall - campaigns on behalf of the LesbianLesbianLesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, GayGayGay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, Bisexual and TransgenderTransgenderTransgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
community in the UK. It produces a broad range of useful information, research and other resources. - Improvement and Development Agency for local government (IDeA) - works for local government improvement and looks into Equality issues and policies. It is owned by the UK's Local Government AssociationLocal Government AssociationThe Local Government Association is a voluntary lobbying organisation acting as the voice of the local government sector in England and Wales, which seeks to be an authoritative and effective advocate on its behalf....
and belongs to local government. - Equality and Human Rights in the NHS (Healthcare)
- Department of Health, Investigations on racial Equality (September 2007)
- United Nations- Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- United Nations- Human Rights
- Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
- The Universal Human Rights Index of United Nations documents
- Human Rights Blog