Equal opportunities and diversity
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CloseEmployees, volunteers and people who use your services have legal protection against discrimination in a number of areas.
People currently have legal protection against discrimination in the following main areas:
- age
- gender
- race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins
- religion or belief
- disability or to fail to make reasonable adjustments
- sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment
- pregnancy or maternity,
- because someone is married or is a civil partner.
Employers can be held to discriminate in three different ways:
- Direct discrimination occurs when an employer treats someone less favourably on the grounds of their age, race, gender, pay, disability, religion, belief or sexual orientation.
- Indirect discrimination occurs where an employer applies an unnecessary condition or requirement to a job which prevents certain people from applying, for example, applying a height restriction in a job where satisfactory job performance does not require someone of a particular height.
- Victimisation occurs when someone who has alleged discrimination or supported another employee to make a claim, is victimised for their actions.
An equal opportunities policy is one of the essential policies for your organisation.
Diversity
Many organisations have widened their equal opportunites policies to include diversity. The Good Trustee Guide (NCVO) defines it as being:
"...more wide-reaching than equal opportunities. It incorporates the principle that all should receive equal rights but also that, rather than ignoring the differences that exist between people, diversity should instead be recognised and respected. By doing so, it creates an environment where everyone feels valued for their individual talents and where their skills and competencies are fully utilised."
Source: Published with permission from Cass Centre for Charity Effectiveness. This material is taken from "Tools for Success: doing the right things and doing them right", published in October 2008. Download or buy your copy from Cass Centre for Charity Effectiveness.
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