Towards a Single Equality Scheme

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Towards a Single Equality Scheme

• Chris Brill Policy Adviser

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Mission statement

• Equality Challenge Unit supports the higher
  education sector in its mission to realise the
  potential of all staff and students whatever
  their race, gender, disability, sexual
  orientation, religion and belief or age, to the
  benefit of those individuals, higher education
  institutions and society.

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The higher education context

• Unequal representation issues of equality
• Subject segregation
• Declaration of disability (2)
• Long hours culture and flexible working
• Pay gap (14)
• Lack of data (sexual orientation, religion and
  belief)

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How we work with the sector

• Working with individual higher education
  institutions, we
• respond to questions from HEIs,
• visit HEIs, particularly to talk to governing
  bodies and senior management teams
• advise equality and human resources practitioners
  in HE
• Offering sector-wide advice, we
• provide generic informative and interpretative
  advice

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UNISON and the higher education sector

• Equal pay for work of equal value
• Better pay and conditions
• An end to low pay
• Fair and equal treatment for part-time, term-time
  and temporary staff
• Access to training and career opportunities for
  all staff
• An end to discrimination in higher education

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Work with UNISON

• Gender Equality Duty Conferences
• DIGNITY AT WORK Bullying and Harassment
• Disability Equality Duty
• Staff Race Forum

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Structure

• Legislative background
• Function
• What to include
• Involvement and consultation
• Advantages and disadvantages
• Discussion

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Legislative background

• 3 Duties
• Race equality duty
• Disability equality duty
• Gender equality duty
• Equality Act 2006
• Equality/Fairness Bill?

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Function

• Planning and action
• Provide focus
• Extend to age, religion and belief and sexual
  orientation?

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What to include

• Equality Impact Assessment
• Action planning
• Data gathering
• Staff disclosure project
• LGBT research
• Equality HEIDI
• State of the Sector
• Involvement of various communities of interest

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Intersections and complexity
Source Equalities Review 2007
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Involvement and Consultation (1)

• Not just particular equality groups but all staff
  and students affected
• EOC Code of Practice
• DRC Code of Practice states that disabled people
  should be involved
• Taking involvement to the next level project
• Staff Trade Unions
• Student Unions

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Involvement and Consultation (2)

• Involve Senior Management
• Senior Management Champion
• Introductory Endorsement
• Scheme embedded in strategy, mission or plan

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Advantages

• Encourage institutions to develop their own
  solutions
• Identify meaningful equality priorities
• Align equality with institutions strategic plan
• Multiple identities
• Demonstrate commonality of experience

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Disadvantages

• Too much procedure?
• Trevor Phillips The race duty has resulted
  in an approach that places more importance on
  strict compliance with processes than on
  delivering real outcomes.
• Promote hierarchy of equality groups?
• May water down differences?
• Varying timetable may lead to confusion
• Mere compliance

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Typical omissions or mistakes (1)

• Priorities not based on data
• Very long preamble
• Doesnt cover all strands even though it says it
  does
• Too long
• Action plans not SMART

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Typical omissions and mistakes (2)

• No added value in bringing together the schemes
  as one
• A minimal approach
• Very broad-brush for each strand
• Not structured logically

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Discussion

• Questions
• Sharing best practice
• What difficulties have you faced?
• How have these been tackled?

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• 7th Floor Queens House
• 55/56 Lincoln's Inn Fields
• London
• WC2A 3LJ
• Tel [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• www.ecu.ac.uk
• Email chris.brill_at_ecu.ac.uk