ESRC Funded Seminar Series

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ESRC Funded Seminar Series Public Policy,
Equality and Diversity in the Context of
Devolution Seminar 1 Universal Principles of
Equality Implications for Different
Groups Jointly sponsored by the ESRC and
the Northern Ireland Equality Commission
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• Opening Comments
• Linda McKie, Glasgow Caledonian University
• Sheila Riddell, University of Edinburgh

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Public Policy, Equality and Diversity

• From equalities bodies or a single equalities
  body, incorporating a human rights commission
• Equality strands gender, race, disability,
  sexual orientation, age and religion
• Mainstreaming
• Equalities throughout the processes of
  development implementation
• Potential for a generic approach to equality

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Aims of the Seminar Series

• Nature implementation of mainstreaming
• Context of devolved governments in UK and wider
  contexts
• National local organisations individuals
  working across bodies and policies
• A single equalities body
• Implications for groups and policies
• Legislative policy challenges

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Aims continued.

• Engages with the concerns of academics,
  practitioners, policy-makers and equality
  activists
• Build research infrastructure in the field of
  equalities
• Promote awareness of research, policy and
  practice issues in the context of devolution

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Seminar 1 Universal Principles of Equality

• Equality of condition
• Groups Disabled, children, religions
• Bodies to body drawing across the equality
  strands
• Discussants
• Networks and outputs

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Equality Policies the importance of equality of
condition Kathleen Lynch Centre for Equality
Studies, University College Dublin
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Mainstreaming Equality Theories Towards a
Generic Model of Discrimination Sally
Witcher University of Edinburgh
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The starting point

• Mainstreaming equality means the
  incorporation of Equal Opportunities issues into
  all actions, programmes and policies from the
  outset BUT
• Are issues/ barriers the same for all groups?
• Do interests of groups conflict?
• Separate academic study of different groups
• Competing accounts within study of each

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The case for a generic approach

• Recognised that in any group members will have
  multiple characteristics
• Engaging with other perspectives could enable a
  more holistic, comprehensive appreciation of
  discrimination/ inequality
• Theoretical level understanding may help avoid
  mistakes based on superficial evidence

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Defining discrimination

• A matter of identifying differences can be
  positive or negative
• Process by which people are allocated to social
  categories with unequal rights, power, resources,
  etc
• Differential treatment of classes of people
• Needs to be morally justifiable and legally
  permissible

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Defining oppression

• Inhuman Degrading treatment
• Negative demeaning exercise of power zero sum
• Social positions linked to values, attributes
• norm of the homogenous public the fate of
  unassimilated persons

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Implications

• Discrimination as process error?
• Oppression an outcome of process error or a
  cause of it?
• The negative, serious, impact of power on the
  powerless
• Repression of characteristics, limiting of
  potential, reshaping of behaviours
• Material disadvantage, poverty

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Themes from the group-based literatures

• Social categorisation
• Socio-cultural/ political context
• Biological and genetic explanations
• The psychology of identity and behaviour
• Systems and interactive processes

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Social categorisation

• Is it intrinsically discriminatory and
  oppressive?
• Queer theory rejects categorisation
• Essentialist
• Race distinctions not naturally given
• Universalising disability
• But practicalities, equitable treatment?

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Socio-cultural context

• Eurocentrism, androcentrism, ethnocentrism
• Capitalism
• Institutional discrimination
• The social model

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Biological and genetic explanations

• Medical disease, unhealthy behaviours
• Race attempts to show genetic inferiority
• Gender intersex interventions, biological role,
  behaviours
• The search for the gay gene
• The medical model

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The psychology of identity and behaviour

• Socialisation, social learning, identification
  theory (gender)
• Systems/ Transactional model how interactions
  can reinforce behaviours (disability)
• Biopsychosocial model physical limitations
  filtered through beliefs expectations

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Systems and interactive processes

• Identity as performative
• doing gender
• Interactive model (disability)
• The interface between individual and their
  environment and systems through which it occurs
• 3 sites for adjustment?

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Towards a generic framework

• Themes largely compatible, mutually reinforcing
  new insights
• Consistent with discrimination as process error
• Criteria, etc set ? access ? assessment ?
  categorisation ? allocation/ delivery
• Deliberate/ not deliberate direct/ indirect
  levels institutional, personal

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Implications for mainstreaming equality

• Involvement of external stakeholders
• Deconstruction of processes
• Training for assessors
• Focus on group commonalities and individual
  uniqueness
• Reshaping oppressive/ liberating potential?
• Positive action historical/ psychological
  disadvantage

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Conclusion

• To bring together the group-based literatures
  poses new questions and reveals fresh
  perspectives to apply to each. Although it cannot
  answer every question, a generic model begins to
  take shape through which to rethink identity and
  action to remove barriers for everyone
  experiencing discrimination and oppression

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Ensuring Equality of Religion Belief New
Challenges John Brewer University of Aberdeen
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Children and the Equalities Agenda Anne
Stafford University of Edinburgh
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Policy Discussant Saheema Rawat, Equality
Challenge Unit
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Working Across the Equality Strands Lessons from
Experience Evelyn Collins Equality Commission
for Northern Ireland
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Policy Discussant Niall Crowley, Equality
Authority Ireland Academic Discussant Yvonne
Galligan, Queens University Belfast
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Close Sheila Riddell University of Edinburgh