EQUALITY & DIVERSITY
UP DATING TRAINING
Jan Tothill September 2015
EQUALITY & DIVERSITY
OUTLINE
 Understanding Key terms
 Providing an Inclusive
Service
 Equality in Action
UNDERSTANDING KEY TERMS
Learning Objectives
 Understand the meaning of ‘equality’ and
‘diversity’
 Understand the meanings of ‘prejudice’,
‘direct discrimination’ and ‘indirect
discrimination’
 Identify the 9 protected characteristics
UNDERSTANDING KEY TERMS

Which of the following describes ‘equality’?
 Equality is about treating everyone the same
regardless of the differences between them
 Equality is about positive discrimination,
choosing people for jobs or promotion,
because they are from a particular group for
example black or female
 Equality is about treating people according
to their needs and goals
Equality is about treating everyone fairly and with equal
levels of respect..
Sometimes by treating people the same we can actually
treat them unfairly because of their different needs
UNDERSTANDING KEY TERMS
Which of the following describes
‘diversity’?
 Diversity is about making sure that
you treat everyone the same
regardless of their difference
 Diversity means equality
 Diversity is about recognising that
 everyone is different and valuing that
difference
 Diversity is about positive
discrimination
UNDERSTANDING KEY TERMS
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Equality Law says it is illegal to
discriminate against certain groups of
people. Which groups of people would
be protected in the workplace?
 Someone who is overweight
 A Christian
 A person with ginger hair
 An individual with learning difficulties
 A gay man
 An 18 year old who has just left
school
UNDERSTANDING KEY TERMS
PROTECTED CHARACTERISTICS
 Age
 Gender reassignment
 Marriage (including same sex
marriage) and civil partnership
 Pregnancy and maternity
 Race
 Religion or belief
 Gender
 Sexual orientation
UNDERSTANDING KEY TERMS
 Prejudice occurs when we have a
negative attitude towards an
individual or group that is based
solely on their membership or
perceived membership of that group
 Discrimination refers to an
unfavourable action or behaviour that
occurs based on that person’s
(perceived) membership of a
particular group
UNDERSTANDING KEY TERMS
DIRECT DISCRIMINATION
 When someone is treated less
favourably than another person
because of a protected characteristic
they are thought to have or because
they have associated wit someone who
has a protected characteristic
 E.g. refusing a woman a job on
grounds of her gender even though
best qualified or considering someone
for promotion because they care for
someone who is disabled
UNDERSTANDING KEY TERMS
INDIRECT DISCRIMINATION
 Occurs when a provision, criterion or
practice does not appear to be
discriminatory but which in reality,
disadvantages people because of a
protected characteristic
 E.g. advertising for a role that
requires 10 years experience would
indirectly discriminate against people
in their 20’s who may well have the
skills to do the job.
UNDERSTANDING KEY TERMS
 A local cinema requires all employees
to wear uniform that includes short
sleeve t-shirts and a baseball cap
Indirect
 When looking at a CV, the employer
looks at the person’s Facebook page
and sees they are disabled. They
remove them from the short list
although they have had a successful
career, as they believe and nondisabled person would be a better allround person.
Direct
Providing an Inclusive Service
Learning objectives
 Appreciate the importance of accurately
identifying a customer’s need
 Identify the different types of barriers
that customers may face to access your
service
 Understand your role in helping
customers overcome barriers they may
face
 Describe how equalities fit with the 3
stages of providing an effective customer
service
Providing an Inclusive Service
 Customer can include people from
other businesses and organisations,
your colleagues and partners
 We offer a fair and inclusive service
Providing an Inclusive Service
If you have a deaf customer, what
arrangements would you be expected
to make for an interview?
  Speak your questions clearly
 Providing a hearing loop for their
 hearing aid

Arrange
for
a
sign
language
 interpreter
 Communicate in writing
  Make sure you do not sit with your
 back to the light
Providing an Inclusive Service


How do you treat customers?
 Treat them as you would want to be
treated
 Treat them all the same
 Treat according to their needs
 Treat as customers want to be treated
Providing an Inclusive Service
Barriers to providing an inclusive service
 Environmental
 Organisational
 Behavioural
Removing Barriers
 Remove it – change a way a service is
operated
 Reduce it – such that it doesn’t pose a
significant problem
 Help a customer overcome it – by
providing assistance or alternatives
Providing an Inclusive Service

You ask a customer to complete a form,
but they become difficult and don’t
seem to want to fill it in
 Say ‘ next’ loudly and serve the next
customer
 Tell them you are going to cancel their
application
 Ask them why they won’t fill it in
 Give them other options, such as
taking the form away with them or
receiving it in alternative formats
Providing an Inclusive Service
Three stages of effective customer
service
 Identify customer need
 Check how the customer wants their
need met
 Take action to meet the customer’s
request
Equality in Action
 Previous sections of this presentation have
shown the benefits that practicing equality
can bring
 One approach is do the bear minimum to
avoid breaking the law
 However many organisations realise that
taking equality a step further has a
significant number of benefits for both staff
and customers
Equality in Action
 Increasingly our customers and staff base
is diverse. Equality is a key factor in
determining efficiency, productivity and
overall success, through welcoming all
members of the community and
recognising that everyone has diverse
needs.
Equality in Action
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What are the benefits of making equality a
key part of an organisation’s practice?
 Increased customer retention
 Improvement to the organisation’s
reputation
 Increase in staff wages
 Increased productivity and team
achievement
 A widening of the pool of talent/skills your
organisation can draw from
 Increased union bargaining powers
 More satisfied customers
Equality in Action
 What next?