Diversity Assessment Framework
This is our overarching diversity measurement tool and is used to assess progress organisation-wide with mainstreaming diversity. Each British Council offices reviews their work and gathers evidence against a series of different indicators. There are two mandatory levels and an optional best practice level. Submissions for them are done via a combination of evidence and signed assurance statements.. The mandatory levels are assessed by a panel and a score is awarded from 1 to 10 which then forms part of the country’s overall performance evaluation in the organisation’s performance scorecard.

We have written a book explaining how we believe the DAF has helped us to manage diversity internationally. Called Internationalising Diversity Management:the British Council's Diversity Assessment Framework, the booklet can be downloaded by anyone who is interested in finding out about this tool and the impact it has had. The booklet is also available in Word.

Equality monitoring
We have been collecting data from our UK contracted staff and analysing it each year since 2001. The data we collect includes details of age, disability, ethnicity/race, gender, religion/belief, sexual orientation and working pattern. Equality monitoring helps us to build up a detailed picture of who we employ and this helps us to assess the impact of our Equal Opportunity Policy and Diversity Strategy. From the recommendations, we can examine our processes, identify trends and patterns, highlight progress and note where further action is needed to ensure unjustified discrimination is eliminated and equality is promoted. Please read our latest equality monitoring report.

Equality screening and impact assessment
This refers to a formal process where we review the likely impact of all proposed policies, functions or practices on different groups of people.

This helps us to think about how our suggested way of working might affect different groups and consider if there is any potential for unjustified discrimination that we could change, or any opportunity to promote equality that we could introduce. To find out more about our equality screening and impact assessment please contact the diversity unit.

Disability Advisory Panel
Our Disability Advisory Panel are an external group with significant personal and/or professional experience in the area of disability, who have agreed to help us promote disability equality across all aspects of our work. The Panel includes people from a wide age range, different regions of the UK, and offers a broad spectrum of experience of disability, including physical, sensory, learning and mental health. To find out more about who is on our Panel and what they do,please read through their profiles. Below are some interviews from our DAP members:

• Eleanor Lisney
• David Slingsby
• Maha Khochen
• Miro Griffiths
• Wael Abdin
• Zara Todd

Disability symbol - double tick
The disability symbol is made up of two ticks and the words 'positive about disabled people'. The symbol is awarded by Jobcentre Plus (a UK Government agency) to employers in England, Scotland and Wales who have made commitments to employ, keep and develop the abilities of disabled staff. You will see the symbol displayed on our job adverts, application forms and other marketing material.  We use this symbol to demonstrate that we are positive about employing disabled people and want to encourage disabled people to find out more about working with us.  Employers who use the disability symbol make five commitments regarding recruitment, training, retention, consultation and disability awareness.  Although the symbol is part of a UK scheme, many of our offices worldwide use the symbol to demonstrate that they are 'positive about disabled people'.  Find out more about the disability symbol from the official website.

Disability Working Group
Our internal Disability Working Group is comprised by staff from across the UK who give 5% of their time to the group. They meet about six times a year and help us to take forward the disability related action points in our Integrated Equality Scheme and to generally keep disability on the corporate agenda.

UK Attachment Experience Scheme
The UK Attachment Experience Scheme is a development opportunity involving colleagues from offices outside the UK spending time in a UK office, undertaking an attachment with UK-based colleagues. It is aimed specifically at colleagues who do not ordinarily have the opportunity for the exposure the scheme provides in the course of their work. It will therefore target those who might benefit most from this exposure to the wider work of the British Council because their employment to date, which typically will have spanned a number of years, has not previously allowed for this. Given the key role the British Council plays in promoting the achievements of the UK, the scheme recognises and responds to the fact that staff in a range of jobs benefit from an understanding of and exposure to our UK offices, and the cultural context in which the organisation is rooted.