The British council is committed to equal opportunity and diversity.

We have a rolling programme of Diversity awareness training for all staff.  Our “First Steps” workshop was pioneered by one of our internal Diversity Consultants from the UK and a local Hong Kong based trainer from  Community Business. It raises awareness of diversity issues including the legal position in Hong Kong, the British Council's approach to diversity, and challenges assumptions we sometimes make about people's gender or race or disability.  We have also had guests from Hong Kong Rehabilitation Power speaking about disability in the workplace.

In December 2006 we then held our “Next Steps” workshops to explore barriers to diversity, to raise awareness and sensitise people about behaviour and its impact on others, explore how behaviour can be affected by gender, race and ethnicity, the impact of language and pointers for inclusive behaviour.

Our Disability Awareness Training raises awareness of disability issues for an organisation such as British Council, exploring what is included under the term ‘disability’, practical issues related to disability in an office and relating external programmes as well as understanding the place of disability in UK society. Participants were inspired by our trainer, Simon Minty, and his sharing of experience and from him, understood very quickly what disabilities can mean from a different perspective.

Our Diversity Working Group members are drawn from a cross-section of the Council's workforce and work to continually raise awareness of diversity issues across the organisation. British Council Hong Kong is also a member of the British Council's world-wide Diversity network and participates in Diversity network activities and conferences, the most recent one being held in Beijing in 2007.

Externally, we have supported a number of diversity initiatives including the Hong Kong Lesbian & Gay Film & Video Festival in November 2006 and held several Interactive Riding Sessions bringing students with able and disabled bodies to meet Equestrian Paralympics gold medallists from the UK, Lee Pearson and Debbie Criddle, for dressage demonstrations as well as sharing sessions where the gold medallists encouraged students by telling their own story from courage to glory.  Lee Pearson was born with arthrogryposis multiplex congenital, has grown into one of the UK’s most successful sportsmen who has won 6 Paralympics Games dressage gold medals, 5 World Championships and notable victories in able bodied championships.  Debbie Criddle had a motorcycle accident in 1985 that badly injured the right side of her body where she lost her right arm.  She had won individual, freestyle and team gold at the 2002 European Championships, the 2003 World Championships and the 2005 Athens Paralympics.

BRITISH COUNCIL HONG KONG GENDER RATIO

Gender profile: Male 36%  Female 64%

BRITISH COUNCIL HONG KONG AGE DISTRIBUTION CHART

All Staff (as of May 2007)

The British Council is charged with representing the very best of modern, diverse UK, and the Diversity Unit of the British Council (based in the UK) encourages this through the services it offers, the programmes it runs and through the profile of its workforce.

We have developed our Integrated Equality Scheme to help us promote equality and eliminate discrimination in the areas of gender, race and disability. Find out how we are applying this scheme worldwide here.

The British Council has been named the most gay-friendly employer in the UK by Stonewall, a group who work to ensure that the rights and needs of lesbians, gay men and bisexuals are addressed in the wider community. Stonewall released their first ever Corporate Equality Index, in January 2005 and the British Council came top.  Sir David Green, then Director General of the British Council has said that he was 'thrilled' that his organisation had topped the Index. This recognises our work 'to promote equality and diversity in our employment practices both in the UK and around the world,' he said.