As the UK’s principal cultural relations organisation, we are committed to equality of opportunity, to valuing and managing diversity and to taking positive action to promote these. Our work involves developing relationships with people from a wide range of backgrounds. Engaging positively with the richness of this diversity is central to our cultural relations role and objectives and is in line with our core values.
Equality of opportunity is about treating people fairly and without bias and about creating conditions in the workplace and wider society that encourage and value diversity and promote dignity. It is also about trying to redress past imbalances and ensuring that dealings with clients, customers and suppliers are conducted in a constructive way which does not give rise to unjustified discrimination and supports appropriate inclusion.
Diversity is concerned with creating an inclusive environment and practices which benefit the organisation and those who work in and with it. It takes account of the fact that people differ from one another in many ways. Understanding, valuing and effectively managing these differences can result in greater participation that can be leveraged for success at an individual, team and organisational level.The British Council's Equal Opportunity Policy stems from the United Kingdom where it was originally developed and where the organisation has its head office. This policy is applied in the United Kingdom and in all the locations in which the British Council operates and in which such policies are permitted by local legislation.
In order to make progress the British Council has developed various policies and tools to help us reach our goals:
Our Diversity Strategy is underpinned by the belief that external relationships with clients, customers and partners throughout the world should reflect the standards and behaviours by which we manage diversity internally. The strategy corresponds with the UK Government’s own vision of inclusion and diversity where every individual is able to fulfil their potential and make their contribution to society, with an emphasis on promoting equality in an integrated way, taking account of the needs of all groups and providing protection for everyone.
Our Equal Opportunities Policy helps to ensure that there is no unjustified discrimination in the recruitment, retention, training and development of staff on the basis of gender, marital status, sexual identity, religion and belief, political opinion, ethnicity/race, work pattern, age, disability or HIV/AIDS status, socio-economic background, spent convictions, trade union activity or membership, or on the basis of having or not having dependants. Our Equal Opportunities Policy benefits employees and potential employees and helps achieve dignity at work and contributes to providing the best possible services to partners and clients.
We have developed our Integrated Equality Scheme to help us promote equality and eliminate discrimination in the areas of gender, race and disability. As a UK public body we are legally required to promote equality in these areas, but because we are an international organisation, the scheme applies worldwide, not just in the UK.
For further information please consult our corporate website. You will find links on the left hand side of this screen to France related diversity activities.
| 
