Home > About us > Our Equal opportunity and Diversity

Equal opportunity is focused on legislating against unjustified discrimination and the fair treatment of specific groups. It’s about treating people fairly, identifying and removing barriers that get in the way of this and redressing existing imbalances, so that groups which continue to be disadvantaged gain access to opportunities for full participation in the workplace and in wider society.  

Diversity is focused on making effective use of the differences and similarities between people. It’s about creating working environments that value a range of differences, believing that understanding and managing these can lead to organisational and societal benefit.

When we talk about equal opportunity and diversity in the British Council, we focus on seven main areas:

			Age
			Disability
			Ethnicity / race
			Gender (which includes transgender)
			Religion / belief
			Sexual orientation
			Work-life balance

We believe the best way to manage diversity is to ensure that it is built into all processes and functions, considered as part of all policy decisions, and present in the planning of all programmes from start to finish.

Our Equal Opportunity Policy and Diversity Strategy outline our commitment.

For details of our corporate approach to Equal Opportunities and Diversity, see our corporate website.