Equal Opportunities and Diversity


		We work to promote the UK’s achievements in equal opportunities and diversity, and to showcase relevant British Council work in this area.

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	EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES AND DIVERSITY


	Valuing people, integrity, professionalism, mutuality and creativity

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.

In order to make progress we have developed various policies and tools to help us reach our goals:

Our Integrated Equality Scheme (PDF, 196 KB)
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.

Our Equal Opportunities Policy (MS Word, 113 KB)
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.

Diversity Strategy (MS Word, 106 KB)
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.

For more information contact our diversity champion Federica Esposito or visit our global EO&D page