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 7 main areas:
We believe it is positive to have a workforce of employees of different ages and to encourage the contributions of younger and older people, within the terms of our core business. We require staff and suppliers to ensure that there is no unjustified age discrimination in work related activities and to promote age diversity as appropriate and practicable.
We are committed to addressing discrimination against disabled people and to promoting their inclusion in public life. We recognise that disabled people, including those with specific learning differences and mental health issues, are disabled not through their own individual impairments or relative ability, but through common social attitudes and physical and attitudinal barriers which result in marginalisation and lack of access to full human rights, and we aspire to address this by consciously identifying and removing such barriers and making reasonable adjustments.
We are committed to tackling gender discrimination. Whilst accepting that discrimination against men can occur and must be addressed, our focus is on promoting equality and eradicating discrimination in relation to women and girls who worldwide frequently experience social and economic disadvantage, negative attitudes, alienation, abuse and violence.
We recognise that people suffer discrimination based on their gender re-assignment, or perceived gender re-assignment, or because they are transgender. We respect everyone’s right to live in their preferred gender identity and will offer appropriate support as far as possible within the workplace and in the course of our activities.
We recognise that racial discrimination is a complex phenomenon which can be based on grounds of ‘race’, nationality, religion, culture and/or colour and other physical markers linked to ethnic belonging.
Our work is enriched by the different ethnic/racial, cultural groups and travelling communities we engage with. However, conflict based on ethnic/racial differences, including asylum seeker and refugee status, continues to exist and undermines community cohesion. We require all staff and suppliers to ensure no unjustified discrimination on grounds of race/ethnicity takes place and to take positive action to support the inclusion of racial/ethnic groups and promote good, reciprocal relations and equality of opportunity.
We value and respect the religion and belief and cultural diversity of staff working in the British Council and in the communities in which we operate, and make every endeavour to ensure that needs and preferences are met. In some countries we provide prayer facilities and take other actions.
Where there are existing work requirements which may conflict with particular cultural and religious needs, we carefully consider whether it is reasonably practical to vary or adapt these to enable needs to be met.
Requests for the accumulation of annual leave or unpaid leave in order to visit relatives overseas or undertake pilgrimage requires constructive consideration. This also holds for requests for unpaid leave or the exchange of public holidays for other Holy Days of Obligation for example Eid, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Diwali and Guru Nanak.
We are committed to tackling discrimination and harassment against lesbian, gay and bisexual people and respect the right of individuals to be open or otherwise about their sexual orientation. This is not compromised we believe by the confidential collection of equality monitoring data.
All colleagues have the right to expect that their private life will be respected and that negative messages or stereotypes on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation will not be reinforced at work.
We understand the benefits of helping employees to balance their work and personal commitments and are committed to supporting staff to work flexibly wherever this is operationally possible. In order to achieve this, we have policies related to a range of flexible working arrangements and ones related to adoptive, maternity and paternity leave, career breaks, special leave, carer leave, assistance with childcare and parental leave.
We progress our Equal Opportunities Policy through our Diversity Strategy and through a commitment to mainstreaming equality and diversity principles and practices and monitoring our progress.
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 please click here.
If you want more information about equal opportunity & diversity at the British Council, please contact our EO&D Coordinator.
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.
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