What does Equality, Diversity and Inclusion mean?
EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) ensures fair treatment and opportunity for all. It aims to eradicate prejudice and discrimination on the basis of an individual or group of individual’s protected characteristics.
A workplace encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion can help:
- make it more successful
- keep employees happy and motivated
- prevent serious or legal issues arising, such as bullying, harassment and discrimination
- to better serve a diverse range of customers
- improve ideas and problem-solving
- attract and keep good staff
What is Equality?
At its core, equality means fairness: we must ensure that individuals, or groups of individuals, are not treated less favourably because of their protected characteristics. For example, because of a person’s sex, age or race.
Equality also means equality of opportunity: we must also ensure that those who may be disadvantaged can get the tools they need to access the same, fair opportunities as their peers.
Equality in the workplace means equal job opportunities and fairness for employees and job applicants.
What is Diversity?
Diversity is recognising, respecting and celebrating each other’s differences. A diverse environment is one with a wide range of backgrounds and mindsets, which allows for an empowered culture of creativity and innovation.
Diversity is the range of people in your workforce. For example, this might mean people with different ages, religions, ethnicities, people with disabilities, and both men and women. It also means valuing those differences.
To avoid bullying, harassment or discrimination, you should make sure:
- your workforce and managers understand what is protected by discrimination law
- what’s expected under discrimination law is actually happening in your workplace
- you make changes if what’s expected is not happening, for example stepping up staff training
- your workforce and managers understand what the benefits can be of having a range of people with different backgrounds
What is Inclusion?
Inclusion means creating an environment where everyone feels welcome and valued. An inclusive environment can only be created once we are more aware of our unconscious biases, and have learned how to manage them.
An inclusive workplace means everyone feels valued at work. It lets all employees feel safe to:
- come up with different ideas
- raise issues and suggestions to managers, knowing this is encouraged
- try doing things differently to how they’ve been done before, with management approval
An inclusive workplace can help lower the risk of bullying, harassment and discrimination.
What are the Protected Characteristics?
The following are the legal protected characteristics, under The Equality Act 2010:
- Age
- Disability
- Gender reassignment
- Marriage and civil partnership
- Pregnancy and maternity
- Race
- Religion or belief
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
Discrimination on the grounds of any of these characteristics is illegal. Discrimination can take many forms including direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, bullying, harassment and victimisation.
Read more on the following websites:
- The Equality Act 2010. (link is external)
- Protected Characteristics from The Equality and Human Rights Commission. (link is external)
