Lecture 5: EQUALITY &
DIVERSITY
Equality is not about treating all people in the same way. It’s about recognising and respecting diversity enough to adapt practice and
procedure to suit all.
Module: Law for Counsellors
Kevin Standish
Learning Objectives
• Define and describe Equality and Diversity
• identify ways that people are different
• show an awareness of personal assumptions and attitudes
• understand differing types of discrimination
• Define and describe the Equality Act 2010
Equality & Diversity
• What do you think the definition of Equality & Diversity might be?
Definitions
• Equality – ‘equal rights and treatment
to all individuals’
• Diversity – ‘difference from what is
normal or expected’
Activity
Draw/describe one of the following:
• A Model
• Footballer
• Athlete
• Doctor’s receptionist
• Construction Worker
• Engineer
• Beauty Therapist
A Model
Dawn French has her
own clothing range
which she models.
Jean-Paul Gaultier shook the
modelling world in 2006
using outsized models.
Footballers
Women’s England
Football Team
The F.A. supports six
international disability squads
for players with differing kinds
of disabilities. These are: Blind,
Partially Sighted, Deaf and
Hearing Impaired, Cerebral
Palsy, Learning Disabilities,
Amputee.
The teams all receive official
England kit, a physio, a fully-
trained technical advisor, and
money towards travel costs for
attending European and World
Championships.
Athlete
Tanni Grey Thomson
9 Gold Medals in the
Paralympics, 30
world records 6
London Marathons
Oscar Pistorius
World record holder in
amputee races
Sumo Wrestling
A competitive contact sport
which originated in Japan
the only country where it is
practiced professionally.
Doctor’s Receptionist
Frank
Construction Worker
Samantha
EngineerGemma is an Engineer
working for BT
Wang Shuming is a disabled
engineer working for the Jinlin
branch of China Netcom
Beauty Therapist
Kurt
Diversity
• What is diversity?
• Diversity means valuing the differences between people and the ways in which those differences can contribute to a richer, more creative and more productive working environment
Diversity is about respecting
individual…………..
• Race
• Culture
• National Origin
• Region
• Gender
• Sexual Orientation
• Age
• Marital Status
• Religion
• Ethnicity
• Disability
• Ability
• Family Structure
• Health
• Values
• Politics
………..and much more
“Discrimination
is prejudices put
into action.”
Firms free to favour
female and black job
applicants... Mail online, 4
December 2008
Will the
Equality Act
make
everyone
equal before
the law? The Times, 15 April 2010
Equality plans
‘class war’
claim... BBC
News, 12 January 2009
EQUALITY ACT 2010
The Equality Act - Introduction
• Single largest piece of
anti-discrimination
legislation the UK has
known.
• Harmonises multiple
pieces of primary and
secondary legislation.
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Purpose of the ActStrengthening, harmonising and streamlining 40 years of
equalities
legislation:
Strengthening: improving the effectiveness of equality
legislation
Harmonising: providing the same levels of protection from
discrimination across all the protected characteristics and all
sectors, where appropriate
Streamlining: simplifying and consolidating approximately 116
pieces of separate equality legislation
The purpose of the legislation
“The purpose of the Bill and its accompanying package of measures is to strengthen protection, advance equality and de-clutter the law.”
We will...
1. Introduce a new Equality Duty on the public sector
2. End age discrimination
3. Require transparency
4. Extend the scope of ‘positive action’
5. Strengthen reinforcement
Protected Characteristics under
the Equality Act 2010• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage and civil
partnership
• Pregnancy &
maternity
• Race
• Religion and/or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation
Discrimination
There are different types of discrimination:
• Direct Discrimination
• Indirect Discrimination
• Associative Discrimination
• Perceptive Discrimination
• Harassment (Third Party)
• Victimisation
• Disability Discrimination
Direct Discrimination
What it is...
“Person A directly discriminates against
Person B when A treats B less
favourably than A would treats or would
treat others in the same circumstances”
Example of Direct Discrimination
“A 70 year old lady was refused abroadband contract by CarphoneWarehouse in the UK and was told that shecould only register if she came to the storewith a younger member of her family. TheCarphone Warehouse had providedguidance to staff not to sell broadbandcontracts to customers aged 70+ as theybelieve they will not understand the termsof the contract.”
Source: www.equineteurope.org
Indirect Discrimination
What it is...
“This happens when a requirement is
applied equally to everyone but has the
effect of excluding one group of people
more than another”
Example of Indirect
Discrimination
Your employer brings in a new shift pattern
which means that everyone has to work fewer
but longer days. You have a disability that means
you’re exhausted after two long days of working.
So the new shift pattern puts you and other
people who have the same disability as you at a
disadvantage. Your employer will have indirectly
discriminated against you if it can’t justify the
new shift pattern.
Source: www.equalities.gov.uk
Associative Discrimination
What it is...
“Less favourable treatment because of
someone else’s protected characteristic.”
Example of Associative
DiscriminationColeman v Attridge Law 2008
Sharon Coleman claimed managers at Attridge Lawcalled her ‘lazy’ when she requested time off to care forher disabled son. She accepted voluntary redundancy,but later brought a claim for constructive dismissal anddisability discrimination. A UK employment tribunalreferred the case to the European Court of Justice toclarify European law. The ECJ ruled that able-bodiedpeople can be covered by the Disability DiscriminationAct because of their association with people coveredby equality law.
Source: www.personneltoday.com/articles/2008
Perceptive Discrimination
What it is...
“Discrimination against an individualbecause of a perception that he or shehas a protected characteristic when he orshe does not, in fact, have that protectedcharacteristic.”
(other than marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity)
Example of Perceptive
DiscriminationExample 1
“An employer rejects a job application submitted by a white manwhom the employer wrongly assumes to be black because he hasan African name.”
Example 2
“An employee is subjected to religious
abuse on the basis that he supports a
particular football team, even though
he does not actually belong to the
religion associated with that football
team.”
Source: www.mcgrigors.com
Harassment and
Third Party HarassmentWhat it is...
“Unwanted conduct related to a
relevant protected characteristic.”
In addition, employers can be legally
liable for the harassing conduct of
third parties. A third party would
include a client, customer, supplier,
visitor, contractor, service user etc.
Three strikes and you’re out!
Example of Third Party
Harassment
“The employee or job applicant is harassed
by a third party on more than two occasions
(not necessarily by the same person). The
employer knows that it has happened but
fails to take steps that are reasonable in the
circumstances to prevent such harassment
happening to that person again.”
Source: www.equalities.gov.uk
Victimisation
What it is...
This happens when an individual is
singled out because they have used the
system to make a complaint or challenge
treatment received.
Example of Victimisation
“If you are lesbian and your fellow colleaguesstarted passing unwelcome comments aboutyour sexuality and you complained to yourmanager, but rather than doing something aboutthe problem you are sacked for no reason or forno good reason and you believe that it isbecause of the complaint you raised, you mayclaim compensation for being victimised formaking a complaint about sexual orientationdiscrimination.”
Source: www.balindaandcoemploymentsolicitors.co.uk
Disability Discrimination
What it is...
Person A discriminates a disabled Person B if Atreats B unfavourably because of something arisingin consequence of B’s disability.
Types of claims:
• “Because of”
• Detriment arising from the disability
• Reasonable adjustments by employer
• Indirect discrimination
Example of Disability
Discrimination“Amir is a 12-year-old student with autism andsensory difficulties. One day he becomes veryanxious when the fire alarm goes off in school.He stands with his hands covering his ears andis unable to move. The teacher tells Amir to leavethe building but the pupil is frozen to the spot.The teacher shouts at Amir and the situationescalates to a point where the pupil lashes out atthe teacher. Amir is excluded from school for twodays for assaulting the teacher.”
Source: www.westsussex.gov.uk
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Where does the Act apply?
• Services and Public Functions
• Premises
• Work
• Education
• Associations, including Political Parties
Assumptions
• WHAT assumptions do we make about people?
• WHY do we come to the conclusions we do?
• WHEN do we tend to make these assumptions?
• WHERE can this cause us difficulties?
• HOW can we stop ourselves doing this?
• WHO does it and who does it affect?
• 18. Practitioners should not allow their professional relationships with clients to be prejudiced by any personal views they may hold about lifestyle, gender, age, disability, race, sexual orientation, beliefs or culture.
• 53. They should not allow their professional relationships with colleagues to be prejudiced by their own personal views about a colleague’s lifestyle, age, gender, disability, gender reassignment, race, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership or sex. It is unacceptable and unethical to discriminate against colleagues on any of these grounds.
Further information
The Government Equalities Office (GEO)
http://www.equalities.gov.uk/
CIPD - Equal opportunities in
employment
http://www.cipd.co.uk/about/jobs/eqop.ht
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