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| Apprenticeships - 3. Equal Opportunities |
Equal Opportunities and
Discrimination Issues
What Is Meant By Equal Opportunities?
Equal Opportunities is all about removing bias from existing policies, procedures and practices, ignoring past imbalances, and taking steps to reduce the effects of previous discrimination, in order to allow people equal access to employment and services.
Definitions
It is important that we understand what is meant by 'prejudice', 'stereotyping' and 'discrimination'. Different dictionaries provide slightly differing definitions, but in the context of Equal Opportunities and Diversity Awareness, reasonable definitions would be:
Prejudice
A preconceived opinion (for or against) based on little or no fact or a faulty or inflexible generalisation.
In its worst sense prejudice is about the ideas we have of others that are in some way different to us and about the negative assumptions and pre-judgements we make through a lack of knowledge and understanding. Clearly there is a link to our personal values in this context.
Stereotyping
Putting people into specific groups, and judging them by that, even though it may be a wrong assumption.
Discrimination
An action based on prejudice.
Discrimination is simply to make or see a difference. In the context of Equal Opportunities the above definition emphasises the negative connotations of discrimination in that the distinction made or acted upon is unfair and unjust.
Relevant Legislation and Enforcement
Race Relations Act 1976
Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000
Sex Discrimination Acts 1975 and 1986
Equal Pay Act 1970
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Human Rights Act 1988
Race Relations Act 1976
This Act aims to control discrimination on the grounds of:
Colour
Race
Nationality
Ethnic/National origin
Matters falling within the parameters of the Act are the responsibility of the The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE).
The Act covers discrimination in the areas of employment, training, education and the provision of goods, facilities and services.
Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000
This Act made several new provisions not contained within the 1976 Act and closed several loopholes.
Sex Discrimination Act 1975
This legislation aims to prevent discrimination on the grounds of sex or marital status, either directly or indirectly, in relation to issues of employment, housing, education or the provision of services or goods.
The provisions apply to both women and men equally.
Sexual harassment is defined as unwanted sexual advances, sexually explicit derogatory statements or sexually discriminatory remarks, which are offensive to the person involved and which cause the person to feel embarrassed, threatened, humiliated, patronised or harassed.
Sexual harassment can be in the form of:
Physical harassment - Indecent assault, for example, unwanted touching
patting, pinching or groping.
Verbal harassment - Unwelcome sexual advances, rude suggestions
lewd comments
Non-verbal conduct - Leering, whistling, rude noises or gestures
Any other sex-based - Rude gestures or insults which are gender-related
and offensive
Equal Pay Act 1970
This act seeks to ensure that, in the field of employment, men and women who do the same type of work receive the same rewards.
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
This piece of legislation covers issues beyond the field of employment. Disabled means a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial long-term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out day-to-day functions. Although there are exemptions, the Act requires employers and others, to make reasonable adjustments to prevent people from being disadvantaged.
Human Rights Act 1998
This Act incorporated the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms into UK domestic law.
Article 14 of the convention gives the right of an individual not to be discriminated against. It does not however, provide a free standing right against discrimination. What it is concerned with is the way in which the other rights are protected.
This means an issue of discrimination under Article 14 of the Human Rights Act can only be raised when an alleged breach of another Article is alleged. For example: a person alleges an unlawful arrest (breach of Article 5 - Right to Liberty) but it occurred as a result or because of their origin (breach of Article 14 - Discrimination).
Certain areas are not directly covered by legislation namely:
Religious beliefs
Age
Sexual Orientation
However cases have occurred where discrimination on one of these issues has been brought under some other protected category. For example: a man discriminated against because of his homosexuality, won his case because the discrimination was considered to be on the grounds of sex and therefore a breach of the Sex Discrimination Act.
With the advent of the Human Rights Act any kind of discrimination could be argued as a breach of a person's human rights. Future legislation will undoubtedly be introduced to cover all areas of discrimination not yet addressed.
Anti Discriminatory Practices
This consists of four elements:
Knowledge - Knowing and recognising how prejudice and discrimination work
and understanding the processes at work. How our culture has influenced
our thinking.
Values - Understanding our personal values and how this affects our attitudes
and behaviour. Recognising personal prejudices and seeking to overcome
them. Recognising where personal and organisational values differ.
Performance can suffer and stress levels can rise.
Skills - Applying knowledge and values to practice. Using communication
skills appropriately. Being self aware and dealing with people appropriately
despite prejudices. Reflecting on performance.
Experience - Continuous development through experience and increased
knowledge. Reflecting on experiences, both positive and negative, and
learning from them. Learning from experiences of others.
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