320 likes | 461 Views
DIVERSITY CHAMPIONS SCOTLAND 4 th June 2009. A Public Sector Duty. Schedule. 12.45pm Registration and lunch 2.00pm Welcome , Calum Irving, Director, Stonewall Scotland 2.10pm Scotland, LGBT and the Equality Bill , Derek Munn, Director of Public Affairs, Stonewall GB
E N D
DIVERSITY CHAMPIONS SCOTLAND4th June 2009 A Public Sector Duty
Schedule 12.45pm Registration and lunch 2.00pm Welcome, Calum Irving, Director, Stonewall Scotland 2.10pm Scotland, LGBT and the Equality Bill, Derek Munn, Director of Public Affairs, Stonewall GB 2.30pm Fairness for LGBT people, Gillian Miller, Policy Manager, Stonewall Scotland 2.50pm Success factors and good practice, Lesley Crozier, Scottish Workplace Officer, Stonewall Scotland 3.10pm Questions and discussion 3.30pm Networking and coffee
Scotland, LGBT and the Equality Bill Derek Munn Director of Public Affairs Stonewall
Who are Stonewall? • Britain-wide campaign organisation for lesbian, gay and bisexual equality • Founded in 1989 in the wake of Section 28 • Record of Parliamentary lobbying for legal change • Focussed increasingly on employers and schools • Research, policy, information, good practice, youth involvement
LGB people • No-one knows how many people are gay • But estimate by Treasury Actuaries reflects most reputable research • This suggests around 6% of the population – 3.6m people in the UK, 300,000 in Scotland • Legacy of criminalisation and discrimination • Now substantive legal equality but discrimination continues
The Equality Bill • A single equality duty • Positive action in employment • Positive action in political representation • Procurement to take account of equality • Genuine occupational requirements • Widened definition of gender reassignment
The Equality Bill • Discrimination by association • Private clubs • Wider recommendations by Tribunals • Ending the insurance exemption • ? Multiple discrimination • ? Class actions
And what about Scotland? • Bill applies to Scotland except for part 1 – socioeconomic duty • Some aspects e.g. employment tribunals are reserved • Key area of potential difference is the power of Scottish ministers to put requirements on devolved services
A Single Duty • Stephen Lawrence & MacPherson • The three existing duties • General and specific duties • Making it real: outcome focus • Envisioning the LGB and T friendly public service
Any Questions? 08000 50 20 20 derek.munn@stonewall.org.uk
Fairness for LGBT people The public duty Gillian Miller Policy Manager Stonewall Scotland
Why we need the Equality Bill 6 in 10 lesbian and gay schoolchildren experience homophobic bullying and many contemplate suicide as a result 7 in 10 have had a public servant assumed they were straight Almost9 in 10 Thought it was either ‘very difficult’ or ‘quite difficult’ to be out in a rural area
Why we need the Equality Bill • Why we need to be doing this work • What it means to someone when you get it right • Hints about how to get it right • Training • Ownership • Leadership
What fairness means for the public sector Equality duty on public bodies – The duty will mean public bodies need to think about the needs of everyone who uses their services. Only 16% of LGBT people think that public services consider their needs when delivering services* Stonewall Scotland – ‘Service with a Smile?’
What fairness means for the public sector At school I was being bullied because of my sexuality and the teachers did nothing Public sector duty will also require that • Prejudice is tackled • Understanding is promoted Example of measurable changes that an organisation can make: A school could adapt its anti bulling strategy to explicitly address bullying of gay, lesbian and bisexual school children.
What fairness means for the public sector The housing department has not helped with my problem with homophobic abuse Under proposed legislation the housing department would need to • eliminate the harassment/ victimisation • Remove or minimise disadvantage • Meet specific needs of people who are protected (LGBT)
Procurement I should be able to say “I don’t want to look after that client because they are being homophobic”; and that’s where I think my organisation wouldn’t be supportive – or wouldn’t know how to be supportive The bill makes it clear that public bodies can use public policy to drive forward equality and private companies carrying out a public function are also included.
Procurement Transport for London is a good case study: • “The Supplier Relationship Management pilot has provided a vehicle for us to engage positively with suppliers. It has enabled us to explain to suppliers that equality and diversity is an asset to be cultivated rather than a burden to be put aside. As a result suppliers have embraced the agenda and have been bold and inventive in their approach.” Clive Saunders, E&I Delivery Manager
All of you are doing some of it, some of you are doing all of it Working to best practice Move away from just focusing on employees Single Equality Schemes Working towards benchmarking Monitoring employee sexual orientation Considering monitoring service user
Next steps Keep an eye out for more Stonewall guides, research and online resources Tell us what you need Utilise existing material and help already available (e.g. Diversity Champions, Good Practice Programme and WEI)
Leadership, Equality Impact Assessment, Community Engagement & Monitoring Success factors & good practice examples
Leadership – success factors • Ongoing top-level commitment & willingness to commit resources to achieving LGBT equality, fairness & dignity • Developing a shared understanding and vision of what LGBT equality will look like for the organisation, which links directly to organisational objectives • Board/Management Team-level leadership & accountability • Senior management support & accountability • Specialist staff to steer the process & support staff capacity Leadership, Equality Impact Assessment, Community Engagement, & Monitoring
Leadership – example of good practice Lloyds TSB (WEI winner 2009) demonstrated: • A strong strategy which linked LGBT equality & diversity to wider organisational aims • Progress is measured & reported to the Board every 6 months • Ongoing sexual orientation work is discussed at a monthly meeting between the Head of Diversity & the Depute Group CEO • All LGBT work is business underpinned & is communicated well to all employees Leadership, Equality Impact Assessment, Community Engagement, & Monitoring
Community Engagement – success factors • Identify LGBT groupings in your area and ask them how current policies & practices affect them – do they feel included or excluded, are they fair, is their dignity maintained, etc. • Involve LGBT people at the service planning stage as well as in matters of service delivery • Encourage membership & involvement in staff LGBT network groups as well as resourcing these groups • Consult with LGBT people to take account of relevant information in order to determine LGBT equality objectives Leadership, Equality Impact Assessment, Community Engagement, & Monitoring
Community Engagement – example of good practice • When Manchester City Council reviews HR policies it consults with the LGBT Employee Group to ensure that all policies are inclusive of LGBT staff • The LGBT Employee Group also offers support to departments in developing & delivering their equality action plans • Newcastle City Council has an LGBT Issues Network made up from workers across the city. Members of the network have responsibility for consulting with LGBT people in the community Leadership, Equality Impact Assessment, Community Engagement, & Monitoring
Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) – success factors • Develop staff understanding of equality & skills in analysing the impact of policies • Build equality standards & objectives into routine organisational procedures such as policy & budget approval documentation, organisational & departmental targets and objectives, & individual job descriptions, objectives, & appraisals • Mandatory use of corporate EqIA from start of project, policy planning, etc. Leadership, Equality Impact Assessment, Community Engagement, & Monitoring
Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) – examples of good practice • At Ernst & Young (EY) both the central Diversity & Inclusiveness Team and the EY Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Network leadership regularly check policies to ensure LGBT inclusion • SPECTRUM, the Home Office LGBT network group, has been working to change the culture inside the Home Office’s service to the public, by ensuring that none of its policies adversely affects lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Leadership, Equality Impact Assessment, Community Engagement, & Monitoring
Monitoring – success factors • Introduce good systems for disaggregating new & existing data • Incorporating LGBT targets/outcomes into the organisation’s performance management system, and into the business plans of departments • Having regular (quarterly) progress updates reported to top management boards/teams in addition to six month/annual progress reports • Setting up Board-level Steering Groups as well as corporate monitoring groups Leadership, Equality Impact Assessment, Community Engagement, & Monitoring
Monitoring – examples of good practice • 98% of the Top 100 in the 2009 WEI monitor sexual orientation at job application and/or in staff attitude surveys • 93% of the Top 100 in the 2009 WEI have in place a strategy/strategies that link LGBT equality to wider organisational aims • 74% of the Top 100 in the 2009 WEI monitor their supplier organisation's people policies to ensure that they are inclusive of sexual orientation Leadership, Equality Impact Assessment, Community Engagement, & Monitoring
And finally…. • Success factors and good practice examples used in this presentation are not exhaustive – you may already have some – but you need to present them effectively • Participation in the 2010 WEI will help you in the writing of your equality scheme/(s) and progress reports • Further advice, support & guidance is available to Diversity Champions by contacting the Scottish Workplace Officer at Stonewall Scotland, 9 Howe Street, EDINBURGH, EH3 6TE Tel: 0131 557 3628 Email: lesley.crozier@stonewallscotland.org.uk Leadership, Equality Impact Assessment, Community Engagement, & Monitoring