Equality Impact Assessment

An equality impact assessment is a way of systematically assessing the effects that a policy is likely to have on people from a protected equality group. The main purpose of equality impact assessments is to pre-empt the possibility that your policy could affect some protected groups unfavourably.

Best practice suggests that an equality impact assessment is carried out before a policy is put into place in order for an organisation to satisfy itself that the policy will not have a detrimental impact if it is actually implemented.

Clare Fraser can:

• conduct an equality impact assessment on your behalf by reviewing the impact of your current policies and making recommendations for change
  
• train your staff to conduct equality impact assessments on all of the organisational policies, practices and procedures
  
• support your staff in conducting the equality impact assessment process by holding "clinics" where guidance is available on work to date
  
• review your equality impact assessment process, and suggest changes to policies and procedures which could promote equality
• advise you on implementing a system whereby all new or revised policies are equality impact assessed before being put into practice. This advice would include practical guidance on how you can conduct equality impact assessments in house and mainstream equality and diversity into your policies and procedures.