Public Sector Equality Duty

Insight

Mainstreaming Equality

Mainstreaming equality means actively considering equality in day to day activities throughout the functions of an organisation. It is a legal obligation for public authorities in Scotland to publish information about how they mainstream equality. However the discipline of articulating how mainstreaming is achieved will assist public authorities in the rest of the UK in demonstrating compliance with the obligation to pay due regard to the General Equality Duty. 

The first step with mainstreaming equality is mapping out the functions of an organisation, for example, Governance, Human Resources and Communications. Once this has been done, critically consider how equality is embedded in the practice of each function. Any gaps can be addressed by developing action plans or objectives to further mainstream equality.

Mainstreaming Equality in Governance

Boards of Management play an integral role in establishing a vision for equality, as well as ensuring legal compliance. Governing bodies should be clear on their role of putting robust systems in place to seek assurances that the legal requirements are being met so that the organisation can demonstrate effectiveness and progress in mainstreaming.

In seeking assurance of good practice in equality, Boards of Management should have a comprehensive understanding of the legal framework and the organisational approach to compliance. Boards and subcommittees should engage with staff to understand how equality work is being implemented and explore key pressing issues, for example by inviting staff to provide updates at meetings.

Minutes and matters arising from equality issues should be discussed at Board meetings. In practice, many organisations include mainstreaming in governance by requiring equality impact assessments of policies and decisions.

Mainstreaming Equality in Communications

This is about being aware and valuing all different ways a person may use to communicate, and taking this into account in an organisational communication process. It will involve supporting the use of clear and plain language, and ensuring that communication is effective for people with different needs and preferences. It is important that an organisation’s website demonstrates consideration of mainstreaming equality, such as by letting users change aspects of the site's appearance to improve their own experience, and by providing alternative text descriptions for non-text elements such as images. Best practice accessibility guidelines can be found at the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative.

Tactical use of communications can also assist in paying due regard to the obligation to advance equality, for example through the use of diverse images which can act to reduce societal preconceptions of occupational segregation.

Mainstreaming Equality In Human Resources

Equality and diversity should be a fundamental principle in all HR policies and procedures, and should be effectively promoted throughout the organisation and signposted at Staff Induction. Maintaining awareness should be a priority, and training courses which provide an overview of equality legislation and outline good practice should be available. The provision of equality training will also help mitigate the risk of the occurrence of discrimination.

The promotion of a commitment to equality should be a core aim of any Recruitment and Selection Policy, which should operate fairly and objectively, and place emphasis on individual skills, abilities and experience.  Effective ways of demonstrating mainstreaming equality in recruitment include signing up to the Disability Confident and Carer Positive Schemes. There are no application costs in joining these Schemes, and the applications themselves are straightforward.

Mainstreaming Equality in Procurement

Procurement processes should take into account a potential supplier’s approach to equality, diversity and inclusion in terms of its employment practices and service delivery. It should do this by asking potential suppliers relevant questions and include appropriate provisions in its contract documents relating to these matters. The response to these questions should be evaluated as part of the procurement process. The supplier’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion should also be monitored and managed during the life of each contract, when equality is deemed to be a core requirement.