The University has a legal duty to promote equality, known as the Equality Duty. There are three elements to the Equality Duty:
- Eliminating unlawful discrimination - ensuring we don’t treat one group of people less favourably than others,
- Advancing equality of opportunity - being inclusive of different groups’ needs, addressing under-representation and promoting good practice,
- Fostering good relations - promoting understanding between different groups of people and taking opportunities to challenge prejudice and stereotyping.
The Equality Duty applies in relation to the following characteristics:
- Sex
- Ethnicity/race
- Physical and mental disabilities
- Religion and belief
- Sexual orientation
- Pregnancy and maternity
- Age
- Gender reassignment
The Equality Act requires we demonstrate ‘due regard’ of the Duty in how the University carries out its functions as an employer, an education provider and provider of services. In practice this means considering how the three aims of the Equality Duty can be embedded in our policies, practices and services.
The Equality Analysis Toolkit has been developed to help you view your activity through the lens of the Equality Duty and identify where actions can be taken to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations.
It is recommended that you use Equality Analysis whenever:
- developing, evaluating and reviewing policies and practices
- designing, delivering and evaluating services