Why your equalities data is important to us
To remove or minimise disadvantages faced by people due to their protected characteristics, we have to first understand the equalities profile of our workforce (the proportion of our workforce that shares a protected characteristic).
Under the Equality Act (2010) it's against the law to discriminate against someone because of any of the following protected characteristics:
- age
- disability
- gender reassignment
- marriage and civil partnership
- pregnancy and maternity
- race
- religion or belief
- sex
- sexual orientation.
As a council, we’re committed to remove or minimise disadvantages suffered by people due to their protected characteristics and take steps to meet the needs of people from protected groups, where these are different from the needs of other people.
For example
- If we collect data that shows only 1% of our workforce is from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) background, but we know that 10% of the general population is BAME, then we may review our approach to recruitment and selection.
- If we identify that the majority of our female workforce is confined to lower grade positions, then we may implement a career development route aimed at female colleagues.
- If we identify that 20% of our LGBT+ colleagues have suffered discrimination in the workplace, then we may review our approach to the management of discriminatory incidents.
Without the data to gather this evidence, it's much more difficult to target our efforts where they're most needed.
Access to the data is highly restricted and held in accordance with current data protection legislation. Our interest in the data is solely to identify patterns and trends of inequality so that we can then take action to address these.
Help us to target our resources where they are needed most by completing your equalities data on line – you can find out how to do this on the next pages.