Presentation to members of the Liverpool City Council's Culture and Tourism Select Committee on Equality and Diversity in the UK, focusing on the city of Liverpool

1. Equality and Diversity
Culture and Tourism Select
Committee 2013
By Garth Dallas

2. Members Check
 Can everyone see the screen clearly?
 Can everyone hear me?
 If there is anything else that you would
like me to do to help your participation
in this presentation then let me know

3. Who am I
 Early years in Jamaica
 Hungary
 UK
 Career

4. Global Diversity Partners
 Diversity Consulting
 Diversity Events
 Diversity Marketing
 Diversity Recruitment
 Diversity Training
www.diversitypartners.co.uk

5. Diverse Magazine
www.diversemag.co.uk

6. What is Equality?

7. What is Diversity?

8. Diversity:
valuing everyone as an individual –
valuing people as employees,
customers and clients -The uniqueness
of all individuals; includes everyone.

9. Valuing Diversity
 Everyone is a unique person
 Differences include visible and
non-visible factors
 Some personal characteristics are
covered by discrimination law
 race, disability, gender, religion and belief, sexual
orientation, age, transgender

10. Elements of Diversity
 Income
 Race
 Education
 Gender
 Religion
 Marital Status
 Disability
 Geographic Location
 Sexual Orientation  Parental Status
 Age  Personality Type
 Trans-gender  Physical
Characteristics

11. How the concept has
developed
 1970’s legislation covering equal pay, sex
and racial discrimination
 1990’s Disability Laws
 More recently age, sexual orientation and
religion to satisfy European law
 Equality and Human Rights Commission
(2007)

12. The Legislation
 Race - The Race Relations Act 1976 as amended by the Race Relations
(Amendment) Act 2000 and the Race Relations Act 1976 (Amendment)
Regulations 2003.
 Gender - Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (SDA) as amended by the Sex
Discrimination Act (Amendment) Regulations 2003.
 Disability - The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 as amended by
the Disability Discrimination Act 2005
 Sexual Orientation - The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation)
Regulations 2003, which came into force on 1 December 2003. Civil
Partnership Act 20
 Age - The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 came into force
in October 2006
 Religion and beliefs - The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief)
Regulations 2003, which came into force on 2 December 2003.
 Transgender - Gender Recognition Act 2004

13. The Equality Act 2010
 Received Royal Assent in April 2010
 Strengthen the law by:
 Banning age discrimination
 Allowing for multiple discrimination
 Increasing transparency and reporting
 Extending the scope for positive action
 Extending the period during which women-only
shortlists are allowed
 Strengthening enforcement, for example, by allowing
tribunals to make wider recommendations in
discrimination cases

14. The Equality Act 2010
 Streamline the law by:
 Distilling nine pieces of legislation into a single
Act
 Creating a single new Equality Duty on public
bodies
 Simplifying the definition of disability
discrimination? Has it done so?

15. The Equality Act 2010
 Protected Characteristics :
 Age, Disability, Gender reassignment,
Marriage and Civil partnership, Pregnancy
and Maternity, Race, Religion and belief,
Sex, Sexual Orientation

16. Protected Characteristics (s.4
and 9)
 Race means Colour, Nationality, Ethnic
or National Origin (s.9)
 Nationality - can be acquired by birth or
by other means. Akin to citizenship.
 National Origin - means more than
nationality.
 Ethnic origin - Mandla v Dowell Lee - a
long shared history and a cultural
tradition of its own.

17. Direct Discrimination s.13
 A person (A) discriminates against
another (“B”) if, because of a protected
characteristic (A) treats (B) less
favourably than A treats or would treat
others.
 Associative & Perception Discrimination
 Weathersfield v Sergeant [1999]
 Serco v Redfern [2006]

18. Indirect Discrimination s.19
 A person (A) discriminates against another (B)
if (A) applies to (B), without justification a
“provision, criterion or practice” PCP which is
discriminatory in relation to a relevant
protected characteristic of (B)
 B must show that it does or would put persons
with whom (B) shares the characteristic at a
particular disadvantage when compared with
persons who do not share it and it puts or
would put B at a disadvantage.

19. Third Party Harassment
 The Act makes a employer liable in the case of
harassment of its employees by third parties,
such as maintenance contractors over whom
the employer does not have a direct control,
unless the employer has taken reasonable
steps to prevent the third party doing so
 This only applies if the employer knows that
the employee has been harassed on at least
two previous occasions. It does not have to be
the same person on each occasion.

20. Public Duty
A Public Authority must have due regard to the need to:
 a) eliminate discrimination, harassment,
victimisation and any other conduct that is
prohibited under the Act
 b) advance equality of opportunity between
persons who share a relevant protected
characteristic and person who do not share it
 c) foster good relations between persons who
share a relevant protected characteristic and
person who do not share it.

21. Relevant Liverpool issues
 The Queen on the application of Alma Lunt &
Allied Vehicles Ltd v Liverpool City Council
(July 2009) CO/6158/2008.
 First successful challenge to the public functions
provisions of the DDA, Equality and Human Rights
Commission intervened and supported the successful
applicant in this case concerning Liverpool City
Council’s decision not to license taxis that were more
suitable and provided greater choice of transport for
wheelchair users

22. Relevant Liverpool issues
 Need continued access to culture in Liverpool
– by different cultures, races, and people with
various impairments.
 Ruth Gould: “One of the issues I come across
is loops not being maintained – in the Epstein
Theatre the newly refurbished theatre, funded
by City, is not using the resources for
access. I have requested loop for two recent
events to no avail - at the last one I was told
no one in the new team knows how to switch
it on!”

23. Relevant Liverpool issues
 Ruth continues “Equalities is about
putting action in place and we need to
see how the cultural organisations
provide, monitor and include disabled
people, particularly in these austere
times.”
 City involvement in BME cultural
organisations.

24. Difference between Diversity and
Equal Opportunities
Based on Rationale:
Equal Opportunities reflects a moral
concern for social justice.
Negative? ie failure to comply carry
penalties
Diversity = Positive, Relationship,
recognizing and valuing differences

25. Principles of
Multi-culturalism
 Every culture has the right to exist and there is
no over-arching thread that holds them together
 People have their own cultural beliefs and they happily
coexist – but there is a common thread of Britishness (or
whatever you wish to call it) that holds society together

26. QUESTIONS