We know that societies and working environments grow and thrive where there is understanding, trust and respect between people. What does not get measured does not get done. It is the reason why we aim to ensure that issues of equality and diversity are a part of all that we do, we measure our progress through our own unique tool, and invest in a global diversity network that spans all the countries we work in.
We are committed to treating our staff, customers and partners fairly, removing barriers to equal treatment and acting to redress existing imbalances. Our agenda is based on the idea of societies and working environments where people are understood and their differences are respected. In recognising, valuing and managing diversity between people and cultures, we seek to demonstrate these principles and deliver impact for the UK.
We focus on seven main areas of diversity – age, disability, ethnicity/race, gender, religion/belief, sexual orientation and work–life balance – and have developed an equal opportunities policy and a diversity strategy around them. We call it EO&D. Documents explaining these policies can be found on our website.
Measuring progress
By measuring and monitoring our actions we can make progress in bringing equality and diversity into the mainstream. We have a number of ways of doing this, including equality monitoring, an Equality Screening and impact assessment, and a diversity assessment framework.
Diversity assessment framework
The British Council’s Diversity Assessment Framework (DAF) is a tool which helps embed equality and diversity into our work. It encourages and guides our network of offices to develop good practice and report what they have achieved against a range of equal opportunities and diversity measures. It acts as an internal benchmarking tool, generating examples and evidence of good practice from which others can learn in the process. The approach has attracted considerable interest from the public and private sector in the UK and around the world.
Differently-abled employees
We are committed to enabling differently-abled people to work with us and to ensuring they are able to progress and develop their careers. We guarantee an interview to all differently abled people who meet the required criteria and make reasonable adjustments to help support their full participation. Our internal EO&D Working Group and external Disability Advisory Group are a valuable resource in promoting understanding and awareness, supported by training and development materials and initiatives.