Equality Diversity and Inclusion

Signs in organisations that demonstrate that a passive approach to diversity is still being taken are:

• Equality is seen as a compliance issue rather than bout best practice to meet users needs.
• Equality compliance is deemed to be the sole responsibility of the Human Resources department
• Staff from diverse backgrounds are stuck at middle management level, with no representation at senior executive levels in the organisation
• Some BME staff fear that, in order to become senior managers, they will need to lose their sense of identity and their values, so they will end up feeling victimised by the prevailing system and culture. This fear inhibits them from aspiring to senior management roles, believing that they cannot hold these successfully and remain true to themselves.
• BME staff are invisible in good networks which help them to know the ‘right’ people and be seen in the ‘right’ forums, and the vast majority of senior managers are still white.
• There is an assumption within disadvantaged groups that the odds are so stacked against them that they cannot succeed, so they don’t try.
• The senior management assumption that BME employees will naturally progress to senior management in time since many of the existing staff are BMEs.
• Senior executives relief when staff monitoring statistics show BME and minority staff numbers tally (just) with organisational targets.
• Diversity is seen as an add-on to existing responsibilities.
• Diversity is only about BME staff and their experiences.