Welcome Maria Hegarty Equality Strategies Ltd

1. www.equalitystrategies.ie WelcomeMaria HegartyEquality Strategies Ltd Maria 087-2304820

2. What ? Equality/Diversity Impact Assessment A series of steps you take that enable you to assess what you are doing so that you can do it more effectively and set in place a plan to achieve a range of equality outcomes

3. Diversity factors protected • Gender • Marital Status • Family Status • Age • Disability • Sexual Orientation • Race • Religion • Membership of the Traveller community

4. Other Diversity Factors • Background / class • Education • Interests • Skills - communication, conflict management, leadership

5. Aim • People maximise their potential and contribution to the organisation • Reveal and remove hidden barriers • Develop clear plan of action

6. Why? • Business case - • not getting the best staff, not harnessing the full range of capacities of all employees, not getting all customers, perception of the organisation • Legislative case - • Legal requirements, individual case taken • Social justice case • Want to promote equality and manage diversity effectively so that all are included in all aspects of society

7. Equality promoted and diversity managed • taking account of different employees’ identities, experiences, situations, interests and ambitions • organisational culture that welcomes understands and values diversity • Positive action • Procedures and skill to deal effectively with any discrimination claims • Understand diversity of customers

8. How - Approach • 4 C’s - • Collaboration • Communication • Consultation • Competence Building

9. ExampleHAPPY HOTELS • Profile • 1. Management • One general manager • Four supervisors • There are 120 staff - 65% female and 35% male • People from seven nationalities work in the hotel

10. Happy Hotels • Equality infrastructure • Staff do not have a representative forum, some are members of a trade union • No Equality Plan / Diversity Plan • No equality training • Staff handbook which is used for staff in the whole group • Induction training does not address equality and diversity management issues

11. Exercise • Who are the key stakeholders? • How would you include them in the process? • How can you set up a process that gets “buy in” from the company? • How long do you anticipate the process should take? • What challenges do you anticipate? • How can you address these? • What is likely to go well?

12. Equality Team • Exercise Happy Hotel • Discuss in pairs • Who should be a member of the team • What are the terms of reference for the team

13. Indicators • Build equality team awareness and agreement • Discuss what WE mean by equality and diversity • Discuss what WE think about equality and diversity management in our organisation • Discuss what we will measure • Discuss how we will measure

14. Collaboration • Essential in an organisational context • Get all involved - people, levels, areas • Get all perspectives - issues, concerns, fears, hopes • Generate cooperation- see outcomes for all • Lay basis for future collaboration

15. Exercise • What can we do to build collaboration?

16. Collaboration Actions • Initial Meetings - with mangers, supervisors, staff groups to ascertain • Their hopes and fears • Their langauge re equality • The best method of consultation • The best methods of communication • Develop Equality Team • Involve all people, levels and areas • Discuss what is to be assessed

17. Communication • All informed of all stages • Improve participation in consultation processes • Raise expectations • Generate understanding • Increase ownership

18. Exercise • What can we do to communicate with all in the organisation?

19. Communication Actions • Send articles for newsletters, notice boards, staff pay packets • Send information for discussion at staff / team meetings • Attend open meetings and provide information on process • Inform all at different stages of process - start-up, consultation, outcomes

20. Consultation • What do we need to know • Work / Life Profile • Equal Opportunities • Dignity at work • Training and Development • Demographics

21. Exercise • Work / Life Profile • What do we need to know?

22. Work / Life profile • Read / know contents • Employee handbook • Policies • Further initiatives, e.g. caring responsibilities, employment of people with disabilities, customers • Do you work full/part time • Do you job share • Do you do shift work • Location?

23. Exercise • Equal Opportunities • What do we need to know?

24. Equal Opportunities - Perceptions • Opinion - strongly agree to strongly disagree • XX Equal opportunities employer • XX fair recruitment procedures • Equal access to training • My supervisor respects me • Employees in various grounds respected by colleagues • XX attracts a diverse range of applicants • Promotion procedures transparent • Age is an important criteria for promotion in XX • Managers are good at promoting equality and managing diversity

25. Dignity at Work • What do we need to know about views in organisation?

26. Dignity at Work • Have you read / Do you know contents • dignity at work policy • Anti-bullying and harassment policies • Equality policies • Have you experienced / someone complained • Harassment, discrimination • What happened • Were you happy with outcome

27. Exercise • What do we need to know about training and development?

28. Training and Development • How long have you worked with XX • Have you read training and development policy • Have you participated in training • Have you participated in equality training • What level of education / technical skill have you achieved • Have you applied for promotion • What were the outcomes

29. Consultation Actions • Design survey • Test questionnaire • Send questionnaire to all • Allow sufficient time for return • Provide analysis for equality team • Conduct Focus Groups re key questions

30. Competence Building • Equality Team • Managers / supervisors • Contact persons • Leaders in organisation

31. Competence Building • What do we need to do to build equality competence in the organisation?

32. Competence Building Actions • Train equality team • Train / coach managers / supervisors - EIA • Brief contact persons • Brief leaders

33. Assessment • Organisational culture - annual reports, strategy docs etc.. • Human resource information/data • Policies - equality, training, working conditions

34. Assessments • Procedures • Recruitment, selection and promotion processes • Processes - XX number of • Recruitment, selection and promotion processes

35. Reporting • Draft presented to the Organisation • Informal brief to the Key Persons • Formal Presentation to the Steering Group • Agree approach for the Action Planning Stage

36. Action Plan • Key priorities • Timescales and milestones • Build capacity (note integrate into managers performance assessment) • Initiatives and actions • Monitoring • Review

37. Outcomes Summary • Equality Team - infrastructure involved and committed to act • Awareness campaign - improved knowledge • Building Understanding - clearer aims, roles, impact of MY actions • Information gathering - more up-to-date data, re-gather • Assessment - clear steps, links to business aims • Reporting - regular, monitor progress • Action Plan - awareness, commitment, promotion of best practice