Equality Matters

On 30 September the CRE will be replaced by the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, (CEHR) a new single equalities champion whose purpose is to reduce inequality, eliminate discrimination, strengthen good relations between people and protect human rights.

Concern has been expressed that with CEHR replacing the CRE race will be push off the Agenda. The CEHR will encompass the six equality Strand, Age disability, Gender, Sexual orientation, Religion & Belief and Race.

1. Race Relation Act 1976 (as Amended by the Race Relation Amended Act 2000) We will be looking at all six Strand and how they impact on the BME Communities. In this article we will focus on the Race Relation Amended Act 2000 which came into effect on 1 April 2001. Before looking in detail at Race Legislation. I will give a brief overview the other Equality Strands that we will discuss in the following weeks.
2. Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 In October 2006, legislation outlawing age discrimination in employment and vocational training came into force. It’s against the law for employers to discriminate against people because of their age.
3. Employment Equality (religion or belief) Regulation 2003 came into force on 2nd December 2003 and mirrors existing legislation preventing discrimination against people because of their religion or beliefs.
4. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 amended by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, places on public bodies both general and specific duties to promote disability equality.
5. Gender Duty Sex Discrimination Act (Amendment 2007) The gender equality duty comes into force in April 2007 and it requires public authorities to promote gender equality and eliminate sex discrimination.
6. Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 makes it unlawful to discriminate in employment or training on grounds of sexual orientation and perceived orientation.

Unfair discrimination has a damaging impact, whatever the basis on which people make assumptions about needs, ability or potential of others. But the extent to which discrimination arises, and the way in which it occurs, differ across the six equality strands.

• Some characteristic are less visible than others. The private nature of sexual orientation, for example means discrimination against lesbian and gay men at work is more likely to take the form of harassment after settling into a job, than rejected unfairly at interview as the case with some black people. In addition some disabled people have impairments which may not be immediately obvious, such as epilepsy or mental illness.
• Discrimination based on prejudice against a set of religious beliefs can affect particular communities (i.e.Muslim Community disproportionately affected). Age discrimination can affect any of us and at any stage of our lives.
• Some characteristic are straight forward: being a man or woman, for example. Others are less easy to categorise, and therefore more difficult to monitor: being of mixed ethnic origin; or the nature and severity of some disabilities.
• Finally changes to the physical environment are sometimes needed to overcome disadvantages which disabled people face. This is not the case for other equality strands. People affected by issues of the other strands who are not disabled benefit from improve access to buildings i.e. use of lifts.

The Main Concepts

• In spite of the above differences, existing equality legislation already has a good deal in common. In broad terms, it outlaws four type of behaviour: Direct Discrimination, Indirect Discrimination, Harassment and Victimisation. (These concepts will be explained in another article.)

Race Relation Act 1976 (as Amended by the Race Relation Amended Act 2000)  

This Act places a general duty on public authorities to promote race equality. This duty means that, in everything we do, we should have due regard to the need to:

• eliminate unlawful racial discrimination;
• promote equality of opportunity; and
• Promote good race relations between people of different racial groups.

The duty aims to make the promotion of race equality central to the way local authorities and other Public sector bodies’ work.

The 2000 Act gives these Agencies general and specific duties to promote race equality.

General Duty

Under the general duty the Agencies must:

• Eliminate unlawful racial discrimination
• Promote equality of opportunity
• Promote good relations between people of different racial groups.

Specific Duties

• Produce and publish a Race Equality Scheme, showing how it intends to fulfil its general and specific duties updated every 3 years;
• Set out which functions and policies, or proposed policies have been assessed as relevant to the general duty and its arrangements for:
• Assessing and consulting on the likely impact of proposed policies on the promotion of race equality;
• Monitoring policies for any adverse impact on the promotion of race equality;
• Publishing the results of assessments, consultation and monitoring;
• Ensuring public access to information and services which it provides and Training staff in connection with the general and specific duties.
• Employment Duty; which requires Public Bodies to monitor by racial groups: Employees in post, applicants for jobs, training and promotion.

Schools and other bodies maintained by the Local Education 

Authorities have to meet the general and specific duties under the act.

Despite the above legislation, there is a general feeling that not much progress have been made. The Act came about mainly because of the Stephen Lawrence Enquiry which produces the McPherson Report.

One of the early reports on progress indicated that Councils and other bodies were not taking the McPherson report seriously and many were waiting for things to be spelt out to them. It would appear that not much have change since these reports.

Whilst all six Equality Strands are important and relevant. We must remember that RACE can cover most of the six strands. For example you could have a Black. Elderly. Woman who is Disabled and a member of one of the Pentecostals churches.

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