What is Equality?

 
All equal all different
Equality is often described as treating everyone the same. However sometimes treating people differently is the best way to treat everyone equally.  For example imagine trying to sit a test, and the exam paper is in a language you don’t understand. How well do you think you would do at the test? In order for you to have an equal chance to pass the test, you would need the test paper in a language you understand.

So what is Diversity?

Variety is the spice of life.
Diversity is about recognising, valuing and taking account of people's different backgrounds, skills, and experiences. Diversity is important because it allows everyone’s skill and contribution to be used and valued. The experiences and skills of different people makes a real difference to the effectiveness of the College and its impact on learners, staff and the community as a whole.

What does the law say?

In October 2010 a new piece of legislation called the Equality Act came into force.
This law has replaced, strengthened and added to the existing equality legislation.
The Equality Act outlines a number of duties that the College must adhere to, and also spells out the rights, and responsibilities of the people that form the college community.
It also lists 9 protected characteristics, which are listed below.

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

The act makes it illegal to treat someone less favourably because their ‘protected characteristic’ It also bans bullying, harassment or victimisation based on their protected characteristic. You can find out more about, bullying, harassment discrimination and victimisation by follwing the links on this page

Equality and Diversity Protects Everyone

One of the myths is that Equality and Diversity is about one group of people getting ‘special’ treatment at the expense of someone else. However it’s about everyone getting a fair chance to achieve their full potential. It means treating everyone equally on their merits, and not treating some unfairly because of their difference.