We are positive about equality, diversity and inclusion and are committed to promoting opportunities for all. We are proud to be a disability confident employer, a carer positive employer and a Young Person's Guarantee employer, which highlights our commitment to supporting young people in the work place. Find out more about the Young Person's Guarantee.
We run regular events, activities and awareness raising initiatives with a focus on equality, diversity and inclusion across the organisation and have a number of policies and procedures which support this. These include but are not limited to:
- Diversity and Equality Policy
- Disability in the Workplace Guidance
- Disability Leave Guidance
- Faith, Religion and Belief (Spirituality) Policy
- Equal Pay Policy
- Transgender Equality and Transitioning in the Workplace Guidance
- Supporting Carers in the Workplace Guidance
Employer equality outcomes
At Aberdeen City Council, we have a number of equality outcomes which are refreshed every four years. For more information about these, please visit our equality outcomes and mainstreaming report page where you will find supplementary information about Aberdeen City Council’s equality and diversity work, including our workforce and equal pay statistics.
Other support and initiatives
We have a variety of other initiatives and measures to support equality, diversity and inclusion. These include but are not limited to:
- An internal Equality Ambassadors Network made up of employees from across the organisation
- Flexible and smarter working provisions
- Special and family leave provisions
- A proactive mental health & wellbeing programme, including a counselling service and mental health first aiders
- Workplace support plans
- An apprenticeship programme with a mixture of foundation, modern and graduate Apprenticeships
- A partnership with Developing the Young Workforce
- Kickstart internships
- A multi-faith room accessible to all
- A chaplaincy service
- A translation and interpreting service
- Training for all employees and managers on equality and diversity
- Incorporation of equality and diversity into corporate induction and recruitment and selection training
- Guaranteed interview schemes
- An Equally Safe at Work initiative
- Work to support Armed Forces personnel, veterans, reservists, cadet force adult volunteers and their families
- Accessible equality, diversity and inclusion intranet pages for all employees and managers with information, support and guidance
- Mandatory equality and human rights impact assessments for some of our work including service or policy reviews
Public Sector Leadership Summit – joint commitment
The Scottish Parliament’s Equalities and Human Rights Committee inquiry of 2020 has highlighted the persistent issues that impact on outcomes for minority ethnic people in Scotland moving into, staying in and progressing in employment. Their recommendations below highlight both systemic issues perpetuating race inequality in recruitment practice and in the workplace, as well as the need to improve practices such as the gathering and analysis of workforce data to inform action plans and determine measurable outcomes:
- The Committee recommends those in public authority leadership positions undertake an assessment of their organisation’s understanding of racism and the structural barriers that may exist within their organisations. Public authorities should integrate their ambitions into their next strategic plan. Their strategic goal should be underpinned by specific outcomes and supported by timely monitoring. Public authorities should be transparent about their targets and their progress in delivering their outcomes.
- The Committee recommends public authorities should review their recruitment procedures and practice against the Scottish Government’s toolkit and make the necessary changes.
- The Committee recommends that all public authorities subject to the Scottish specific Public Sector Equality Duty should, as a minimum, voluntarily record and publish their ethnicity pay gap and produce an action plan to deliver identified outcomes.
We accept these recommendations, and are absolutely committed to taking them forward, as well as supporting other public sector organisations to do so. We must recognise that a team Scotland approach is required and our public sector should lead the way as we work to make Scotland a Fair Work nation.
The importance of employment in addressing racial inequality cannot be overstated, and in this current climate where inequalities have not only been highlighted, but further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, never has there been a greater need to take action.
As public sector leaders, we will be bold and transparent. We will embed the recommendations into the strategic objectives of our organisations and the performance objectives of our senior leaders. We will take responsibility to assess our organisation’s understanding of institutional racism and proactively challenge and change practices that disadvantage minority ethnic communities. Vitally, we will ensure that minority ethnic communities are involved in shaping this change.
We recognise that taking forward the recommendations represents not a final, but a further step, and therefore this work will form part of the continuum of activity to tackle racial inequality in employment, including the Race Equality Framework 2016-2030. It is important that we make this commitment clear, not just to each other, but to our staff and service users, who will hold us to account. We have therefore published this commitment on our website and social media.
If you have any questions about any of the above, please contact AskHR@aberdeencity.gov.uk