Tag Archives: inclusion

Merlene Emerson

On Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

By Merlene Emerson | Thu 22nd August 2024 - 10:39 am

As the United States counts down to Election Day, all the world prepares to witness the breaking of the glass ceiling by Ms Kamala Harris.  Being female and a person of colour, she has already smashed the “imagination barrier” showing us what a Vice-President and now a Presidential Candidate looks like.  Will the American electorate be ready to install a female, Black-Asian President on 5 November?

The Republicans meanwhile have taken to questioning her credentials by calling her, somewhat disparagingly, a “DEI hire.”

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has become short-hand for tokenism or “woke-ness”.  Referring to Ms Harris as a DEI hire suggests that she has got to where she is today because of her race and gender and not for her past achievements as a public prosecutor, Attorney General and Senator of California.   Some of us would dispute that and say she has got to where she is today despite her race and gender.

It might be helpful first to explore and analyse what DEI actually means as a policy, its rationale and how an organisation might want to adopt DEI strategies.

DEI in a nutshell

Diversity refers to having people of different background and characteristics including gender, race/ethnicity, class, LGBTI+ leanings and disability.  With different so-called “metrics” they would bring to the table different sensibilities and skills (e.g. language skills , social or cultural understanding) which may in turn lead to more diversity of ideas and perspectives.  This would in turn drive improved performance through more innovative solutions, better outreach to customers and improved financial outcomes.  There is therefore a business case for diversity.

Equity refers to fair treatment for all people with fairer outcomes.   Equity differs from equality in a subtle and important way: it does not mean that everyone is treated the same way but equity takes into consideration the person’s unique circumstances, adjusting treatment accordingly so that the end result is equal.

Inclusion refers to the degree to which organisations embrace all employees, and enable them to have a voice, feel respected and valued.  No-one should feel excluded or discriminated against so that individuals would feel psychologically safe, and able to contribute their views. The team as a whole would be able to perform more optimally together.  In this way the organisation can tap and unlock the full potential and power of the diverse workforce.

The business and moral case for adopting DEI strategies

There is both a business rationale as well as a moral imperative for introducing DEI into an organisation.   As a society should we not also be aligning our aims and goals to the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030?   E.g.:

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NewsHound

Christine Jardine calls for British Sign Language to be taught in schools

By NewsHound | Wed 5th January 2022 - 3:45 pm

Christine Jardine has called for British Sign Language to be taught in schools.

Writing in the Scotsman, she said:

Surely we could and should have BSL as part of the curriculum in our schools?

How much would it cost to simply teach it along with the alphabet when our children are at their most receptive?

Many years ago, I remember a friend teaching her toddler sign language as he was learning to speak. She explained that it is the point in our lives when we are a blank canvass and learn most easily.

I was embarrassed that I had not been able to do the same, or thought to try.

And it frustrates me that while our children can rightly choose to learn French, Spanish, German, Italian and even Gaelic in their classroom, they do not have access to a language that could improve their ability to communicate with members of their own community, and improve their quality of life.

She described that incredibly powerful and stunningly beautiful moment on Strictly during Rose Ayling-Ellis’s dance when the music stopped and she and her partner Giovanni continued to dance as her stand out moment of 2021.

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Holly Burton

How we championed a growing anti-discrimination campaign and made our council a more inclusive employer

By Holly Burton | Mon 30th November 2020 - 1:06 pm

In November’s Full Council, Hull City Council (HCC) unanimously passed a motion calling for a proactive, zero-tolerance anti-discrimination policy and backed a campaign for the law to be changed to make this mandatory for all organisations.

In the summer, the former president of Hull University Union founded a campaign called @MakeDiversityCount following her experience of racism in her role – and how the university was not equipped to deal with it. Her story and subsequent petition calling for all organisations to have a clear, robust and effective policy prompted me to investigate the situation at HCC, which she was pleased to support.

I did some research and discovered a number of potential failings at the council. Despite pockets of good practice, the evidence suggested many did not feel comfortable speaking up: lack of awareness of the reporting processes and the fear that they would not be taken seriously were among the suspected reasons for this. This simply wasn’t good enough.

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Aude Boubaker-Calder

Why I didn’t announce that I was pregnant before the end of the regional selection process

By Aude Boubaker-Calder | Sun 25th October 2020 - 8:55 am

In August, my husband James, and I had the wonderful surprise of discovering that we were expecting a baby. We were over the moon as we were waiting for this little bundle of joy for a certain time.

After the emotion and the joy came quickly in my mind the question of “When should I announce it to everybody?” Obviously, the close family will know soon enough but a bigger shadow came to hover over my head.

At that time, I was in the middle of my regional selection process for next year’s Scottish election. It took me a lot of confidence and preparation to get where I was and I was scared that the announcement of my pregnancy would deter some of our own members to vote for me.

Being a “young” woman in politics (I would thank some members of the Scottish Young Liberals to have labelled me as such – they will recognise themselves) is not an easy task and full of hurdles even within your own party. When you get passed the idea of being young equals not having enough experience (which qualifies as “ageism” – yes, it goes two ways). When you overcome stereotypes such as “being a woman doesn’t give you enough gravitas/charisma” (I am not going into what I heard the last couple of leadership elections) or “you are over ambitious” (yes, for real). And let’s not talk of the casual sexism of “you should smile more”, “dress less/more lurid” (do you remember the press scandal over the talk between Theresa May and Nicola Surgeon more about their dress code than the content?) you can hear in the media but even by some members of your own party.

With all those comments, my thoughts were how a certain part of our membership is going to react when I announce that I am pregnant?  How will it influence their votes? Unfortunately, pregnancy discrimination is still rooted in our society and in politics. I remember one of our candidates being told by a member of the public in October last year that she was a bad mother to go campaigning with a baby. That remark shocked me and made me wonder how society is still judgemental and discriminatory towards women and mothers. The worst feeling was: it was a woman who made this comment!

One thing is certain in my mind is: YES, I am going to run to be a constituency MSP in Dunfermline and as a regional MSP (if the votes are on my favour) in Mid Scotland and Fife. And, NO, it won’t hinder my passion and my motivation to be the voice for my future constituents and one of the torchbearers of our Liberal Democrat values in the Scottish Parliament.

After all, I have good role models to look to.

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Ruth Coleman-Taylor

Asking Jo to help restore the Conference crèche

By Ruth Coleman-Taylor | Thu 26th September 2019 - 10:16 am

I was lucky enough to get called during the Leader’s Q & A at Party Conference. I reminded Jo that we had had a Conference creche for most of the last four decades and that the Young Liberals had been prime movers in the original campaign for this. During that time, it has helped many parents and, in particular, young women to attend Conference and gain the benefits of learning, networking, helping make policy etc. But now there is no creche. Would she help to get it reinstated?

Jo looked hard at the FCC Chair, Geoff Payne, who promptly said …

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Kirsten Johnson

Building an inclusive society #LDWeek19

By Kirsten Johnson | Wed 19th June 2019 - 1:34 pm

This week is Learning Disability Week. The theme is sport and inclusion.

According to a Mencap survey of 18-35-year-olds, one-third spend less than an hour outside of their homes on a Saturday. Many feel isolated, excluded and lonely. Can you imagine only getting out for an hour and being at home the rest of the day? 49% of the survey respondents want to get out more but can’t.

We have 1.4 million people with learning disability in the UK. They are often marginalised and misunderstood. A lot of work still needs to be done to break down the stigma around learning disability.

Enabling those with learning disability to join in leisure activities such as sport has many benefits. It improves mental and physical health, helps build self-worth and confidence and improves communication and social skills. Additionally, including people with learning disability in leisure provision breaks down barriers and improves social attitudes towards learning disability. Misconceptions around learning disability exist because many people have not met or interacted with someone with a learning disability.

Positive direct contact with people with a learning disability is an effective way of improving attitudes towards them. We found that an inclusive sports programme helped to challenge negative views of people with a learning disability, and created bonds between the participants with and without a learning disability.

As some regular readers will know, I chair the board of the Fragile X Society. Fragile X is the leading genetic cause of learning disability. The Society works to raise awareness of Fragile X and its range of effects on intellectual ability. I have learned a lot, and continue to grow as a person, through my interaction with those with Fragile X.

Building an inclusive society is about having relationships with people who are not like us. It is about being willing to explore and wonder at the gifts every one of us brings to our communities. One lady with Fragile X has the most fantastic sense of humour. She doesn’t get maths, but she can be hilarious, loves the theatre and shopping. Another man loves to talk, go out for meals and kick a football around. Getting to know the person and seeing beyond the disability is key. It enriches all of our lives.

Mencap is running a new survey for adults with learning disability. Here is a link if you or someone you know would like to take part.

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Allan Tweddle

The Enable Fund: a helping hand for disabled candidates

By Allan Tweddle | Mon 17th December 2018 - 12:41 pm

On 3 December 2018 the Government launched the Enable Fund to help disabled candidates with the additional costs they face when standing for political office. This can include BSL interpreters, personal assistance costs, accessible technology, additional transport costs and the like.

Any candidate with a serious physical or mental impairment can apply to the fund. However, any grant awarded must be used to overcome specific obstacles faced by the disabled person. It can’t be spent on campaigning or campaign materials. It exists to help disabled candidates overcome the many barriers to standing for elected office, and as a visually impaired …

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Alexandra Singer

Disability and the Liberal Democrats

By Alexandra Singer | Mon 12th November 2018 - 10:44 am

Recently, a Party member campaigning to be elected as the local Liberal Democrat candidate invited  me to attend a coffee morning to meet him. Certainly, I said. I must check first though; I assume that the premises are wheelchair accessible? They were not. This is unacceptable.

Frankly, I am completely fed up. Over and over again, I find people campaigning for justice for survivors of sexual assault, the LGBT community, immigrants, and so on, but they do not consider disabled people. Nearly half of disabled people feel excluded from society, and one of the direct causes of this is architectural barriers. …

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Caron Lindsay

Why we could all do with reading LGBT Youth Scotland’s guidance on supporting transgender young people

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 18th November 2017 - 8:36 am

This week, the excellent LGBT Scotland launched a guide offering advice to schools on supporting transgender young people. 

It’s badly needed. Some young transgender people find that their schools support them very well. For others, the story is very different. They find that their school does the minimum that they can legally get away with and no more.

They fail to recognise and protect young people from transphobic bullying. They make a massive issue about things like toilets and changing rooms. I know one transgender young person who was made to use the accessible toilet – not something that they were necessarily unhappy with if it hadn’t been presented in such a hostile way. The problem was that the accessible toilet was kept locked, so they had to ask for the key every time. That was incredibly stigmatising and distressing for that young person.  It’s hardly surprising that their attendance at school was extremely low.

The guidance covers practical, social and cultural issues – from residential trips and name changes to making the whole school an inclusive environment. So why is that important for us? 

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