Equality And Diversity Terms
Definitions of equality and diversity terms
This document gives definitions of some of the words and phrases most commonly used when talking about equality and diversity in higher education. For a fuller list please refer to the booklet A to Z of equality and diversity cited on the last page.
Assumptions
Assumptions are the judgements made, or opinions held, about people. For example, assumptions can be based on experience of past behaviour e.g. ‘he has always let me know when he’d be late; therefore (since he hasn’t contacted me to say otherwise) I’m assuming he will be on time for our appointment’.
However, assumptions become problematic when they are based on partial or flawed information, or where the attributes …show more content…
Such behaviour can be vindictive, cruel or malicious.
Bullying is generally considered to be a form of harassment that is not directly related to discrimination. For example, the law explicitly cover sexual and racial harassment but at present it does not explicitly cover bullying. Bullying can cause stress and employers may fail in their duty of care to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of employees, if they do not take steps to prevent it. Most HEIs now have policies, guidelines and codes of practice covering bullying.
Bullying can take various forms, from name calling, sarcasm, teasing, and unwarranted criticism, to threats of violence or actual physical violence. The Health and Safety Executive estimates that bullying costs employers up to 80 million working days a year in lost productivity and over £2 billion a year in lost revenue. Bullying can also cause low morale and produce a high turnover of staff.
Direct …show more content…
For example, if an employer does not employ an individual on the basis that they are Muslim, and it turns out later that the individual is, in fact, Hindu, a directly discriminatory act has still taken place. Harassment and victimisation are also types of direct discrimination.
Discrimination
Discrimination takes place when an individual or a group of people is treated less favourably than others because of factors unrelated to their merit, ability or potential. It is unlawful to discriminate against someone on grounds of their sex (including gender reassignment), sexual orientation, marital status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, beliefs, disability, pregnancy or childbirth, or because they are a member, or not, of a trade union. It is also unlawful to discriminate against part-time workers.
Diversity
Diversity describes the range of visible and non-visible differences that exist between people. Managing diversity harnesses these differences to create a productive environment in which everybody feels valued, where talents are fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met. (Kandola and Fullerton
This document gives definitions of some of the words and phrases most commonly used when talking about equality and diversity in higher education. For a fuller list please refer to the booklet A to Z of equality and diversity cited on the last page.
Assumptions
Assumptions are the judgements made, or opinions held, about people. For example, assumptions can be based on experience of past behaviour e.g. ‘he has always let me know when he’d be late; therefore (since he hasn’t contacted me to say otherwise) I’m assuming he will be on time for our appointment’.
However, assumptions become problematic when they are based on partial or flawed information, or where the attributes …show more content…
Such behaviour can be vindictive, cruel or malicious.
Bullying is generally considered to be a form of harassment that is not directly related to discrimination. For example, the law explicitly cover sexual and racial harassment but at present it does not explicitly cover bullying. Bullying can cause stress and employers may fail in their duty of care to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of employees, if they do not take steps to prevent it. Most HEIs now have policies, guidelines and codes of practice covering bullying.
Bullying can take various forms, from name calling, sarcasm, teasing, and unwarranted criticism, to threats of violence or actual physical violence. The Health and Safety Executive estimates that bullying costs employers up to 80 million working days a year in lost productivity and over £2 billion a year in lost revenue. Bullying can also cause low morale and produce a high turnover of staff.
Direct …show more content…
For example, if an employer does not employ an individual on the basis that they are Muslim, and it turns out later that the individual is, in fact, Hindu, a directly discriminatory act has still taken place. Harassment and victimisation are also types of direct discrimination.
Discrimination
Discrimination takes place when an individual or a group of people is treated less favourably than others because of factors unrelated to their merit, ability or potential. It is unlawful to discriminate against someone on grounds of their sex (including gender reassignment), sexual orientation, marital status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, beliefs, disability, pregnancy or childbirth, or because they are a member, or not, of a trade union. It is also unlawful to discriminate against part-time workers.
Diversity
Diversity describes the range of visible and non-visible differences that exist between people. Managing diversity harnesses these differences to create a productive environment in which everybody feels valued, where talents are fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met. (Kandola and Fullerton