NHS Employers Equal Opportunities for NHS Staff Michael Parker Chair of NHS Employers Equality & Diversity Core Reference group Chair of Kings College Hospital, London

Agenda What Are We Trying to Achieve? The Drivers Do we Need Positive Action? Working Definition Categorising Positive Action Success Factors Q & A

Vision for the NHS “An environment where all staff feel valued and enjoy a fair and equitable quality of working life, and where different backgrounds, perspectives, knowledge and experiences are welcomed and the benefits that this diversity can bring are actively sought and embraced.” “A service which continuously seeks to improve the quality of healthcare provided to an increasing diversity of patients and clients, through nurturing, supporting and developing its staff.”

The Drivers The Compliance Case: driven by legislation and policy The Moral / Social Case: it’s the right thing to do” The Business Case: where the benefits outweigh the cost and effort

Do We Need Positive Action? Women earn on average 18% less than their male counterparts 1 The unemployment rate among some black and minority ethnic (BME) groups is 3 times greater than for white people 2 Only 3 out of 400 Directors of Nursing are black 3 Despite having special health needs, BME groups generally under-use the NHS 4 Disabled people are nearly 3 times as likely as non- disabled people to be economically inactive 5

Working Definition of Positive Action Positive Action is a range of lawful actions which seek to address an imbalance in employment opportunities among targeted groups which have: previously experienced disadvantage, or which have been subject to discriminatory policies and procedures, or which are under-represented in the workforce

Categories of Positive Action Work Experience Placements Job Preparation Training Personal Development Support Changes to Policy, Practice or Working Environment Assistance Towards Qualifications Staff Training and Awareness

Categories of Positive Action Community Awareness Programmes Apprenticeship Schemes Mentoring Schemes Targeted Recruitment Targeted Management Development/Leadership Programmes

Targeted Groups Well targeted: Asian women Blind and deaf students BME staff Disabled staff Female staff Male staff Homeless people Mental health service users Refugees School leavers Substance abusers… Less well targeted: Particular religious groups Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual staff Older people

Positive Action: Success Factors Success Factors Resources Leadership Communication Strategic approach Culture

Q & A

THANK YOU

References 1 Department of Trace & Industry, Women & Equality Unit web site: % ethnic minority people are unemployed, compared with only 3.4% white people. Black Caribbean men are the group most likely to be unemployed, with 9.8% of the population not in work but seeking work Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force: 3 Knight, J (2003). Beating the Odds, Nursing Standard, May 28/Vol17/no 37/ ibid 5 Employers Forum on Disability: web site