Impacting equality Equinet April 2010 Belfast Paul Lappalainen, Head of Equality Promotion

The legal framework in Sweden  The Discrimination Act  Act concerning the Swedish Equality Ombudsman Entered into effect 1 January 2009  The DO also has a role in re to the Parental Leave Act

The Swedish Equality Ombudsman (DO)  Public authority  Anti-discrimination and equality promotion  Gender, transgender, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation and disability  Broad mandate – taking cases to court, supervision re legal duties and promotion  Katri Linna is the head of the authority  About 110 employees

Discrimination

Who is free from prejudice?  Harvard Implicit Association Test ( )  People with openly racist/sexist/homophobic/etc opinions have the same levels of underlying prejudices as those who claim that they have no prejudices  Difference between the man on the soap-box and those in the crowd?

Contributing to change? It is a sad historical fact that privileged groups have seldom given up their privileges voluntarily. Martin Luther King

A negative spiral Disempower- ment Denial of discrimination Diversity without regard to competence

Changing attitudes or behaviour?  Earl Warren – Chief Justice US S Ct Many believed ”that you cannot wipe out racial discrimination by law, only through changing the hearts and minds of men.” This is a ”false credo. True, prejudice cannot be wiped out, but infliction of it upon others can.”

Interplay of discrimination grounds I want the same salary as my Swedish co-workers! The men or the women?

Need to apply to all grounds Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw 1992  “When feminism does not explicitly oppose racism, and when antiracism does not incorporate opposition to patriarchy, race and gender politics often end up being antagonistic to each other and both interests lose.”

Developing effective public measures Five challenges in Sweden  Focus on changing behaviour in making choices on strategies and policies  Clean the stairs from the top – otherwise lose to the principle of least resistance  Empowerment – civil society advocacy  Discrimination must cost  Understand the interplay between different measures as well as grounds

Some public agencies have a promotion duty Recommendations in developing a strategy  Examine various roles in which the agency risks discriminating or can counteract discrimination  Agencies are employers, service providers, rule-makers and the source of public contracts  Examine also that which is already done to promote equality re gender, ethnicity and disability  Consult with discriminated groups

Concrete ideas – key employment contracts Include in the employment contracts of the head of the agency (and others) a clause that states: one factor in salary development and job retention is the ability to counteract discrimination and promote equality

Concrete ideas – as employers/service providers Situation testing can be used to test if there are indications of equality problems. Possibly in cooperation with discriminated groups See e.g. Proving discrimination

15 Elements of an Equality Clause 1 – APPLICABLE ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW 2 - DUTY TO REPORT 3 – APPLY TO SUB-CONTRACTORS 4 - RETAIN THE RIGHT TO CANCEL THE CONTRACT

Equality clause in the Glass House Inquiry § 1 The supplier shall throughout the contract period, in his business activities in Sweden, abide by the current law against discrimination. § 2 The supplier, during the contract period, has a duty, at the request of the contracting entity, to provide a written report concerning the measures, equality plans etc., that have been undertaken in accordance with the duties specified in § 1. The report shall be submitted to the contracting entity within one week after a request is made unless some other agreement has been reached in the individual case. § 3. In the contracts with sub-contractors, the supplier shall apply the same duty to them as is specified in § 1. The supplier shall be responsible to the contracting entity for a sub-contractor’s violation of the duties in § 1. The supplier shall also ensure that the contracting entity can upon request be informed of the sub-contractor’s measures, plans etc. in accordance with § 2. § 4 As it is of substantial importance to the contracting entity that its suppliers live up to basic democratic values, a violation of the duties in §§ 1-3 shall constitute a significant breach of the contract. The contracting entity therefore retains the right to cancel the contract if the supplier or a sub-contractor violates the conditions in §§ 1-3. However, the contract will not be cancelled if the supplier immediately remedies the situation or undertakes other relevant measures with the purpose of achieving compliance with § 1, or if the violation is considered to be insignificant.

A positive spiral Empowerment Counteract discrimination Promotes equality

Equality is the foundation "Where … do human rights begin? In small places, close to home … the neighborhood; the school or college; the factory, farm, or office. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere." Eleanor Roosevelt

Aha! Now I see them...!