A practical guide to equality action planning Skin, ACE Dance and Music Photo: Brian Slater November 2015 Ruth Kapadia Relationship Manager, Diversity

Agenda 1.Introductions 2.The legal framework – our equality duties 3.The principals of a good equality action plan 4.Case studies 5.Developing your own plan

The legal framework The Night Carnival, featuring Kinetika, Bloco dancers at the Mayor’s Thames Festival Photo: Elicio Carrio, via Mayor’s Thames Festival

The legal framework The Public Sector Equality Duty Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation Advance equality of opportunity between different groups Foster good relations between different groups

Excerpt from MPM funding agreement We require that you provide additional information regarding audience reach, with reference to the following protected characteristics: gender, age, ethnicity, disability/longstanding illness. Sampling audiences to get this insight is acceptable. You must provide an equal opportunities policy and equality action plan for the funding period which is acceptable to us prior to your signing this funding agreement. We require that your equality action plan for the funding period includes SMART objectives, as agreed in negotiation with your RM. We require that your board regularly monitors and reports on your programme, audience development and equality action plans to Arts Council England, providing us with copies of your Board papers (or equivalent) and financial reports at least quarterly.

Sources of information

Protected characteristics

Discussion How do the legal responsibilities affect museums on a day-to-day basis?

Monitoring engagement Why is it useful to know about your visitors? What data do you hold? What can you collect? Ask the right questions; sensitively. Look for examples of best practice. Make sure you know what you are going to do with the answers.

Monitoring and reporting on delivery Internal communication – policy issues raised by staff communication of policies training External communication -Board minutes annual reports

Reasonable adjustments vs. special treatment How much are we prepared to change to ensure everyone has equal access?

Museum Accreditation Scheme Eligibility Make sure they meet all relevant legal, ethical, safety, equality, environmental and planning requirements 1. Organisational health ‘Accredited museums and responsible, responsive and resilient’ 1.2‘… exists to benefit the public…’ 1.4 ‘… must plan effectively for long-term success and make sure it can adapt in a changing environment…’ 3. Users and their experiences ‘Accredited museums are welcoming and accessible’ ‘devise plans to broaden its range of users’ ‘… communicate effectively through a range of accessible marketing’

The principals of a good equality action plan

Case studies Museum/gallery background How did you identify which groups to target to diversify your audience / visitors? What you have done to attract new visitors from these target groups? How do you monitor audiences so you know if you have increased visitors from the target groups? How you plan to sustain these audiences?

Developing your own equality action plan What do you know about your existing audiences What potential for development exists What sources of data do you have What opportunities do you have in the short/medium/long term

Sources of data The Night Carnival, featuring Kinetika, Bloco dancers at the Mayor’s Thames Festival Photo: Elicio Carrio, via Mayor’s Thames Festival

Monkey: Journey to the West performed at the Royal Opera House Photo: Robert Piwko Ruth Kapadia