Equality
Equality is about creating a fairer society where everyone can and has the same opportunity to fulfil their potential.Equality is not about treating everyone in the same way, but it recognises that their needs are met in different ways.
Equality focuses on those areas covered by the law, namely the areas of race, gender, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, transgender and age. People must not be unfairly discriminated against because of any of these factors and we must all work towards creating a positive environment where discriminatory practices and discrimination do not happen.
And diversity?
Diversity is about valuing individual difference. So 'diversity' is much more than just a new word for equality. A diversity approach is about creating a culture and practices that recognise, respect and value difference.It is about harnessing this potential to create a productive environment in which the equally diverse needs of our residents can be met in a creative environment.
It is about generating a workforce who feel valued, respected and has their potential fully utilised in order to meet Ocean’s goals.
Why are equality and diversity important?
Diversity is also about recognising that everyone is different in a variety of visible and non-visble ways. If we welcome diversity, value each other and treat each other fairly, we will work better together. In doing so we will provide a better service to our residents.
It will help our residents to approach us and use our services if we have a diverse workforce that feels comfortable with and understands their different needs. So diversity will also contribute to improving the services we provide.
