What does equality and diversity mean to the Council?

Equality Treating people in the same way does not create equality of opportunity.  Sometimes you have to treat people differently in order to give them an equal opportunity to access all areas of life.  This may require making specific adjustments in order to aid particular individuals.

Diversity Is about recognising, valuing and taking account of people's different backgrounds, knowledge, skills and experiences.

The Equality Act 2010 replaced previous anti-discrimination laws.  The public sector equality duty within this Act came into force on 5th April 2011. 

This consists of a general duty for the Council, as both employers and service providers, to have due regard to the need to:

1.  Eliminate unlawful discrimination harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act

2.  Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it

3.  Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.

The Equality Duty covers the following protected characteristics of: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.  It also applies to marriage and civil partnership but only in respect of the requirement to eliminate discrimination.

The following links will give you more information about equality and diversity in Braintree District.

For further information click -  Equality Information

- Equality Impact Assessments
- Braintree District Inter Faith Forum
- Policies and Schemes
- Hate Crime