Glossary

We have compiled a glossary of terms relating to equality issues and listed them on this page. Many of these terms have been taken from A-Z Equality and Diversity, produced by ECU, the Association of University Administrators and the Higher Education Equal Opportunities Network. Some of the terms listed have fuller and more detailed definitions which can be found in the publication.

We have also compiled a list of acronyms for your reference.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X

A

Action plan

Under the race, disability and gender public sector duties, all public sector authorities in Great Britain (including higher education institutions) must set out in an action plan what they are going to do to address race, disability and gender equality issues to accompany the respective policy or scheme. There are legal requirements to report annually on progress in carrying out the action plan and for the scheme to be reviewed every three years.

Affirmative action

Affirmative action is an American public policy approach that aims to eliminate the current effects of past discrimination. In practice, it means that positive steps are taken to increase the representation of historically disadvantaged groups — women and people from ethnic minorities, in employment and education, for example. Affirmative action programmes seek to remedy the effects of discrimination on the grounds of race, gender or ethnicity, or combat ongoing institutionalised and unintentional practices. Preferential selection i.e. selection on the basis of race, ethnicity or gender (which is not allowable in the UK), is a controversial form of affirmative action and has been legally challenged in the USA.

Age discrimination (Ageism)

John MacNicol (Age Discrimination: an historical and contemporary analysis 2006:6) defines ageism as 'application of assumed age-based group characteristics to an individual, regardless of that individual’s actual personal characteristics'.

As an example, in an interview the panel may assume that ‘older’ candidates are less able to learn new skills or ‘younger’ candidates are less likely to be committed to the organisation. Such assumptions may mean that the panel members fail to consider the individual’s skills, experience and personal characteristics.

Age discrimination can be experienced by anyone, at any age, young and old.

Alternative formats

Standard or traditional ways of presenting information are not always accessible to all people. Whether preparing printed materials or holding an event, consideration should be given to alternative ways of communicating and providing information. Alternative formats include Braille, audio or video formats, large print, human readers, note-takers, British Sign Language interpreters, palantypists and other communication support workers, computer screen readers, CD-ROM, other IT data storage devices and specific IT packages. TechDis has produced a guide to obtaining publications in alternative formats and a good practice guide for organising accessible events.

Under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), disabled students’ and visitors’ requirements for alternative formats must, where possible, be anticipated by an institution, which must offer course and relevant materials in an alternative format, and the DDA requires employers to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate the needs of existing or potential staff. This includes providing any recruitment material in an alternative format if it is requested.

The person who has requested an alternative format is the best person to ask about what exactly is required.

Antisemitism

Antisemitism is hostility towards or prejudice against Jews or Judaism. It has been defined by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) as ‘a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred towards Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of AntiSemitism are directed towards Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.’

Assisting in discrimination

A person who knowingly aids another to commit an unlawful act of discrimination will be treated as having also committed that act of discrimination unless it can be shown that s/he reasonably relied on a statement from that other person that the act would not be unlawful.

B

Bisexual

A bisexual person has an emotional and/or sexual orientation towards people of the same sex and people of the opposite sex. Some members of bisexual communities prefer the definition: 'a changeable sexual and emotional attraction to people, where gender may not be a defining factor'.

People who are bisexual sometimes feel they are ignored in equal opportunities provision because society views sexual orientation as binary, i.e. people are commonly construed to be either heterosexual, or lesbian, or gay.

Black

Traditionally, Black was used to describe someone who was of African descent. Politically, it can also encompass those who have Asian ancestry. However, not everyone with Asian heritage defines themselves as Black.

BME

Black and Minority Ethnic

Bullying

Bullying can be defined as offensive behaviour which violates a person’s dignity, or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading or offensive environment, or which humiliates or undermines an individual or group. Such behaviour can be vindictive, cruel or malicious.

Bullying can cause stress and employers may fail in their duty of care to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of employees, if they do not take steps to prevent it. Most higher education institutions now have policies, guidelines and codes of practice covering bullying, sometimes within a policy framework dealing with ‘harassment’.

Bullying can take various forms, from name calling, sarcasm, teasing, and unwarranted criticism, to threats of violence or actual physical violence. The Health and Safety Executive estimates that bullying costs employers up to 80 million working days a year in lost productivity and over £2 billion a year in lost revenue. Bullying can also cause low morale and produce a high turnover of staff.

C

Civil partnership

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into force on 5 December 2005 and gives same-sex couples the right to obtain legal recognition of their relationship. Couples who form a civil partnership have a new legal status, that of 'civil partner'.

Civil partners have equal treatment to married couples in a wide range of legal matters, including:

• tax, including inheritance tax;
• employment benefits;
• most state and occupational pension benefits;
• income-related benefits, tax credits and child support;
• duty to provide reasonable maintenance for your civil partner and any children of the family;
• ability to apply for parental responsibility for your civil partner's child;
• inheritance of a tenancy agreement;
• recognition under intestacy rules;
• access to fatal accidents compensation;
• protection from domestic violence;
• recognition for immigration and nationality purposes.

Community cohesion

Although currently this term relates in the main to schools and local government, the principal of community cohesion is equally relevant within higher and further education (for example in relation to the Widening Participation agenda), and the terminology is becoming increasingly familiar as part of the overall equality and diversity picture.

The national Community Cohesion Standards are framed by four strategic aims, which are to:

• Close the attainment and achievement gap.
• Develop common values of citizenship based on dialogue, mutual respect and acceptance of diversity.
• Contribute to building good community relations and challenge all types of discrimination and inequality.
• Remove the barriers to access, participation, progression, attainment and achievement.

The accepted definition of ‘community cohesion’ agreed by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Home Office was first published in the LGA’s 2002 Guidance on Community Cohesion. The definition states that a cohesive community is one where:

• there is a common vision for all communities, with emphasis on what binds communities together rather than the differences which divide them, a sense of belonging, of identifying with the neighbourhood and of ‘looking out for each other’;
• there is a commitment to equality and social justice;
• the diversity of people’s different backgrounds and circumstances is appreciated, respected and protected, in order to support integration and cohesion in changing communities;
• people have similar life opportunities, irrespective of background;
• everyone understands their rights and responsibilities and is encouraged to participate at all levels;
• strong and positive relationships are developed between people from different backgrounds in the workplace, in schools and within neighbourhoods.

Competence standards

A competence standard is defined by Section 28S of the DDA Part 4 as 'an academic, medical or other standard applied by or on behalf of an [education provider] for the purpose of determining whether or not a person has a particular level of competence or ability'.

Competence standards apply to all aspects of courses: in admissions (entry criteria), on-course assessments (exams) and awarding qualifications. All higher education institutions are responsible for implementing competence standards in a non-discriminatory way. It will therefore be important for institutions to review their competence standards for all courses and exams to ensure that they are non-discriminatory.

Commision for Racial Equality (CRE)

The CRE was an independent, non-departmental public body, which had (until 2007) statutory responsibility for overseeing the advancement of race equality.

From October 2007 the CRE merged with the EOC and DRC to form the Equality and Human Rights Commission (ECHR).

D

Deemed to be aware

All parts of an organisation are deemed to be aware of a relevant fact as soon as one responsible part of the organisation is informed of that fact. For example, if the Welfare Office is informed of a disability, then all other offices of a higher education institution are considered to have been informed at that point in time and must act accordingly. This is to prevent an individual from needing to undertake multiple notifications to various parts of a large bureaucracy. It is up to the individual institution to ensure procedures are in place to disseminate information as necessary, but not more widely than is necessary.

Dependants

Employees are entitled to take time off for unforeseen emergencies in respect of their dependants. Dependants are defined as being the employee’s spouse, child or parent, or anyone who lives in the same household (except employees, tenants, lodgers or boarders). The right provides for immediate, short-term absence to attend to the dependant’s immediate needs and make provision in the longer term. It does not allow for longer-term absence from work.

There is no statutory right for dependency leave to be paid, though in practice many institutions do in certain circumstances provide for some pay.

Direct discrimination

Direct discrimination is one of the four main categories of unlawful discrimination, and applies where a person is treated less favourably on the grounds of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief or age. For example, recruiting a male applicant to a position rather than a more appropriately qualified woman because of irrational, prejudicial or stereotypical views, or not accepting a disabled person on to a course because it is assumed they would not be able to meet the required course standards due to their being disabled, would constitute direct discrimination.

Intentions and motives are irrelevant in cases of direct discrimination, because it is the act that is unlawful, not the intention behind it.

Disability: medical model

The medical model of disability is a deficit model which defines disability with reference to how a disabled person is different from non-disabled people. The ‘problem’ of disability is situated within the individual’s impairment and any effect it has on the functioning of that person’s mind or body; the causation of pain and fatigue, and the effect on communication. Modern disability equality legislation is based on both the medical and social models of disability.

Disability: social model

In the social model, disability is defined as a problem created by society – specifically the way in which organisations, services and systems are designed or organised, which have historically taken little or no account of people who have impairments. People with impairments are therefore frequently disabled by society and excluded from mainstream activities. Thus ‘disability’ is not about medical terms but is about the barriers (physical, social, attitudinal and environmental) that result from the way society is organised and the way people with impairments are viewed.

In the social model, disability should be distinguished from impairment and ill health and should be seen as disadvantage experienced by an individual resulting from barriers to independent living or educational, employment or other opportunities that impact on people with impairments and/or ill health.

Disclosure

Disclosure is the process by which an individual declares personal equality information, such as their sexual orientation, ethnicity or whether they are disabled.

Equality legislation imposes specific duties on institutions with regard to monitoring the diversity of prospective, current and past staff and students. If institutions want to ensure they have an accurate picture of the diversity of their workforce and student profile they must create an appropriate atmosphere in which individuals feel comfortable in disclosing. It is important that the reasons and benefits for disclosure, and the support services available, are effectively communicated to staff and students. For example, information disclosed in regard to disability status can be used to provide reasonable adjustments that will help the individual to realise his/her full potential in their career or studies.

Diversity

Diversity recognises that everyone is different in a variety of visible and non-visible ways, and that those differences are to be recognised, respected and valued. They may include, but are not limited to, differences protected by anti-discrimination legislation, marital status and gender reassignment, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, and age.

Disability Rights Commission (DRC)

The DRC was an independent, non-departmental public body, which had (until 2007) statutory responsibility for overseeing the advancement of disability equality in society.

From October 2007 the DRC merged with the CRE and EOC to form the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

E

Equal opportunities

Equal opportunities, or equality of opportunity, may be defined as ensuring that everyone is entitled to freedom from discrimination. There are two main types of equality encompassed in equal opportunities.

Equality of treatment is concerned with treating everyone the same. Thus, in an organisational context it recognises that institutional discrimination may exist in the form of unfair procedures and practices that favour those with some personal attributes, over others without them. The task of equal opportunities is therefore concerned with the elimination of these barriers.

Equality of outcome focuses on policies that either have an equal impact on different groups or intend the same outcomes for different groups. The term Equal Opportunities has mostly been replaced by Equality and Diversity (E&D) in recent years.

Equal pay

Equal pay generally is used to refer to the provisions of the Equal Pay Act 1970 which requires men and women to be paid the same where they are employed on like work, work rated as equivalent under a valid job evaluation scheme, or work of equal value, unless the pay difference can be objectively justified.

In order to comply with equal pay legislation it is recommended that employers have a job evaluation scheme in place and that they carry out an equal pay audit to highlight and rectify any disparities. Within the higher education sector, the Framework Agreement seeks to address many issues of unequal pay.

There may also be pay gaps on grounds other than gender, such as on grounds of race, and disability. The Equal Pay Act does not specifically cover these other areas, though the other discrimination legislation may apply.

Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)

The new Equality and Human Rights Commission opened on 1 October 2007.

The EHRC takes over the work of the three previous commissions established to tackle discrimination and promote equality in Great Britain – the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), and the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) as well as combining the responsibilities and powers of the three previous equality commissions. The new commission also takes on responsibility for furthering equality in the areas of age, sexual orientation and religion or belief, as well as human rights.

The EHRC is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) established under the Equality Act 2006 – accountable for its public funds, but independent of government.

The EHRC covers England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, which is under the remit of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. The commission has offices in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Manchester.

www.equalityhumanrights.com

Equality scheme(s)

The Race Relations Amendment Act 2000, Disability Discrimination Act 2005 and Equalities Act 2006 require all public bodies (including higher education institutions) to have Equality Schemes which set out how the organisation will meet its general and specific duties in respect of race, disability and gender equality.

Some organisations have developed separate schemes covering these three equality stands. Others have adopted an over-arching or generic approach and have developed a single equality scheme (sometimes including additional equality stands such as age, sexual orientation and religion/belief).

Extremism

A term used to describe the actions or ideologies of individuals or groups outside the perceived political centre of society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards. The term is invariably, or almost invariably, used pejoratively. Extremism is usually contrasted with moderation, and extremists with moderates.

F

Family friendly

Family friendly refers to the policies, procedures or practices (mainly in an employment context but they can also be in other areas such as welfare benefits, social care and health) that aim to be more sympathetic to life events such as the birth of children, bringing up and caring for children, illness in the family, caring for sick or elderly relatives, death, and dealing with the unexpected. The intention is to create a more flexible way of organising society, and especially the world of work, that is more supportive of family life.

Recent developments in UK family-friendly law:

• Statutory maternity pay extended from 26 to 39 weeks.
• Qualifying period for additional maternity leave removed.
• Introduction of keeping-in-touch days for women on maternity leave.
• Right to request flexible working extended to people who care for adults and to private foster carers.
• Consultation on proposals to give fathers the right to take up to 26 weeks' additional paternity leave.

Flexible working

For a number of years, employees with dependants have had a statutory right to request a flexible working arrangement. Flexible working can be broadly defined as any variation to the standard working day/week. Employers do not have to agree but they have to have sound business reasons for refusing. A number of employers, including universities have chosen to widen the eligibility pool to all staff.

It is important for line managers to respond flexibly themselves to such requests and resist instant refusals on the assumption that because a job has always been carried out on a full time basis that there is no possibility for it to be done just as effectively in a different way.

G

Gender

‘Gender’ refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women. It is often confused with ‘sex’, which refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women.

Gender dysphoria

Gender dysphoria is a recognised medical condition where a person has persistently uncomfortable feelings about their birth gender. Someone with gender dysphoria will experience anxiety, uncertainty, or persistently uncomfortable feelings about their birth gender, often from a very young age. Sometimes, that person will assume an identity in the opposite sex to their birth sex. This may involve undergoing hormone or perhaps surgical treatment to change their sex physically.

Gender reassignment

Gender reassignment is a process which is undertaken under medical supervision for the purpose of reassigning a person’s sex by changing physiological or other characteristics of their sex, and includes any part of such a process. A person does not have to undergo gender reassignment in order to transition fully from one sex to another. Furthermore, someone may have gender dysphoria but not want to transition fully. Gender dysphoria is an essential legal prerequisite for obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), a legal document which affords them all the rights and responsibilities appropriate to the acquired gender. If their birth was registered in the UK they will receive a new birth certificate.

Genuine occupational requirement

A genuine occupational requirement may allow for a valid defence to what would otherwise be unlawful direct discrimination. It applies in limited circumstances where having a particular characteristic can be a genuine requirement for a job. For example, being of a particular race, gender, religion, age and sexual orientation may be essential criteria in the job description and person specification, such as requiring that a female part in a play be acted by a female actress, or that the Chief Executive of an organisation established to promote gay rights be gay him or herself.

H

Harassment

Harassment can be defined as unwanted conduct which may create the effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment which interferes with an individual’s learning, working or social environment or induces stress, anxiety, fear or sickness on the part of the harassed person. Differences of attitude, background or culture and the misinterpretation of social signals can mean that what is perceived as harassment by one person may not seem so to another; nevertheless, this does not make it acceptable.

It is unlawful to harass someone because of their race, gender (including gender reassignment), disability, age, sexual orientation or religion/belief. It is also a criminal offence to harass (or stalk) someone persistently.

I

Impact assessment

Originally introduced by the statutory public sector duties, impact assessments refer to the process by which every policy, procedure, practice, plan and strategy of an organisation (including higher education institutions) is systematically reviewed and evaluated to ensure that they are not discriminatory and that they are making a positive contribution to equality. This is done by assessing how the impact they have differs (if at all) for different equality target groups. This normally requires the collection of statistical data for the area under review, and its analysis according to equality variables. It may also be necessary to consult and involve different groups of staff and service users, in order to obtain qualitative data.

The assessment process normally has two stages:

• initial screening for equality impact, possibly followed by
• more in-depth full equality impact assessment, where there is a significant or important potential effect on equality that must be examined.

Impairment

People can be born with an impairment or can acquire one through accident or illness. Impairments are long-term characteristics of an individual that affect their physical, sensory, intellectual or cognitive abilities and/or appearance. Many people who have an impairment would not necessarily consider themselves to be disabled.

Indirect discrimination

Indirect discrimination is one of the four main categories of discrimination (see also direct discrimination, harassment and victimisation). Indirect discrimination occurs when policies or practices have an adverse impact on certain groups of people more than on others, in a way that cannot be justified. The groups protected by the legislation include groups defined by their gender, race, sexual orientation, religion or belief, or age. For example:

• dress codes requiring women to wear knee length skirts could indirectly discriminate against women from some cultural or religious groups who would not feel able to dress in this way;
• unnecessary height requirements, which state that employees in some roles have to be six feet tall could discriminate against women, or members of some ethnic groups who would not usually be able to meet the requirement.

Institutions may be able to justify an indirectly discriminatory policy or practice.

In relation to disability, the law requires a duty to carry out reasonably adjustments, rather than a duty not to indirectly discriminate.

Institutional racism

Although the term institutional racism has been in use for many years (largely unnoticed) it came to prominence/notoriety following the inquiry into the death of Black teenager Stephen Lawrence. The inquiry report (the Macpherson Report) defined ‘institutional racism’ as:

The collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin which can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantages minority ethnic people.

The definition is controversial because of the inclusion of the word ‘unwitting’ i.e. unknowing, or unaware. However, it is still the most widely accepted definition.

Instruction to discriminate

It is unlawful to instruct others to discriminate on your behalf.  The law treats this as is if the body/person issuing the instruction had conducted the discrimination themselves.

Intersex

A person has an intersex condition when their anatomical sex is ambiguous. The condition may arise due to certain congenital or hormone imbalances in the foetus or placenta. A person who has an intersex condition may or may not experience gender dysphoria. The term intersex is now seen as more appropriate than the term hermaphrodite.

J

K

L

Legacy commissions

The Legacy Commissions refer to the former Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) and the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), which respectively had responsibility for promoting racial, disability and sex equality in Britain before the Equality and Human Rights Commission came into existence.

LGBT

LGBT is a commonly used abbreviation for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community. The order of the abbreviation varies between organisations and practices (for example, women-only communities may refer to the LBT community). There is not, at present, a uniform order, although LGBT is the most common and is used in national events such as LGBT history month.

M

Monitoring

A process that involves collecting, storing, analysing and evaluating information, to measure performance, progress or change. Monitoring race equality involves collecting, storing, analysing and evaluating information about the racial groups to which people say they belong. Monitoring is also applied to collecting and analysing information about people’s gender, disability status, sexual orientation, religion or belief, or age to see whether all groups are fairly represented.

Multiple discrimination

Generally, people belong not just to one community, but several. This can make them a target of prejudice on more than one level. For example, a lesbian woman who is Chinese, might experience racism from parts of the gay community, homophobia from parts of the Chinese community, as well as general racism and homophobia. This is known as multiple discrimination and is a consequence of multiple identities. A mainstreaming approach to equality helps to prevent multiple discrimination because it recognises that everyone belongs to several identity groups. The expression ‘intersectional discrimination’ is also sometimes used in this context.

Multiple identities

Individuals have many characteristics. A group of women may share gender in common but be different in many other ways. These will include ethnicity, sexuality, age and marital status. They may have varieties of jobs, caring responsibilities and economic and social status.

N

O

P

Positive action

Positive action is the deliberate introduction of measures to eliminate or reduce discrimination, or its effects. It is not about special treatment for any one particular group, but the fair treatment of all people. It is concerned with levelling the playing field so that everyone has access to the same opportunities. The qualification floor remains the same.

There are three main types of positive action: action that reveals potential discriminatory practice through, for example, the assessment of policies or monitoring; action which changes discriminatory practice in light of any findings; and action which attempts to counter-balance the under-representation of a particular group. This latter form of positive action includes the use of methods such as mentoring schemes, networks, outreach work, target setting and training.

Positive action is not the same as positive discrimination, an example of which would be promoting someone purely on the basis of his or her gender.

Positive discrimination

Positive discrimination occurs when one person, or group of people is treated more favourably than another person, or group, would be treated in the same situation, based on a defining characteristic. This characteristic might be race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion or belief. Positive Discrimination is unlawful in Britain and Europe, unless there is a genuine occupational requirement.

In marked contrast to any other discrimination laws the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 imposes no restrictions on positive discrimination in favour of disabled people. Indeed the duty makes clear that ‘more favourable treatment’ may be required of public authorities in order to promote genuine equality of opportunity. The guaranteed interview scheme is a notable example.

Positive discrimination is sometimes confused with positive action, which is lawful.

Prejudice

Prejudice is an adverse judgement, conviction or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts. It may be felt or expressed. It may be directed, without reason, toward a group or an individual of that group and may develop into an irrational suspicion or hatred. Although it is not possible to legislate against prejudice, prejudice often leads to discriminatory behaviour, which may in itself be unlawful.

Public sector equality duties

The public sector equality duties in relation to race, gender and disability are specified in law. Their application is guided by codes of practice that were issued by the three former equality bodies, the Commission for Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission and approved by Parliament.

Each of the duties is broken down into a general duty, which gives the broad outlines, and specific duties designed to help public authorities (including higher education authorities) comply with the general duty. All of them must be implemented.

Q

Quota

A quota is a fixed proportion (percentage) of something that has to be achieved by a certain time.

One example of a quota in an equality/higher education institution context would be the requirement to achieve a fixed percentage of women, say 50%, in a particular course of study by 2010. This quota (50%) would have to be achieved even if it involved lowering entry standards for women applicants or deliberately discriminating against male applicants in the admissions process.

In the United States some equality quotas are lawful as they are seen as an essential way of eliminating entrenched and long-standing historic inequalities relatively quickly, which may otherwise remain. In the United Kingdom, quotas are illegal, as fixing a quantity would inevitably result in direct discrimination/less favourable treatment. However, setting targets is not unlawful, as they can be attained through legitimate positive action measures.

R

Racism

The United Nations International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination defines racism as:

Any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise, on equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, or any other field of public life.

Other definitions of racism stress the importance of power (the actions of institutions and government) and ideology (the transmitting of ideas and culture) in determining racial exclusion and discrimination, rather than the actions of individuals (which is sometimes described as ‘racialism’).

Racist incident

The Macpherson Inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence defined a racist incident as ‘an incident that is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person’. This means that it is the perception of the victim or person reporting a racist incident that must be taken into account. The definition was introduced in an attempt to address the serious problem of under-reporting of racist incidents and racial abuse.

Reasonable adjustment

The concept of reasonable adjustment forms a central part of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. It requires institutions to take reasonable steps to ensure disabled staff, students and visitors are not placed at a ‘substantial’ disadvantage by the way the institution operates.

The reasonable adjustments duty applies in employment if a disabled member of staff is placed at a disadvantage by an employment practice or physical feature of the workplace.

A reasonable adjustment might involve:

• changing standard institutional procedures, such as admissions procedures and terms attached to offers of admission, enrolment procedures and examination and assessment methods;
• adapting the curriculum (course content, work placements, use of electronic or other materials), or modifying the delivery of teaching;
• providing additional services (any kind of aid or service, including teaching and information), whether temporary or permanent, such as a sign language interpreter or materials in alternative formats;
• training staff to work with disabled students and to provide appropriate adjustments, for example, allowing more time to serve a disabled student;
• encouraging staff to acquire additional skills in order to communicate effectively with disabled students, for example, in order to communicate with hearing impaired students and those with speech impairments; and
• altering the physical environment.

Religion

'Religion is the belief in or worship of a god or gods as a particular system of belief or worship' (Chambers Compact Dictionary 2000).

Religions can manifest themselves as a personal or institutionalised system grounded in such belief and worship.

The six main religions traditions held by people in the UK are: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. However it should not be assumed that these traditions are monolithic.

In the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003, religion or belief is defined as ‘any religion, religious belief or philosophical belief’. All religions are intended to be covered by the Regulations, with no distinction between organised religions and those considered to be less so.

‘Philosophical belief’ covers humanism, agnosticism or atheism, and potentially any belief system that amounts to a ‘world view or life stance’. In House of Lords debates it was indicated that further clarification on this latter point should be provided by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.

S

Socio-economic background

The National Statistics Socio-economic Classification is used for all official statistics and surveys. It replaced Social Class based on Occupation and Socio-economic Groups. This version of the classification, which will be used for most analyses (the analytic version), has eight classes, the first of which can be subdivided.

The National Statistics Socio-economic Classification Analytic Classes:

1. Higher managerial and professional occupations
• Large employers and higher managerial occupations
• Higher professional occupations
2. Lower managerial and professional occupations
3. Intermediate occupations
4. Small employers and own account workers
5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations
6. Semi-routine occupations
7. Routine occupations
8. Never worked and long-term unemployed

(Source ONS)

Special/additional needs

In an educational context, ‘special needs’ has been used for many years as a catch-all term that covers a wide range of situations relating to disability and impairments. In primary and secondary education it is often associated with learning difficulties. In tertiary education and employment special and additional needs have been used to describe staff or students, and anyone who requires a reasonable adjustment to be made for them. Many disabled adults find the term derogatory, and current thinking is that the term entitlements should be used instead of needs, as this reflects the entitlement of disabled people to equality of opportunity in employment, education and access to goods and services.

Specific duties

Following legislation passed in recent years in respect of race, gender and disability, there are now a number of legal duties placed on all public bodies including HEIS, often referred to as the Public Sector Duties. These are divided into General and Specific Duties.

In drawing up a Disability Equality Scheme, organisations are required to:

Race

• Produce a race equality policy and action plan;
• The policy and plan should include measures to assess the impact of all institutional policies;
• The policy and plan should include measures to monitor application, admission and progress of students
• Monitor the recruitment and career progress of staff
• To publish the results of monitoring, assessment and reviews (including an annual review).

Gender

• Produce a gender equality scheme setting out how the general and specific duties will be fulfilled and setting out gender equality objectives
• Consider the need to include objectives to address the causes of any gender pay gap
• Gather and use information on how policies and practices affect gender equality in the workforce and the delivery of services
• Consult stakeholders and take account of relevant information
• Implement the actions set out in the scheme
• Publish the results of monitoring, assessment and reviews (including an annual review).

Disability

• Produce an action plan and report annually on progress
• The active involvement of disabled students and staff in the development, agreement and implementation of the action plan. This should be “effective and influential”
• Robust methodology to assess the impact of current and proposed activities to improve provision for disabled students, staff and visitors (impact assessments)
• To publish the results of monitoring, assessment and reviews
• Review and revise the disability scheme every three years.

T

Targets

Targets are a method of redressing any equality-based under-representation in the staff or student body. Ideally, targets should be linked to monitoring activity, which highlights particular gaps that should be dealt with. Targets are distinct from quotas in that they do not over-ride merit-based selection.

The two main types of target are quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative targets are the number or percentage of, for example, women, ethnic minority staff or disabled people that an organisation would aim to recruit. Qualitative targets could include a commitment to introduce equality training for everyone, or specific training for an under-represented group, or the introduction of a new policy or practice such as flexible working.

The general duty

Following legislation passed in recent years in respect of race, gender and disability, there are now a number of legal duties placed on all public bodies including higher education institutions, often referred to as the Public Sector Duties. These are divided into General and Specific Duties.

Race

• Eliminate racial discrimination and harassment;
• Promote equality of opportunity;
• Promote good race relations between people of different racial groups.

Gender

• Eliminate unlawful gender discrimination and harassment
• Promote equality of opportunity between men and women.

Disability

• Eliminate unlawful disability discrimination
• Eliminate unlawful harassment
• Promote equality of opportunity between disabled persons and other persons
• Promote positive attitudes towards disabled people
• Encourage participation by disabled persons in public life
• Take steps to meet disabled peoples needs, even if this requires more favourable treatment.

Trans

An inclusive term for those who identify themselves as transgender, transsexual or transvestite. The word ‘trans’ can be used without offence to cover people undergoing gender transition; people who identify as someone with a different gender from that in which they were born, but who may have decided not to undergo medical treatment; and people who choose to dress in the clothing typically worn by the other sex. This term should only be used as an adjective.

Transgender

An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from their birth sex. The term may include, but is not limited to, transsexual people and others who see themselves as not clearly fitting into male or female identities. Transgender people may or may not choose to alter their bodies hormonally and/or surgically. The term transgender should only be used as an adjective, for example ‘transgender people’.

Transsexual person

A person who feels a consistent and overwhelming desire to transition and fulfil their life as a member of the opposite sex. Someone in this position will have the medical condition gender dysphoria. This term should only be used as an adjective: individuals should be referred to as ‘transsexual people’ not ‘transsexuals’.

Transvestite

A person who dresses and acts in a style or manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex.

U

V

Vicarious liability

Higher education institutions and their governing bodies can be held to be vicariously liable for the acts or omissions of staff during the course of employment. This liability applies even if the action was not expressly authorised by the higher education institution.

To avoid vicarious liability an institution would need to show that it had taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the action had not taken place. This could be done by having a policy that was communicated to staff by training, briefing or otherwise informing them and by showing that, in the particular situation in question, the individual had acted contrary to the rules and procedures.

Victimisation

Victimisation is a form of unlawful discrimination. A person is victimised if they are treated less favourably because they have done a legally ‘protected act’ under the relevant anti-discrimination laws, for instance they have brought legal proceedings, given evidence, made a complaint, or supported someone who has made a complaint of unlawful discrimination against a higher education institution, a department or an individual.

Victimisation is unlawful if it takes place during the course of someone’s employment, or after the termination of their employment, for example in connection with the provision of employment references.

Victimisation on the grounds of race, gender, disability, age etc can cover workplace discrimination (failure to give promotion, dismissal or giving the employee unpleasant tasks). Students could be similarly victimised by an institution or an individual working in one by, for example. refusal of application or unfair marking.

W

Widening participation

Widening participation in higher education denotes systematic efforts to change and develop the ways in which universities and colleges work. The purpose of the efforts is to ensure that universities and colleges can meet the learning needs and aspirations of individuals or groups whose experiences or circumstances mean that they have not in the past, or are unlikely in the future, to participate fully in higher education. These groups or individuals are often referred to as being from a non-traditional background. In this context, a non-traditional background is a term used to describe a person who would not ordinarily enter higher education.

In light of the changes to higher education funding, it is likely that widening participation strategies will also target those from low-income backgrounds, as it is felt that such individuals face more barriers to higher education than other groups.

Work/life balance

Work-life balance is about adjusting working patterns and developing initiatives, policies and procedures to enable employees to get their jobs done and at the same time provide flexibility to manage personal and family responsibilities, and pursue activities outside work. Work-life balance is achieved when an individual’s right to a fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, the institution and society.

From an employee viewpoint, work-life balance is the dilemma of managing work obligations and a personal life, whilst achieving success and satisfaction within both. Many people struggle to maintain a balance between their work and home responsibilities, and other interests. This juggling process can have an adverse effect on the ability of employees to do their work effectively and on their general health and well-being. Women, in particular, are affected because they continue to be the primary carers for young children and elderly or disabled relatives, in addition to bearing the brunt of domestic labour alongside their work commitments. Work-life balance from the employer viewpoint involves the challenge of creating a supportive company culture where employees can focus on their jobs while at work. Many employers are developing a range of options such as flexi-time, job sharing, time off in lieu, and term-time working in order to create a more flexible workplace.

X

Xenophobia

Xenophobia is a prejudice based on an extreme dislike or irrational fear of foreigners. It is also often associated with a dislike of cultures, religions and ways of life of people who live in other countries. It is different from racism in that racism is also about some racial groups asserting and exploiting their power over other racial groups.

Z

Zero tolerance

A form of policing that allows no crime or anti-social behaviour to be overlooked.