An article examined ethnic diversity in London and its relationship to social cohesion. It said that, once the level of economic deprivation in the area was accounted for, ethnic diversity was positively related to the perceived social cohesion of neighbourhood residents, while ethnic segregation was associated with lower levels of perceived social cohesion. It said that both effects were strongly moderated by age.
Source: Patrick Sturgis, Ian Brunton-Smith, Jouni Kuha, and Jonathan Jackson, 'Ethnic diversity, segregation and the social cohesion of neighbourhoods in London', Ethnic and Racial Studies, Online first
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Nov
A report examined the evidence base for contextualized admissions decisions to undergraduate courses at higher education providers.
Source: Joanne Moore, Anna Mountford-Zimdars, and Jo Wiggans, Contextualised Admissions: Examining the evidence – research into the evidence base for the use of contextual information and data in admissions of UK students to undergraduate courses in the UK, Supporting Professionalism in Admissions
Links: Report | Telegraph report | BBC report | UUK press release
Date: 2013-Oct
The equality and human rights watchdog published a briefing paper that looked at indicators of equality in respect of people's standard of living (adults and children). It presented data, where available, against the measures that had been developed for each of five indicators: housing quality and security; poverty and security of income; access to care; quality of the local area; and being treated with respect by private companies and public agencies in relation to a person's standard of living. The watchdog said that the indicators would form part of an overall measurement framework used to guide it in fulfilling its statutory duties on equality issues.
Source: Standard of Living: Measurement Framework Series, Briefing paper 10, Equality and Human Rights Commission
Links: Briefing paper
Date: 2013-Sep
The coalition government published the outcome of a review of the legal requirement for public bodies to take account of equality when carrying out their day-to-day work. The government said that it agreed with the conclusion that a full evaluation should be undertaken in 2016, when the duty would have been in force for five years.
Source: Review of the Public Sector Equality Duty: Report of the Independent Steering Group, Government Equalities Office
Links: Report | Qualitative research | Hansard | HOC briefing | Disability Rights UK press release | IER press release | TUC press release | TUC blog post
Date: 2013-Sep
A report by a committee of the National Assembly for Wales said that the Welsh Government should seek further powers in the area of equality and human rights. There was a divergence in approach to equality issues in Wales compared with England. Although some areas of equality legislation regarding the public sector were devolved to Wales, laws made in these areas could automatically fall should the United Kingdom government ever choose to repeal the Equality Act 2010. The committee also expressed concern about a proposed cut in funding for the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Source: The Future of Equality and Human Rights in Wales, Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee, National Assembly for Wales
Links: Report | NAW press release | OPCW press release
Date: 2013-Aug
An article examined the accepted frameworks for conceptualizing the chronology of equal opportunities and diversity. The 'eras' of the chronologies gave way to a much more complex and fluid picture on closer examination. Moreover, focusing on ends and means highlighted some major issues in the development of policy on equal opportunities and diversity that needed to be addressed.
Source: Martin Powell, Nick Johns, and Alison Green, 'Equal opportunities and diversity: exploring the relevance of Le Grand's models of service provision', Social Policy and Society, Volume 12 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Aug
An article presented a theoretically based, multidimensional, and comparable measurement of social cohesion, applicable in 47 European countries/regions.
Source: Paul Dickes and Marie Valentova, 'Construction, validation and application of the measurement of social cohesion in 47 European countries and regions', Social Indicators Research, Volume 113 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jul
A paper examined the role of public services in fostering a more equal society. It called for a different model of public services based on: an active, enabling state that brought a full range of public, private, and social resources to bear; and a new culture of shared values and responsibilities across the whole economy.
Source: Henry Kippin, Public Services and Equality: Why they matter, and why we need a new approach, 2020 Public Services Hub
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Jul
A report examined the abolition or weakening by the coalition government of key institutions and laws concerned with promoting equality. It also highlighted the dangers of abolishing or weakening the public sector equality duty, which was under 'wholesale review'. It set out alternative actions that the government could take if it genuinely wanted to improve its own effectiveness and that of the wider public sector in tackling discrimination against women and other groups.
Source: Red Tape, Red Line: Five reasons why government should not 'drop its duty' to tackle women s inequality, Fawcett Society
Links: Report | Fawcett Society press release | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Jul
The coalition government announced that it was cancelling guidance on diversity and equality in planning, issued by the previous Labour government in 2005. It said that the guidance: was outdated; was excessive in length; failed to strike the correct balance between the spatial impact of a planning proposal and the background of the applicant; promoted the excessive use of equality impact assessments, which were an 'expensive and bureaucratic burden' on the public sector; and, by telling local councils to translate into foreign language, undermined integration by discouraging people from learning English, weakened community cohesion and a common British identity, and wasted taxpayers' money.
Source: Written Ministerial Statement 1 July 2013, columns 24-25WS, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Hansard | Inside Housing report
Date: 2013-Jul
A new book examined the interaction between policies, institutions, and civil society actors in relation to gender equality, diversity, and intersectionality at the European level.
Source: Lise Rolandsen Agustin, Gender Equality, Intersectionality and Diversity in Europe, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Jun
A new book examined discrimination law, with a primary focus on discrimination in employment. It explored the concepts of equality, the historical origins of discrimination law, and the wider political, social, and economic contexts through which the law had evolved.
Source: Malcolm Sargeant, Discrimination and the Law, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-May
A report highlighted the benefits of equality for businesses. It said that avoiding discrimination and treating staff fairly ensured access to the best talent, which allowed businesses to maximize profits and create wealth. Diverse workplaces were usually stronger, because different individuals each brought their own strengths, which complemented one other when working as a team.
Source: John Wastnage and Kamala Mackinnon, Business is Good for Equality, British Chambers of Commerce
Links: Report | BCC press release | GEO press release
Date: 2013-May
A new book examined 'new dynamics' towards tolerance, intolerance, and respect in European societies. Greater ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity meant that pluralism was experienced in new and challenging ways. In many places, an urban cosmopolitan mix sat side by side with group-based expressions of faith and culture. Increasing openness and respect for some might rest upon a reinforced intolerance towards others.
Source: Jan Dobbernack and Tariq Modood (eds), Tolerance, Intolerance and Respect: Hard to Accept?, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-May
An article examined whether equality of opportunity brought business benefits. An analysis of the Workplace Employment Relations Survey 2004 found that neither large/widespread business benefits nor large/widespread costs were associated with equal opportunities policies among the establishments that implemented these. Given the net benefits to society of equal opportunities policies, this suggested that public and private benefits were likely to differ substantially, and pointed to the need for policy intervention.
Source: Rebecca Riley, Hilary Metcalf, and John Forth, 'The business case for equal opportunities', Industrial Relations Journal, Volume 44 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-May
The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 was given Royal assent. The Act contained a wide range of measures, including:
• The employment tribunal system would be reformed, by the provision of more options for the early resolution of disputes through the statutory arbitration and conciliation service.
• Company shareholders were allowed a binding vote on the remuneration of directors.
• There would be greater protection for individuals from harassment when they 'blew the whistle' at work: but they would only be protected at all if they raised matters of public interest.
• Civil claims for breach of health and safety duties would only be possible where it could be proved that an employer had been negligent: and an employer would always be able to defend themselves on the basis of having taken all reasonable steps to protect their employees.
• Abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales.
• Discrimination on the grounds of caste would, for the first time, be treated as an aspect of race in the Equality Act 2010 (following a government defeat in the House of Lords).
• A clause designed to restrict the remit of the Equality and Human Rights Commission was removed (following a government defeat in the House of Lords).
Source: Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, TSO
Links: Act | Explanatory notes | DBIS press release | NSS press release | BBC report
Date: 2013-May
An article examined why legal judgments concerning equality/human rights and religion/belief had frequently provoked controversy. Debate about religion or belief and its place in society had been unduly dominated by particular – and sometimes partial – understandings of legal judgments. In the long term an approach based on human rights principles was likely to be more satisfactory than one based principally on equality.
Source: Alice Donald, 'Advancing debate about religion or belief, equality and human rights: grounds for optimism?', Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, Volume 2 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Apr
The Scottish Government published a series of reports examining evidence relating to the equality of different key groups. The reports reviewed the policy areas of education, employment, poverty, housing, transport, hate crime, justice, public appointments, health, social care, sport, and culture.
Source: Scottish Government Equality Outcomes: Gender Evidence Review, Scottish Government | Scottish Government Equality Outcomes: Religion and Belief Evidence Review, Scottish Government | Scottish Government Equality Outcomes: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Evidence Review, Scottish Government | Scottish Government Equality Outcomes: Disability Evidence Review, Scottish Government | Scottish Government Equality Outcomes: Pregnancy and Maternity Evidence Review, Scottish Government | Scottish Government Equality Outcomes: Age Evidence Review, Scottish Government
Links: Report (Gender) | Report (Religion and belief) | Report (LGBT) | Report (Disability) | Report (Pregnancy/maternity) | Report (Age)
Date: 2013-Apr
A report examined how European and national equality legislation was implemented and interpreted. It looked at cases concerning: a claim of associative sex discrimination on grounds of the pregnancy of the claimant's partner; the discriminatory dismissal of older workers; and discrimination on the grounds of nationality or citizenship.
Source: Jayne Hardwick et al., Equality Law in Practice: Comparative Analysis of Discrimination Cases in Europe, Equinet (European Network of Equality Bodies)
Links: Report | Equinet press release
Date: 2013-Mar
An article examined how teachers' understandings of diversity and difference and their pedagogical responses at the local level were influenced by, and could be reconciled with, policy at the general level with its impulse for categorization, normalcy, and 'ableness'.
Source: Hazel Lawson, Ruth Boyask, and Sue Waite, 'Construction of difference and diversity within policy and practice in England', Cambridge Journal of Education, Volume 43 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Mar
An article examined the representation of under-represented groups within political parties. Where aspiring parliamentary candidates from under-represented groups had been selected, it was because they were 'acceptably different', conforming to aspects of the 'archetypal candidate'. Increasingly dominant professionalized 'pathways' into national politics had allowed greater diversity: but they remained narrow and exclusionary. Progress was less a reflection of a more open political system than an accommodation of still under-represented groups to, and by, the existing system.
Source: Catherine Durose, Liz Richardson, Ryan Combs, Christina Eason, and Francesca Gains, '"Acceptable difference": diversity, representation and pathways to UK politics', Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 66 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Mar
An article constructed measures of social diversity in European countries. Regional diversity was more strongly related to different kinds of sociality (interpersonal trust, institutional trust, and support for government redistribution) than diversity at the national level.
Source: Ferry Koster, 'Sociality in diverse societies: a regional analysis across European countries', Social Indicators Research, Volume 111 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Feb
An article said that there was 'substantial coherence and theoretical underpinning' to the European Court of Justice's equality reasoning – contrary to the view that the general principle of equality was inconsistently applied by the court.
Source: Johanna Croon, 'Comparative institutional analysis, the European Court of Justice and the general principle of non-discrimination – or – alternative tales on equality reasoning', European Law Journal, Volume 19 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Feb
The report was published of an expert workshop that examined ways of using human rights and equality legislation to analyze and challenge public spending cuts.
Source: Using Human Rights and Equality to Analyse and Challenge the Public Spending Cuts: Reflections on past practice and organising for the future, Centre for Human Rights in Practice (University of Warwick)
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Jan
A new book examined the several (and interlocking) challenges presented by the Lisbon Treaty for the protection of fundamental rights in the European Union, following its entry into force in December 2009.
Source: Sybe de Vries, Ulf Bernitz, and Stephen Weatherill (eds), The Protection of Fundamental Rights in the EU After Lisbon, Hart Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Jan
A new book challenged the view that ethnic diversity was socially beneficial.
Source: Ed West, The Diversity Delusion: Why mass immigration has failed Britain, and how we can make it better, Gibson Square Books
Links: Summary | NCF press release
Date: 2013-Jan
A report examined the work carried out by equality bodies in Europe when dealing with cases of discrimination on the grounds of ethnic or racial origin.
Source: Equality Bodies Combating Discrimination on the Ground of Racial or Ethnic Origin, Equinet (European Network of Equality Bodies)
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Jan
A report for the equal rights watchdog examined the recruitment practices of employers in relation to health questionnaires before a job offer was made to an applicant. Private sector employers were more likely to ask health-related questions of disabled applicants.
Source: Lorna Adams, Katie Oldfield, Laura Godwin, and Jolyon Fairburn-Beech, Use of Pre-Employment Health Questionnaires by Employers, Research Report 87, Equality and Human Rights Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Jan