EQUALITY BULLETIN – Issue Thirteen: May 2007 News & views from Glasgow’s Equality Forums and Glasgow City Council Working Glasgow Issue Contents: + (01) Scottish Women’s Convention launch The Equal Pay Guide + (02) Time to tackle homophobic bullying in the workplace + (03) STUC Launches the One Workplace Equality Award to Fight Discrimination in the Workplace + (04) Employment Is An Equalities Issue: Mental Health And Employability + (05) Equal Access to Employment + (06) Literature Review of Employers Attitudes towards Employability Groups + (07) Bridges Programme: Work Shadowing and Work Placements for Asylum Seekers & Refugees + (08) Equal Opportunities Monitoring Web Resources + (09) Some More Web Resources + (10) Challenging Worklessness and Underemployment of Black and Minority Ethnic Communities in Glasgow + (11) Sex and Power: Who Runs Scotland? 2007 + (12) All Clear: Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals at Work + (13) SITE: Supported Integration, Training and Employment + (14) What are ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES? + (15) Close The Gap + (16) Glasgow City Plan 2 + (17) Good LGBT Monitoring + (18) Back page: Glasgow’s Equality Networks; Aims And Submission Details; Formats; E-Newsletters; Contact Details; Disclaimer + (01) SCOTTISH WOMEN’S CONVENTION LAUNCH THE EQUAL PAY GUIDE The Equal Pay Guide which was launched on International Women’s Day in Edinburgh was commissioned by the SWC for women in Scotland because it was felt that there was a need for a practical guide containing essential information in a format that was clear and concise. It has been more than 30 years since the Equal Pay Act and there have been many advances for women in society and at work. More women are in employment and occupy a greater number of senior positions. Girls are outperforming boys at school and their aspirations are high. Despite these developments, the pay and opportunity gap for women remains. Pay inequality exists and it is deeply and profoundly damaging to women, to children and to families. It is even damaging to men and to Scotland’s economy. When we undervalue so-called ‘women’s work’ and pay those who care for our children less than those who remove our rubbish, we are condemning women to a lifetime of poverty. Research reveals that for too many women the pay gap causes them to work, live and die in poverty. The difference in men and women’s pay in Scotland is an average of £429 per month. This is money women use to spend on essential items like food, heat and childcare. Working women in the public and private sectors are bearing the brunt of the outdated assumption that if women can do a job, then it can’t be very difficult and therefore, it should not be worth a high rate of pay. The SWC is committed to changing that perception. The SWC would like to see a legal requirement for all employers to conduct equal pay audits and have made this point very strongly to the UK Government, the Scottish Executive and the Women and Work Commission. Equal Pay Audits can reveal not only the extent of the pay gap within organisations but provide information that employers can use to eradicate the problem. Sadly the Women and Work Commission did not share our views and missed a golden opportunity to recommend mandatory equal pay audits for all employers in the UK. The SWC will nonetheless continue to campaign for meaningful change for women in the workplace and wider society. Author: Agnes Tolmie, Chairperson, Scottish Women’s Convention, The Basement, 26 Albany Street, Edinburgh EH1 3QH Tel: 0131 557 8950 Email: info@scottishwomensconvention.org + (02) TIME TO TACKLE HOMOPHOBIC BULLYING IN THE WORKPLACE If there’s one thing the recent employment tribunal brought by gay sales manager Jonah Ditton has shown us, it is that it makes very good business sense for employers to take homophobic bullying in the workplace seriously. Mr Ditton was subjected to eight days of bullying and humiliation because he was gay, being called ‘cream puff’ and ‘a wee poof’ by his manager in front of his colleagues, before he was sacked for being ‘psychologically unbalanced’. He brought his tribunal claim against his former employer, CP Publishing Ltd, under the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 and was awarded £118,309 for discrimination on the grounds of his sexual orientation. The clear message here is that employers have a duty to prevent or tackle homophobic bullying and harassment in the workplace. If they don’t, it can turn into a very costly affair and have a detrimental affect on an organisation’s work environment and reputation, as well as damaging the health and career of the person being bullied. Mr Ditton’s case is a very clear cut and high profile example, but unfortunately, bullying and the marginalisation of gay people at work is not all that uncommon; it can sometimes be very subtle and hard to detect, with a number of every-day costs to the employer. Bad staff morale, lower productivity, poor team relations and high staff turnover are just some of the very real and frequent consequences of homophobic bullying in the workplace. Stonewall Scotland’s Diversity Champions programme can assist employers in developing policies and putting procedures in place that help ensure a more productive and inclusive work environment for gay, lesbian, and bisexual staff. The Diversity Champions programme is the fastest growing employers’ forum in the UK, and an increasingly relevant benchmarking tool. Companies and organisations that join the programme in Scotland are given access to a range of privileges, support and services. These include advice on the latest diversity and equality regulations; best practice seminars and events; assistance from a dedicated programme manager in Edinburgh; regular Stonewall e-bulletins; influence over policy development in the public and private sectors; sponsorship opportunities; and many other advantages to help put them ahead of the game. For more information on the Diversity Champions Programme in Scotland go to: http://www.stonewallscotland.org.uk/scotland/1385.asp or contact Michelle Fullerton on telephone number 0131 557 3679 email: michelle.fullerton@stonewallscotland.org.uk + (03) STUC LAUNCHES THE ONE WORKPLACE EQUALITY AWARD TO FIGHT DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE In April this year, Glasgow hosted the inaugural launch of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) One Workplace Equality Award to recognise the role of Scottish trade union members in challenging discriminatory practices and attitudes in the workplace. The presentation of this prestigious award was one of the main events at the STUC Annual Congress which was held 16-18 April 2007 at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. Trade union reps are often the unsung heroes making a real difference for workers throughout the country. For most reps, the daily experience is one of suspicion and mistrust from management, members only speak to them when they have a problem, and people outside the workplace generally have little knowledge of what union reps do! However, union reps have a key role to play in tackling inequality and discrimination and they help solve problems for workers everyday from the smallest grievance to major strategic issues. From January 2007, Scottish unions were invited to nominate members who have shown a commitment towards promoting equal opportunities and challenging discriminatory work practices. The Award will highlight good practice in this area by encouraging more trade union organisations and their members to take forward equal opportunity issues. The ‘STUC One Workplace Equality Award’ highlights the work of the STUC’s ground breaking One Workplace Equal Rights Project which has, since its launch in 2004, supported trade unions in Scotland in promoting equal opportunities issues in the workplace by offering support, targeted training and advice to trade unions, employers and employees on rights at work and on promoting and bargaining for inclusive work practices. The One Workplace Project is one of the major national projects supporting the Scottish Executive’s One Scotland campaign. More information is available from www.oneworkplace.org.uk or by contacting Zaffir Hakim, Development Manager, on 0141 337 8122 Note: One Workplace is one of the major national projects supporting the Executive’s One Scotland campaign http://www.infoscotland.com/noplace, and is a development partner of EU Equal COOL (Creating Opportunities for Lifelong Learning) www.sfeu.ac.uk/cool + (04) EMPLOYMENT IS AN EQUALITIES ISSUE: MENTAL HEALTH AND EMPLOYABILITY Dilemmas exist for all of us in nearly all parts of our lives, but when it comes to our mental or physical health these seem to be amplified, especially in our working lives. Most of us have little difficulty if we lose time at work because of the flu or a broken bone, but when we feel depressed or anxious the dilemma lies in whether to be truthful with our employers. The questions of “should I mention this to my employer, how will they react to me?” or “Can I take time off sick with anxiety and depression though I don’t necessarily look ill?” immediately arise. For this reason people with mental health problems can feel marginalised. For some employers, the realisation that a staff member who has suffered a mental health problem such as depression can be an asset is not a great leap to make. However, for others the realisation may never occur and they lose very experienced and qualified staff because of this: therefore incurring unnecessary costs in recruiting and training new staff. Employability is an equalities issue: so much of our self-respect and sense of value is tied up in being able to earn a living, so when it seems as if that ability is under threat, it can be very difficult to handle. But mental health problems should not automatically prevent people from working, any more than physical health issues should. This is not only a moral but a legal issue: mental health problems can count as a disability under the DDA and employers have an obligation not to discriminate against people who experience them, and to make reasonable adjustments where necessary. Appropriate employment can be good for mental health - SAMH research 1 found that people using mental health services who were currently in voluntary or paid employment had more contact with a range of people (including but not limited to colleagues) than those who weren’t. The benefits of social contacts can include distraction from negative situations and positive feedback from those around you, leading to a more positive self-image. There are still serious barriers to employment for people with mental health problems: 79% of people with serious mental health problems are unemployed, the highest among any group of disabled people. One of the main barriers is stigma – real or anticipated. A recent See Me survey found that fewer than four in ten employers said they would consider employing someone with a history of mental health problems. Even where an employer has no intention of discriminating, the fear of stigma may prevent someone from disclosing their mental health problem, or even for applying for a job in the first place. Many people with mental health problems do want to work, but often find it hard to access appropriate pre-vocational or vocational training, or to be considered for appropriate vacancies, no matter how much experience they have. This is partly due to stigma, and partly due to other barriers relating to timing and accessibility of training and employment opportunities: ie wrong time, wrong place, wrong skill base. One of the issues is the “traditional” nature of much of the provision in the mental health sector, where we have provided opportunities that closely mirror what was available to people in hospital settings: arts and crafts, woodwork, gardening etc. These then become a comfortable extension of what people have experienced through hospitals and for that reason the elements of stigma are still there. This is not a criticism of these services, but a recognition that their real value lies not in the specific skills that they teach but in the support and structure they provide and the confidence, self-belief and “soft” skills they allow people to develop. These skills, such as communication, problem-solving and time-keeping, are exactly those that employers are looking for. The challenge is to create services that maintain these strengths and challenge stigma at the same time. But there are also barriers outwith the mental health sector. Colleges and other training providers which have made great progress in making their provision more accessible to those with physical disabilities have not often been able to take similar steps for people with mental health problems. The cost of these cost of barriers to employment is significant: SAMH research 2 found that cost of worklessness among people with mental health problems in 2004/05 was £915 million, with the total social and economic cost of mental health problems standing at an incredible £8.6 billion. To address some of these issues, SAMH is calling for a sustainable funding regime for pre-vocational and vocational learning and employment services 3 which meet the needs of those who require the most support in order to get and keep a job. We hope that the next Scottish Executive will rise to this challenge. References: 1 A World to Belong to: social networks of people with mental health problems, SAMH, 2005 2 What’s it Worth? The Social and Economic Costs of Mental Health Problems, SAMH 2005 3 Agenda for Action, SAMH’s Manifesto for the 2007 elections, 2005 Authors: Carolyn Roberts (Research and Influence Manager) and Sam Anderson (Employment Development Manager), SAMH, Cumbrae House, 15 Carlton Court, Glasgow G5 9JP Tel 0141 568 7000 + (05) EQUAL ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT Equal Access to Employment is a partnership-based strategy for bringing many more people into employment in Glasgow, by enabling the health, social care and employability services to work more effectively together. Representing the key agencies across the city from economic development, health, voluntary sector and the city council, the partnership has the vision that: “Every adult in Glasgow, regardless of age, gender, background, ethnicity, personal or health history should have the same opportunity as everyone else in the city to obtain and hold down meaningful, paid work” In recent times Glasgow has enjoyed strong economic growth. However we know that many of our citizens have a lot to offer but have not yet benefited from the jobs that have been created and that the numbers of workless people remain stubbornly high. We also know from research that we have commissioned that many of these people would like to work given the right type of job and the right type of support. One of the keys to getting more of our residents into employment is to help them overcome whatever barriers are preventing them going into and staying in work, such as a disability, an addiction problem, a background in local authority care or being homeless. How is the strategy implemented?: The partnership has secured funding from Glasgow City Council, Greater Glasgow NHS, Scottish Executive, Scottish Enterprise Scotland and European funding. This has enabled the recruitment of staff to support partners to implement the strategy. This activity comes under 3 three broad goals: 1. Joining Up: Supporting partners to build a seamless service that will enable more people on health-related benefits to progress towards and into work. Equal Access has supported the development of approximately 100 networks throughout the city. Around a third of these are new networks. 2. Building Capacity: Equal Access is developing a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities of different agencies within the partnership. Agencies who work with clients will be helped to develop their potential to provide an effective, client-focussed service e.g. health and social care services are supported to bring employment aspirations into their practice and employment services are supported to work with more diverse client groups. In 2005/06 Equal Access provided training and awareness events to over 300 staff and service users from health, social care and employability services. 3. Mainstreaming: The long term aim is to develop lasting change in services. This is the most challenging aspect of Equal Access, and will be the subject of a mainstreaming action plan aspect of Equal Access Equal Access with the RE:FOCUS Development Partnership have launched a major mainstreaming agenda for 2006/07. The Equal Access Partnership secured EQUAL Community Initiative money to bring together the RE:FOCUS Development Partnership. This has provided funding for 20 pilot projects across the city from which learning is being mainstreamed. It also supported 2 major pieces of research: 1. Attitudinal Survey of Frontline Staff operating in Health, Social Care, Housing, Employment & Training and Education Organisations 2. Tracking Study Comparison Report to support the development of a common tracking system across the city Author: Alison McCrae, Equal Access Manager, Adelphi Centre, 12 Commercial Road, Glasgow G5 0PQ Tel 0141 429 2518 http://www.easglasgow.com + (06) LITERATURE REVIEW OF EMPLOYERS ATTITUDES TOWARDS EMPLOYABILITY GROUPS a literature review on employer attitudes to recruiting people who are at a distance from the labour market. These groups included people with mental health problems, drug addictions, physical disabilities, visual impairments, and learning disabilities, as well as ex-offenders, Black and Minority Ethnic groups and lone parents. Also: Myth Buster DVD to support employer engagement. http://www.easglasgow.com/Literaturereviewofemployersattitudes.htm + (07) BRIDGES PROGRAMME: WORK SHADOWING AND WORK PLACEMENTS FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS & REFUGEES Bridges Programmes is a registered charity running an innovative project to help asylum seekers and refugees make a positive contribution to Scottish society. We arrange work shadowing and work experience placements matching people by profession in partnership with over thirty private, public and voluntary organisations. Our clients come from all manner of occupations including (but not limited to!) administration, construction, teaching, accounting, medical, pharmaceutical, catering, hairdressing, engineering and social care. Asylum seekers are prohibited from working while their claim is processed which can take as long as five years. Under these circumstances, work shadowing provides a welcome opportunity for an asylum seeker to re-enter the professional environment and, for many, is their first experience of the Scottish workplace: “At the beginning, I had difficulties because some Maths vocabulary is different. I think that the work placement is a good place to learn the English vocabulary you need. Now I am familiar with the curriculum but I still have to learn about the British system. I found it immensely helpful to be working with other teachers. This made me learn very fast, work shadowing was important for me.” Mathematics teacher from Burundi on placement at St Paul’s Secondary School Many of the organisations who work with Bridges use shadowing as a development tool for staff CPD or to support attainment of growth initiatives such as Investors in People or the Charter Mark. Offering shadow placements can also help staff to develop their confidence in working alongside colleagues from other cultures and coaching others. Our shadowing programme enables asylum seekers to understand how their occupation is practised in Scottish society while awaiting a decision on their asylum claim. If the individual is granted refugee status they will have some understanding and experience of how their chosen career operates in this country. Conversely, if their asylum decision is negative they will at least have had an opportunity to maintain or extend their professional skills in preparation for employment elsewhere. .Bridges placements normally run for 6-12 weeks (1 or 2 days per week) and both the client and the company are fully supported by a member of the Bridges staff. For more information please contact Suki Mills, Bridges Programmes, 27 Main Street, Bridgeton, Glasgow G40 1QA Tel 0141 554 5440 Fax 0141 556 4144 www.bridgesprogrammes.org.uk email: suki.mills@bridgesprogrammes.org.uk + (08) EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES MONITORING WEB RESOURCES Ethnic Monitoring, Commission for Racial Equality: http://www.cre.gov.uk/gdpract/employmentcode2005.html Monitoring: How to monitor sexual orientation in the workplace, Stonewall Workplace Guides, 2006 http://www.stonewall.org.uk/workplace/ ‘Good LGBT Monitoring’, Fair For All - The Wider Challenge: Good LGBT Practice in the NHS, NHS Inclusion Project: http://www.lgbthealthscotland.org.uk/documents/Good_LGBT_Practice_NHS.pdf How To Monitor By Gender And Marital Status, Equal Opportunities Commission: http://www.eoc.org.uk/Default.aspx?page=15409 Disability Monitoring, TUC: http://www.tuc.org.uk/equality/tuc-9664-f0.cfm + (09) SOME MORE WEB RESOURCES: The Impact of Asylum Seekers on the Glasgow Economy, COSLA http://www.asylumscotland.org.uk/assets/downloads/Impact%20of%20A.S.%20on%20Glasgow%20Economy.pdf Equal Access to Employment in Glasgow: http://www.easglasgow.com/ Statutory Code of Practice on Racial Equality in Employment, CRE 2006 http://www.cre.gov.uk/gdpract/employmentcode2005.html How To Put Equality Into Practice: Employment, EOC http://www.eoc.org.uk/Default.aspx?page=15412 Disability Rights Commission Employment web pages: http://www.drc-gb.org/employment.aspx Line manager guide: A best practice approach to working with disabled colleagues (Employers Forum on Disability): http://www.employers-forum.co.uk/www/guests/publications/line-manager-guide.html Working outside the box: changing work to meet the future, EOC interim report of the EOC’s investigation into the Transformation of Work, March 2007 http://www.eoc.org.uk/Default.aspx?page=17704 Stonewall Workplace website: http://www.stonewall.org.uk/workplace/ E-Learning On Religion And Belief (ACAS, 2007): http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1240 Employment and the Disability Equality Duty: Disabled people of working age are twice as likely as non disabled people to be out of work and claiming benefits. The Disability Equality Duty (DED) aims to remove the barriers disabled people face in finding employment and fulfilling their potential as employees. http://www.drc-gb.org/employers_and_service_provider/disability_equality_duty/sectoral_guidance/employment.aspx Recruiting, Retaining And Developing Disabled Volunteers: Through this guidance document, the DRC seeks to improve access to volunteering opportunities for disabled people by providing advice and guidance to organisations providing, or who are planning to provide, these opportunities. This guidance is suitable for organisations of all kinds, and will help you create barrier free volunteering opportunities for disabled people, in many different types of volunteering environment. www.drc-gb.org/employers_and_service_provider/employment/recruiting__retaining_and_deve.aspx ACAS Guides: Guidance on Age and the workplace: a guide for employers Guidance on Religion or belief and the workplace Guidance on Sexual orientation and the workplace Tackling discrimination and promoting equality - good practice guide for employers Go to http://www.acas.org.uk or contact the publications office Tel 08702 42 90 90 Fax 020 8867 3225 email acas@eclogistics.co.uk + (10) CHALLENGING WORKLESSNESS AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT OF BLACK AND MINORITY ETHNIC COMMUNITIES IN GLASGOW Glasgow is entering a defining period in its economic and social development; is taking part in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Cities Strategy pilot, the Scottish Executive’s regeneration statement People and Place identifies the Clyde as a priority area for regeneration, and population has stopped decreasing for the first time in decades due to inward migration and an increasing indigenous Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) population. But Glasgow still has the highest number of worst 15% deprived areas, as defined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD06) (1) and there are enduring gaps between white and BME experiences of the labour market in Scotland, with unemployment among all BME groups higher than for white Scots. Glasgow Anti Racist Alliance (GARA) has produced ‘Challenging Worklessness and Underemployment of Black and Minority Ethnic Communities in Glasgow’, in an effort to draw problems and solutions closer together, rather than adding to lists of ‘barriers’, and possibly excuses for limited action. In compiling this report we explored demographics and education, which are essential elements consideration if we are to understand issues in relation to employment and economic activity. This showed that treating BME groups as a homogeneous mass is unjustified, given the variations in and between groups. It is clear that more needs to be done, collectively and individually by key players, to address the needs of BME populations in terms of training and employment. Past action has often been piecemeal and “start-stop” in nature, in future it must be sustainable, measurable capable of being mainstreamed. Race equality has often started and finished with a bare set of actions to stop organisations falling foul of the Race Relations Act 1976 (RRA), especially in terms of employment. The Amendment to the Act in 2000 (2) signalled a desire by government for a more proactive approach with emphasis on mainstreaming. BME people suffer discrimination and deprivation in addition to that related to where they live, so there is still a strong case for thematic work in parallel with area based approaches. The regeneration statement for Scotland (3) has renewed emphasis on physical regeneration, but social and economic regeneration needs to be more closely linked and BME people need to be at the heart of this. The Community Planning Partnership and Glasgow Anti Racist Alliance can take a lead in ensuring that BME people share in decision making. The potential for positive action under the RRA has not been fully exploited, but racially targeted interventions are insufficient on their own to ensure equity. What employers do has to shift to result in a lasting difference, e.g. ethnic monitoring that actually feeds back into company practices on recruitment, retention and promotion. (1) SIMD 2006, Scottish Executive 2006 (2) Race Relations (Amendment Act) 2000 (‘RRAA’) (3) People and Place, Scottish Executive 2006 Author: Ric Rea, Glasgow Anti Racist Alliance http://www.gara.org.uk/ + (11) SEX AND POWER: WHO RUNS SCOTLAND? 2007 Women make up just under 12% of Scotland’s senior judges and police officers and barely 19% of Local Authority Council leaders. At the very top, ethnic minority women are especially under represented, with no ethnic minority members of the Scottish Parliament and no ethnic minority women representing Scottish constituencies at Westminster. The EOC is calling for the extension of the right to request flexible working to all and the availability of more high quality, well-paid flexible and part-time work at higher levels, and for political parties to continue to take positive action to improve women’s representation. The UK currently ranks 59th in terms of women’s representation in Parliament, and is out performed by Rwanda, Afghanistan and Iraq. EOC Scotland, St Stephens House, 279 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 4JL Email: scotland@eoc.org.uk Fax: 0141 248 5834 Tel: 0845 601 5901 http://www.eoc.org.uk + (12) All Clear: Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals at Work All Clear is a handbook and a CD-ROM with ideas and new methods on how to create open places at work where everyone, regardless of sexual orientation is welcomed and respected. Available free from http://www.frittfram.se + (13) SITE: SUPPORTED INTEGRATION, TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT SITE aims to tackle the unacceptably high level of unemployment among visually impaired people and the barriers they face in obtaining meaningful employment. New developments are being launched by SITE as part of its integrated service to visually impaired people seeking assistance in accessing employment, training and learning. In partnership with the EQUAL ReFocus Programme, Glasgow City Council and RNIB Scotland, SITE aims to address the barriers that visually impaired people face in accessing employment by offering a person-centred, on-going service via one-to-one support, and by raising awareness among employers of the support available to them when considering a visually impaired person for employment. … a person-centred, on-going service via one-to-one support: Volunteers’ are an integral part of our work and are best able to provide the on-going support that blind and partially sighted people request. We will be providing volunteering support in assistive technologies and employment mentoring to people affected by sight loss. Assistive technology: Assistive technology plays an ever increasing role in the lives of people with a visual impairment and enables them to access, for example, various information and communications technology (ICT) and software. As these technologies change and develop it is essential that visually impaired people are supported and informed in order that they can achieve the most effective and efficient use of the technology. For those who are new to assistive technologies it can often be a daunting prospect to use such technologies for the first time and the support provided by SITE will help alleviate initial fears. Employment mentoring: We will also provide employment mentoring support to blind and partially sighted people entering and continuing in employment and learning. The volunteer can support and motivate clients to enable them to overcome practical barriers faced in the workplace or learning environment. Our volunteers are viewed as positive role models for others, as well as bringing their own knowledge and skills to support service users they can gain additional valuable skills and experience in areas of support to visually impaired people. We offer exciting and rewarding volunteering opportunities in ever-changing areas of support to the visually impaired and welcome volunteering enquiries which will enable us to continually develop and provide support to our clients. … raising awareness among employers: SITE provides Visual Awareness training to individuals, community based organisations and employers. This includes appropriate terminology, etiquette and how to address support issues. We can also provide employers with access audits and best practice advice. We have also produced a Visual Awareness Pack to assist employment practitioners. The pack provides valuable information and advice to ensure that practitioners better understand the clients they deal with. The pack covers a wide range of topics including, information on the types of jobs blind and partially sighted people do, information on what it means to be blind or partially sighted, common eye conditions and making information accessible. There are also sections on the Disability Discrimination Act, access technology in the Workplace, communication/etiquette and information on sources of help and advice. This training tool is aimed at people who deliver employment or learning-related services to blind and partially sighted people. New and existing practitioners will find the resource invaluable as a reference or as part of a structured training programme – SITE can assist practitioners and deliver training to organisations if required. We hope that this pack will help to develop skills and knowledge among the hundreds of employment practitioners who offer advice, training and employment services to blind and partially sighted people. The Visual Awareness Pack was launched on Monday 14 May in Glasgow City Chambers. To find out more simply contact us at SITE, Centre for Sensory Impaired People, 17 Gullane Street, Glasgow, G11 6AH Tel: 0141 334 5530 www.site-wos.org + (14) WHAT ARE ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES? Assistive Technology WIKI (description of Assistive Technology, products, references, web links) at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistive_technology The National Library for the Blind has an Access Technology Primer (includes: Introduction to access technology; Training visually impaired people to use computers; Changes you can make to your computer without access technology; Windows keyboard commands; JAWS; Supernova; Zoomtext) at http://atp.nlb-online.org AccessWorld: Technology and People with Visual Impairments http://www.afb.org/aw/main.asp E-access Bulletin, a free, independent monthly e-mail newsletter on information technology issues for people with visual impairment and blindness: http://www.headstar.com/eab/ + 15) CLOSE THE GAP Despite decades of activism, and the introduction of the Equal Pay Act in 1975, women are still paid less than men for work of equal value. Scotland’s labour market has changed irrevocably in recent decades, and women are now more likely than ever to earn a wage. Alongside a shift towards women’s economic independence has been a move towards men’s increasing engagement with family life. This has raised questions about how men and women can work and have families, and employers and workers alike are grappling with the issue of work-life balance. In our unequal society, women currently assume a disproportionate share of caring for children, sick people and older people. Women workers are heavily penalised in their pay packets if they need to work part-time or flexibly in order to fulfil their caring obligations. Many women who work part-time because of outside pressures are underemployed, and are unable to use fully their experience, skills, and talents. In part, this is because society also places a low value on so-called “women’s work”. Women who work in stereotypically female occupations like cleaning, caring, catering, clerical, or retail work find their work undervalued and disrespected. There is a strong sense that the emotional labour of caring for children and the sick, and in working in service industries more generally, is something that is innately female, and therefore does not merit significant financial compensation. Individual women and groups of women have always challenged assumptions about the types of work that they should do. Female pioneers have innovated and invented within historically male occupations like chemistry, physics, computing science, mathematics, law, engineering, and medicine. True parity, however, remains a long way off. Women have struggled to find jobs and apprenticeships in the trades, even while employers cry out for plumbers, construction workers and engineers. Some employers have welcomed the opportunity to diversify their workforce but others cling to outdated notions about women preferring clean office jobs, or express somewhat Victorian concerns about toilet arrangements on construction sites. Women are also “missing” from senior posts across the private and public sectors. Women are under-represented in the Scottish Parliament, at Westminster, in business, in the arts, as editors of national newspapers, as senior policy officers and members of the judiciary, as local authority chief executives, as college principals and university vice chancellors, and as trade union general secretaries. This not only affects women’s average pay but also means that women have far fewer opportunities to participate in public life and less influence over strategic decisions about the delivery of our public services. Equal pay, then, is an issue that cuts to the heart of women’s role in twenty-first century Scotland. Close the Gap works across Scotland with those who can influence the pay gap and those who are affected by it. www.closethegap.org.uk + (16) GLASGOW CITY PLAN 2 Big changes are taking place in Glasgow. Development and investment is helping to create new jobs and homes in different parts of the City, including the River Corridor and City Centre. The Glasgow City Plan is important because it helps to determine where and how this change occurs. This includes the area where you live. The Finalised Draft Plan Is Now Available For Comment. The Plan is available to view in all Glasgow’s libraries and at the office of Development and Regeneration Services at 229 George Street, Glasgow G1 1QU. The Plan is also on the City Council’s Website at www.glasgow.gov.uk. An individual copy of the document, priced £50 plus post and packaging, can be obtained by telephoning 0141 287 8555. A summary plan is also available. You can also submit your comments online using the Council’s website www.glasgow.gov.uk (Business>CityPlan>CityPlanReview). Comments must be submitted on a response form (available with the draft plan) no later than 6 July 2007, to: Freepost (City Plan), Office Services, Development and Regeneration Services, Glasgow City Council, FREEPOST SCO5293, Glasgow G2 1BR. It should be noted that representations received outwith the consultation period will not be taken into consideration by the Council. This is your opportunity to influence the contents of Glasgow City Plan 2. Please take this opportunity to contribute to the development of your local area and the future of your city. Glasgow City Council aims to be inclusive and to promote equal opportunities. The Council would like to engage with all groups and interests in the City and will, therefore, try to accommodate individual information requests wherever possible. Please contact the City Plan Team directly on 0141 287 8538 if you have a requirement for City Plan information on tape, in Braille, large print, specific computer format or if you have a specific language requirement and need a translation or interpreting service. + (17) GOOD LGBT MONITORING Organisational performance management requires monitoring in order to review practice and address areas where positive changes can be made. Monitoring should be a central part of both workforce and service delivery functions. For example, the NHS carries out ethnic origin monitoring for all prospective staff as part of the statutory duty to promote race equality. If ethnic origin were not monitored, it would be impossible to identify areas for change in order to improve recruitment processes and thereby promote race equality. Similarly, the collection of relevant LGBT data will support the promotion of equality for LGBT people across the NHS. Monitoring And Evaluation Of Staff: Monitoring can show whether LGBT employees: • are employed in numbers that reflect the local/national population • apply for promotion at the same rate as all other employees • are recruited or selected for training in proportionate numbers • are being harassed or bullied at work because of their sexual orientation • are concentrated in certain jobs, sections or departments • think the organisation’s procedures and culture are supportive However, there are unique challenges in monitoring the sexual orientation of employees and job applicants sensitively. Guidelines for workforce monitoring have been produced by Stonewall, the GB organisation that promotes equality and diversity for LGB people, in association with the Department for Trade and Industry. These are available from www.stonewall.org.uk Key Issues For LGBT People: People of different generations may use different language to define their sexual orientation. For example, some older people may define themselves as homosexual rather than gay or lesbian, so it may be helpful to provide alternative wording. Some women may define themselves only as lesbian, other women only as gay. Creating a safe environment in the workplace will enable more people to be open about their sexual orientation but employers should not force people to disclose this information. Monitoring on sexual orientation should always allow for people to prefer not to answer a particular question. Being transgender is not an issue of sexual orientation but one of gender identity. Guidance on the 2001 National Census stated that transgender people could tick the gender they felt described them, irrespective of the sex on their birth certificate. It may therefore be more inclusive to use the word ‘gender’ rather than ‘sex’ on forms. Getting It Right – Monitoring Forms: Monitoring forms should include a section on both sexual orientation and transgender status and changes to marital status and gender sections. Sexual Orientation: A question asking about someone’s sexual orientation should be included. There should be five reply options: “Lesbian”, “Gay”, “Bisexual”, “Heterosexual” and “Other”. The reasons for collecting the information should be clearly explained at the start of the document and no-one should be pressured into answering the question. Transgender Status: A question asking “Are you or have you ever considered yourself to be transgender?” should be asked with a yes/no reply option. The reasons for collecting the information should be clearly explained at the start of the document and no one should be pressured into answering the question. Marital Status: Sections on monitoring forms recording marital status should be updated to include registered same-sex partners to take account of the legislation on civil partnership introduced in 2004. Forms should have tick boxes labelled “married or in a civil partnership”, “divorced or dissolved civil partnership”. Additionally, consider revising such a section to record relationship status as opposed to marital status and include a broader range of relationships. Gender: Sections recording gender should be updated to have three reply options, “Male”, “Female” or “Other” where people can define their own gender. This will allow intersex and some transgender people to define themselves and be included. Taking it Forward – Checklist: Review service user and staff monitoring and assessment forms: + Section on sexual orientation included on monitoring forms + Section on transgender status included on monitoring forms + Section on gender revised to include self-definition area on monitoring forms + Civil partnerships (and a broader range of relationships if required) should be included in marital status sections of monitoring forms Opportunities for Further Action: • Publish monitoring results on the internet and in publications • Allow monitoring results to inform policy decisions • Identify areas showing underrecruitment of LGBT people • Identify service improvements requested by LGBT people The text above is an edited version of the chapter ‘Good LGBT Monitoring’ from Fair For All - The Wider Challenge: Good LGBT Practice in the NHS, produced by the NHS Inclusion Project (now called Fair For All - LGBT). The chapter discusses LGBT monitoring of service users as well as staff, and gives examples of the benefits and types of monitoring that could be undertaken. The publication can be accessed at www.lgbthealthscotland.org.uk or by contacting Fair For All - LGBT, 84 Bell Street, Glasgow G1 1LQ Tel 0141 552 4796. Fair For All - LGBT is a partnership between Stonewall Scotland and the Scottish Executive Health Department, set up to support change in the NHS to be fully inclusive of LGBT service users and staff. + (18) BACK PAGE: GLASGOW’S EQUALITY NETWORKS; AIMS AND SUBMISSION DETAILS; FORMATS; E-NEWSLETTERS; CONTACT DETAILS; DISCLAIMER GLASGOW’S EQUALITY NETWORKS: Glasgow Women’s Voluntary Sector Network Contact: Lorna New Tel: 0141 550 7557 Email: lorna_wisewomen@hotmail.com Glasgow Black and Ethnic Minority Voluntary Sector Network Contact: Safia Ali Tel: 0141 429 4249 Email: safia@pdaglasgow.org.uk Glasgow Disability Alliance Contact: Tressa Burke Tel: 0141 556 7103 Email: tressaburke@gdaonline.co.uk The West of Scotland LGBT Forum Contact: Ruth Black Tel: 0141 221 7203 Email: ruth.glgbt@btconnect.com Contact: David Thomas Email: djrt113@btinternet.com AIMS AND SUBMISSION DETAILS The Equality Bulletin is produced on behalf of Glasgow’s Equality Network Forum. The Forum is made up of representatives from Glasgow’s four Equality Networks and from Glasgow City Council. The aim of the Bulletin is to raise awareness of Equality issues in Glasgow, and to support information-sharing and joint working between Glasgow’s Equality Networks and between the Equality Networks and Glasgow City Council. Each Equality Network will be responsible for agreeing its own input to the Bulletin. If you are interested in writing an article or having a particular issue covered in the Bulletin please take your suggestions along to your own Network meeting for their agreement. If you have any comments or ideas, or additional items, reports, news etc. that you feel the Bulletin should be publicising please contact us at the address below. FORMATS: The Equality Bulletin can be provided in large print, braille, on tape, and on computer disc. It can also be emailed to you as a text or as a PDF document. Please contact us at the address below for copies, or download your copy from the Equality Network Forum website at www.enf.org.uk . Copies are now also available as stand alone articles on the ENF Blog http://www.enf.org.uk/blog E-NEWSLETTERS: EQUALITY UPDATES, FUNDING EXTRA and JOBS EXTRA e-newsletters: keep up-to-date by subscribing to these free weekly e-newsletters, simply email kate.henderson@gcvs.org.uk or subscribe online at www.enf.org.uk CONTACT DETAILS: Equality Bulletin GCVS, 11 Queens Crescent, Glasgow G4 9AS Tel: 0141 332 2444 Fax: 0141 332 0175 Email: kate.henderson@gcvs.org.uk Web: www.enf.org.uk DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Glasgow City Council or the Equality Network Forum The Equality Bulletin: funded by Glasgow City Council, produced by Equality Network Forum, printed by Printing Works