Aberdeen City Council has agreed a new equality, diversity and inclusion plan for the workplace.
The plan, approved by the authority’s Staff Governance Committee, is underpinned by two Equality Outcomes, approved by the council’s Operational Delivery Committee in March, which aim to:
- Improve the diversity of the organisation’s workforce and address any areas of under-representation, ensuring that there are equal opportunities for all protected groups with a particular and prioritised focus on age, disability, ethnicity/race and sex.
- Ensure that all employees who have protected characteristics feel fully valued, safe and included at work, with a particular and prioritised focus on age, disability, ethnicity/race, gender reassignment, sex and sexual orientation.
The council already undertakes a range of work to support equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and has a number of strategic drivers, accreditations, duties and pledges, each of which have key requirements that impact on its approach to this work.
Commenting, Aberdeen City Council’s Staff Governance Committee Convener, Councillor Yvonne Allan said: “We are proud of our ongoing work to support equality, diversity and inclusion in Aberdeen City Council workplaces.
“The new plan, driven by our values and guiding principles as an organisation, brings together a number of existing work strands into one comprehensive approach and blends in with our Workforce Plan, one of the aims of which is to encourage inclusiveness, engagement and collaboration.
“In order to achieve our Equality Outcomes, we have developed an action list in line with our research, employee engagement, accreditation and duties and pledges, as well as our active listening and involvement of protected groups in the design and implementation of actions.”
Progress on the action plan will be included within service updates for the committee on an annual basis, with a full review and detailed update provided after two years via a committee report.
