Benefits for employers considering equality and diversity
Britain has a hugely diverse workforce, with a rich balance of skills, experience and ways of working.
Most people know it would be a mistake to make assumptions about how a person will perform in a role on the basis of their gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, age or disability status.
For individuals who experience discrimination, this can be hugely damaging. But it also has consequences for the teams and organisations around them.
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Talent not Tokenism: the business benefits of workforce diversity
In today’s global, knowledge economy, an organisation’s success and competitiveness depends upon its ability to embrace diversity and to draw upon the skills, understanding and experience of all people.
The CBI and TUC, supported by the Equality and Human Rights Commission have been working together to produce a guide to workplace diversity called 'Talent not Tokenism'. The guide provides advice on how to identify, nurture and promote talent. It contains good practice case studies of employers who have created a more diverse workforce and describes the benefits of doing so.
Published June 2008
Download a copy of the guide:
Talent not Tokenism (PDF 1.1MB)
Talent not Tokenism (Word 330kB)
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Working environment
Discrimination, whether conscious or not, limits an organisation’s ability to get the best from its workforce.
Employers who promote equality of opportunity among their workforce can draw on a wider pool of talent and experience, and create an environment where employees are valued and supported, and appreciate their colleagues’ contribution. A climate where unlawful discrimination is fostered, condoned or ignored cannot provide these benefits.
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Reducing the risk of facing discrimination claims
Employers who are not convinced of the benefits of promoting equality for its own sake must still consider the possibility that an employee or former employee will seek to make a claim against the organisation.
Employers who directly discriminate are obviously vulnerable, but so are employers who act capriciously and arbitrarily, who cannot objectively justify their decisions and who conduct themselves in a manner which falls below that generally expected in a modern employment context.
All this can lead employees to feel that they have been discriminated against and, without convincing evidence to the contrary, an employment tribunal may accept that belief as being likely to be correct and make a finding of unlawful discrimination against the employer.
Whatever the outcome of discrimination hearings, the process is stressful and is likely to be costly in time and money.
If a finding of discrimination is made against you, you face the possibility of potentially unlimited compensation being awarded to your former employee. And a public finding of discrimination, possibly coupled with criticism of your decisions or procedures in a tribunal’s judgment, is not a good advertisement for any company. It could have an adverse effect on recruitment as well as on existing or potential customers. It could also have an adverse effect on your ability to win or keep public sector contracts.
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