Inclusion isn’t just about identity
When some people hear the word inclusion, their first reaction is “oh, that’s for other people, not me”; but in fact, the whole point of inclusion is that it is for everyone. Not just as part of workplace diversity and inclusion, but as a way of creating communities where every voice matters, every contribution is valued, and every individual feels they belong.
The protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010 cover the entire population. For example, most of us are likely to develop a long-term health condition if we live long enough, which means that the characteristic of disability is likely to be relevant to us all at some point. Common conditions like arthritis, chronic pain, diabetes, mental health issues, etc. can all qualify as a disability.
In addition, the Act doesn’t say things like “Age is a protected characteristic, by which we mean only older people”; it simply says “age”, ensuring that someone can be protected under the law whether they are older or younger than average. The same is true for most of the other characteristics, which means that you are protected from discrimination whether you are part of a minority group or not – but for obvious reasons, it is often minorities who need this protection more than others.
There is also the fact that there are types of discrimination like discrimination by association, which means that if you are treated negatively because of your relationship with someone else and their protected characteristic, you are still protected under the law.
For example, if your coworkers find out that your partner is trans, and then start harassing you over your relationship – like using slurs or asking rude, intrusive questions – you may have a claim against them for discrimination by association (and possibly for sexual harassment). A strong workplace diversity and inclusion policy can help prevent and address this behaviour.
Another form of discrimination covered by the Equality Act is discrimination by imputation, which means that if someone assumes you have a certain protected characteristic and treats you badly because of it, you can make a claim even if they are wrong about that assumption. For example, if somebody thinks you are Muslim and is Islamophobic towards you, that still counts as discrimination even if you’re not actually Muslim.
So, now we know how our equality laws have been designed to protect everyone, it follows that EDI policies for workplace diversity and inclusion should be designed to be as flexible as possible and take multiple factors into account.
In the best case scenarios, these policies should go beyond the law and take into consideration issues like class or family status. Avoiding assumptions around income and social preferences, for example, avoid people feeling left out or excluded from work social events; making sure you’re not scheduling important meetings around school pick-up times means that parents with younger children can still be included; providing quiet spaces in your office can help neurodivergent people as well as people who might require privacy for one reason or another; and so on.
Inclusion, at its heart, is about recognising our shared humanity and ensuring that everyone, whatever their circumstances, has the opportunity to participate, contribute and belong.
