DIVERSITY UNIT, NOVEMBER 2017

EQUALITY,DIVERSITYAND
INCLUSIONSTRATEGY

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VISION STATEMENT
Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)1 are at the heart of our cultural relations ambitions. They
represent the mutual trust, respect and understanding we strive for on behalf of the UK. They
are integral to our brand, reputation, success, business sustainability and cultural relations
impact. They enable alignment between what we say and what we do.
Our vision is to have an inclusive organisational culture. We want it to be fair, build on our skills
in working in different cultures and countries and in identifying and leveraging strengths andresolving tensions and conflicts.
We want everyone who comes into contact with us, both offline and online, to feel valued andrespected and our programmes, services and general ways of working to demonstrate ourstated commitment to EDI. We also want to use our increasing knowledge and experience tomake a leading contribution to international aspects of EDI.
We will work energetically toward this vision through a mainstreaming approach, embedding
EDI into our behaviours and all that we do. We will highlight the benefits of EDI for all
individuals and societies and promote its positive contribution.
We will continue to develop EDI themed or informed programmes and activities, based oncommon interests and ambitions to deliver impact for the UK. We will draw on the rich diversityof the UK and harness the diverse contributions and considerable talents of our global staff andpartners to achieve our vision in line with our organisational values and EDI principles.

INTRODUCTION
We launched our first Diversity Strategy in 2002 and have refreshed it on a three-yearly basis
since then. This revision builds on what we have learnt over the last three years and takes
account of internal and external changes and constraints and outlines our EDI priorities leading
to the year 2020. Much remains familiar although with discernable changes in emphasis andarticulation.
The refresh has been informed by internal consultation in the form of a survey seeking theviews of informed colleagues. All survey findings have been considered and addressed. The
outcome includes six rather than seven key areas of focus, with work life balance no longerincluded - an area that the Employee Relations team is addressing led by the Head of WellBeing, independent of the Diversity Unit and therefore in receipt of due attention.
Cultural relations take place within the context of increased interconnection, inter-culturalinteraction and cultural proximity and all the related benefits and challenges. It aims to bringpeople together to learn, create, fulfil ambitions and work to build long term relationships of trust
for the UK. It supports global stability and security.

1We define Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in our Equality Policy and on our web and intranet sites. We use the‘shorthand’ diversity to also include equality and inclusion.

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2Our strategic and embedded EDI approach acts as an important intentional structure forenriching and giving credibility to our cultural relations work. It nurtures coherence and a joined
up but sufficiently flexible approach to account for our geographical and cultural diversity. The
objectives provide focus and the tools inform delivery, evaluation, review and revision.

OUR APPROACH
Mainstreaming EDI is our overarching goal. We identify three specific objectives to help us
achieve this and recognise there is a business, moral and legal case for EDI. We focus on six
main (but not exclusive) areas: age, disability, ethnicity/race, gender, religion or belief andsexual identity/orientation. This focus helps us give due regard to key aspects of EDI and use
our resources effectively. We appreciate these areas do not stand alone but can and dointersect. We are conscious of the role socio-economic inequality plays in systemic
discrimination and in holding people back due to circumstances beyond their control. Efforts toacknowledge and address social disadvantage are strongly encouraged as we strive for greater
inclusion across our staff groups and to widen opportunities for access and engagement across
our programmes and services.

Business case
Mainstreaming EDI principles and practices is good for our business and determines ourbusiness case. It supports us to:
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Deliver effective cultural relations; without EDI cultural relations is not fit for purpose
Demonstrate our respect for, knowledge of and skills in working within the diverse
cultures and countries in which we operate
Achieve a fair, inclusive organisational culture, recognised as such by staff and contacts,with values we consistently apply
Maintain our strong brand and positively benchmark ourselves alongside otherorganisations in the areas of employment, mutually beneficial partnerships, services andvaried opportunities
Maximise and retain valued knowledge, experience and expertise
Have committed and motivated staff who feel fairly treated and respected, leading tobetter employment relations and fewer grievancesAttract new talent and fresh perspectives, given research confirms increasing numbers ofprospective applicants specifically seek out employment in organisations with strong
values and a good EDI track record and many examples of stronger performance byheterogeneous teams
Continue to nurture creativity, innovation and flexibility and spot new opportunities towork with others, as well new approaches and sources of support

Remain relevant and dynamic and achieve greater reach and impact through engaging with adiversity of perspectives, needs, abilities and circumstances and securing new opportunities forwww.britishcouncil.org

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income generation.

Moral caseWe believe it is important to value everyone and to be fair and respectful. This holds whether
they are an employee, participant in, or contributor to our work and irrespective of backgroundand fixed characteristics. Whilst this can be challenging there are many benefits including a
reduction in conflict, stress, tension, discrimination, unfairness and anger experienced byindividuals, organisations and societies, sometimes impacting globally.
Our moral case encourages ways of working based on dignity, compassion, empathy andmutual benefit, as well as a focus on what we have in common and what joins us as global
citizens, rather than how we differ and what separates us. It establishes the conditions for
empowerment and recognises our shared humanity.
Investing in and being committed to EDI is the right thing to do from many perspectives, butparticularly because of our cultural relations work with its aim to develop and sustain friendly
knowledge and understanding between the UK and other countries.

Legal case
The law continues to play an important role in supporting social justice, eradicating unjustified
and unlawful discrimination and achieving positive change and inclusion. The GB Equality Act
2010 and other relevant legislation, codes of practice and guidance are important reference
points and steer for us. In many countries in which we operate, aspects of EDI are enshrined inlaw and we strive to meet our legal obligations.
Whilst we operate in different jurisdictions and respect the legal frameworks in place, werecognise gaps in these and in their enforcement that can lead to increased vulnerability forsome groups. Within our locus of control and based on appropriate negotiation and cultural
sensitivity we will, in instances, take action that responds to and addresses this.
We reconcile cultural dilemmas, drawing on, amongst other things, overarching international
instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR) and the UNESCO
Convention on Cultural Diversity.
Policies to support strong customer service, speaking up about concerns, environmental
awareness and sustainability, child protection, adults at risk, modern day slavery, anti-fraud andcorruption and general legal compliance, supported by a Code of Conduct, govern how webehave.

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OUR OBJECTIVES
Three main objectives with action points set out below provide the focus for the next phase ofour work.

1) An inclusive organisational culture
To achieve this we intend to make concerted efforts to reduce key barriers, informed by data ledinterventions: improve the representation of UK minority ethnic and disabled people and sustain
the improvements in the representation of women at senior levels as outlined in our targets for
UK-contracted staff; and in instances improve the representation of men and disabled people in
our workforce/work areas and activities.
We will work to reduce any unfair, unjustified and unnecessary hierarchical divisions based oncontract type, most notably between UK and locally contracted staff and teachers. We will
nurture an organisational culture where people working and engaging with us feel respected
and comfortable being themselves, free from unjustified discrimination, offensive behaviour orbullying.
The result will be an organisational culture that is experienced as more, if not wholly, inclusive,fair, allows for speaking up, manages disagreement and conflict constructively and isempowered, optimistic and aligned to our values. Our participant profile will be representativeof the broader societies in which we work. In addition, there will be expanded opportunities forunder-represented groups internally and externally to participate and contribute to informing andshaping the organisational culture. There will be alignment with how we engage with EDI
internally and how EDI is reflected and addressed in the delivery and content of ourprogrammes and services as part of our cultural relations offer.

Tools:
Equality targets for UK staff, and elsewhere, where relevant, to provide focus andencourage actions that improve the internal representation and involvement of minority
ethnic and disabled people and seek to maintain appropriate gender balance.

Actions that improve the involvement and participation of under-represented groups in
our activities within different business areas and countries and as representatives of theorganisation. This includes through increasing awareness and targeting our reach andappeal; staff shadowing schemes; accessible offices; provision of equipment whererequired and feasible to enable access; planning inclusive programmes and events;
offering inclusive internships, work experience and other relevant opportunities.

Forums and initiatives for staff contributions and engagement that nurture theorganisational culture and inclusion we aspire to regardless of role, hierarchy, contractual
status or geographical location.

Development of our Living Library.

Guidance that helps support informal conflict resolution and a constructive feedback
culture at all levels, informed by EDI.

Planning tools that encourage inclusion when policies, programmes or activities aredeveloped, including Equality Screening and Impact Assessment and the use of accessaudits and checklists.

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52) Developing capability and leaders
Leaders exist in different roles and particularly, but not exclusively, in senior positions. They are
crucial in driving progress, achieving fairness and enhancing our working culture, reputation andimpact. Therefore our emphasis will continue to be on nurturing and developing engagement,role models and leadership capability in EDI, as well as diversity amongst senior leaders.
The result will be more confident, capable and committed leaders, particularly at senior levels,and people with specific expertise in facilitating EDI who are able to promote diversity as anintegral part of cultural relations and demonstrate the benefits of doing so. These include
reducing unconscious bias, enhancing our people management and working culture and using
the experience of our own journey and competence to position us as making a notable
contribution to international aspects of EDI, as well as being a partner of choice.

Tools:

EDI activities for leaders
EDI Champions
Accredited Diversity Facilitators within regions
EDI Leads for regions, countries and business areas
EDI performance deliverables against which to measure progress and attainment
Web, intranet and other sources of information including core skills for leaders andmanagers and specific guides
Promoting and sharing our work and learning about international aspects of EDI withothers, including through storytelling

Undertaking research and writing for publication with a focus on EDI.

3) Performance, impact and legal compliance
Measuring our performance and identifying our success in achieving a more inclusive
organisational culture and making a leading contribution to international aspects of EDI is
crucial in evaluating our effectiveness and impact. We will therefore identify mechanisms formeasuring the return on our investment (ROI) in EDI and the extent and quality of thecontribution and distinct impact we aim to make through EDI. In addition, we will ensure wecomply with our legal obligations and where possible and appropriate, go beyond the legalminimum.
The results will be improved performance against our own EDI standards derived from nationaland international benchmarks. This includes external recognition. There will be strong
compliance with legal obligations and where possible and appropriate these will be exceededfor vulnerable groups. Equality, diversity and inclusion related risks will be anticipated and wellmanaged.

Tools:
Diversity Assessment Framework targets, UK contracted staff equality targets andrelevant staff survey results, absence and attrition data

Diversity Awards

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Statutory Equality Schemes (Northern Ireland and Welsh Language), Equal Pay
reviews and action plans, and the implementation of statutory codes to ensure legal
compliance and manage risk

Compliance with UK and international accessibility laws for our digital offer and Data
Protection

Distinct EDI impact and ROI measures to be developed and relevant and sufficient resources tosupport the impact and ROI we want.

RESPONSIBILITIESThe progress we have made towards mainstreaming EDI combines the direction provided by
our Diversity Unit2 and the strong support of staff globally. We will continue to share
responsibility and require accountability, particularly from those with influence and authority,
including the Chair and Chief Executive of the British Council, the Executive Board andManagement Board and senior managers. Their support for this Strategy and commitment to it
through their behaviours, attitudes and effective use of resources will make a criticaldifference. Managers of regional teams, country offices, business functions and Teaching andExam Centres, as leaders of large numbers of staff and critical areas of work, also have an
important role to play. All staff however are responsible for striving towards our overarchinggoal to mainstream EDI within all aspects of our work and helping to bring about the inclusive
organisational culture we aspire to.

Diversity Unit, November 2017
Review date November 2020

2The Diversity Unit sets and drives the strategic direction of the British Council’s EDI work and is supported by apool of Global EDI Leads and Accredited Diversity Facilitators, alongside other internal and external groups. They
welcome feedback that helps to identify barriers to progress and good practice. If you would like to get in touchplease email liliana.corrieri@britishcouncil.org or telephone +44 (0)207 389 4484.

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