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Home | Integrating Equality | Why does equality matter?

Why does equality matter?

Real, substantive equality is good for everyone:

For individuals: unfair discrimination is plainly wrong. It stops people realising their potential, and prevents businesses from using skills and talents to good effect.

For businesses and service providers: discrimination in employment has a huge price, beyond the tragic cost to individuals experiencing discrimination. It affects our productivity and profitability. The best already know that good employment practices, based on equality and diversity, give them the competitive edge.

For society, and Britain, as a whole: An equal society that celebrates diversity is a sustainable, cohesive society where communities live together in mutual respect and tolerance.

That is why we want to see an equal, inclusive society where everyone is treated with respect and where there is opportunity for all. Everyone must be able to play their full part in social and economic life. We need to tackle barriers to participation, and most importantly, bring about major culture change in our economic, social and political life.

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Equality institutions

Effective institutions are essential to help bring about a society where diversity is respected and celebrated; where people are confident in their value to society, and where discrimination against individuals is tackled robustly.

In order to be truly effective, equality institutions of the future need to be equipped to reflect the needs of their users, both businesses and individuals.

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Equality is everyone’s business

We need to recognise that our understanding of equality is changing. People are increasingly seeking equal treatment that reflects the many facets of their identities: drawing on, for example, their gender, race or nationality, disability, religion, sexual orientation or age, and the relationships between these and other characteristics. Our concept of equality must recognise the inter-relationships between characteristics, so that our approach to the issues in the future reflects a more integrated agenda.

We also need to see equality as everyone’s business. The best organisations know that they need to address equality issues in the round through an integrated approach. We need too to move beyond the idea that discrimination legislation is only about protecting minority groups, important though that is. It is now very much about providing protection for everyone.

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