Your board is ultimately responsible for setting the direction and overarching strategic commitments to equalities, diversity and inclusion in your organisation. Creating a safe and inclusive environment for service users, volunteers, staff and other visitors will require involvement and commitment from everyone. Every organisation is different and will have different concerns, biases or priorities that need discussion and action as part of your EEDI policy. Creating and/or updating your policy should be a collaborative process. Take time to talk to the people you work with, do research, and understand any equalities data you may have collected. Think about who you want to reach with your work, as well as what sort of environment you want to create for staff and volunteers.
Equalities, diversity and inclusion will affect many areas of your work, so you should make sure that your EEDI policy links to other policies and procedures. Examples of these are Recruitment, Data Protection, Bullying and Harassment and/or Code of Conduct.
As well as these policy commitments, consider how your organisation and its leadership will
- Model inclusive behaviours.
- Actively challenge discrimination and injustice.
- Ensure there are resources and commitments in place to support effective action.
- Establish and use effective processes for addressing discrimination.
- Make an action plan including what steps will be taken to make sure the policy is put into everyday practice.
- Communicate your organisation’s approach to EEDI and the steps you are taking to make sure your workplace and service are accessible and welcoming to all.
- Commit to building an equitable organisational culture.