Embedding Diversity: The Obstacles Faced by Equality and Diversity Specialists

The above quote, attributed to a European academic, neatly summarises the attitude faced by many equality specialists who have the responsibility of embedding diversity within an organisation. Over the last 30 years, employers in both private and public sectors have adopted a plethora of policies and initiatives to promote equality of opportunity and more recently, diversity, within both their operations and their workforce. In addition, many organisations have developed specific posts with the responsibility for co-ordinating the implementation of such policies. Increasing the diversity of the workforce, enabling disabled people, addressing gender imbalance, and promoting awareness and tolerance for people of different faiths, sexual orientation and ages are all generally accepted as ‘a good thing by both those with a social conscience and by others arguing the economic business case’. So why do the statistics show a different story, and what are the realities and practicalities faced by equality specialists attempting to embed equality and diversity within an organisation?