‘Mainstreaming Equality’

1. ‘Mainstreaming Equality’ Rob Beardall Policy Adviser, Equalities Equalities & Social Justice Team Welsh Local Government Association

3. Equalities is…. a ‘concept’ and therefore involves… ‘Perception’ “Costly, time consuming, confusing, irrelevant, biased, not business sense” OR.,… Equalities is “Understanding the customer, tailoring service provision, employing the best people, and….good business sense…”

5. Earth Rings of Saturn Taken, September 15, 2006 by the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn.

6. The ‘concept’ must be communicated, and therefore involves… ‘Positioning’ Business case Moral case Legal case

7. Collective ideology BUT..…. Individualistic society Collective Ideology

8. Positive language Value for money Five years ‘interest free’ ½ price sale, act now Removing barriers to an equal life Areas for improvement Fairness Negative language It’s expensive 5 years paying it off ½ price, but not needed Discrimination Adverse Impact Equality ? (Public perception) Positioning happens through... Discourse

9. The ‘communicator’ carry’s the message, and can easily become perceived as…..

10. And the ‘communicator’ is up against..….. Negative press coverage Financial cuts Competing priorities Lack of concern

11. Current mainstreaming drivers Welsh Local Government Hard drivers • Equalities Legislation requiring: • Equality scheme(s) to be in place and implemented • EqIA’s to be conducted on policy and functions • New Equality Bill, with potential for: • Wider public duty to promote equality • ‘Setting Equality Objectives’ based on evidence • New LG measure ‘and fairness’ • Financial cuts - requiring a more ‘efficient approach’ to meeting needs • Prevailing inequality

12. Current mainstreaming drivers Welsh Local Government Soft drivers • Prevailing inequality • ‘Citizen centered service delivery’ • Connecting equality to ‘adding value and improvement’ • Public doubts about achievements and relevance • Credibility - Quicker, better, more targeted improvement is needed

13. “Mainstreaming is a comparatively recent approach and the evidence and evaluatory basis of its effectiveness is weak. It can be problematic in that it may only operate to influence policy development rather thantackle the root causes of discrimination, and in the absence of specific policies and programmes to promote equality interests, it can result in a form of policy dilution where the responsibility for equality is lost”. ‘Managing Equality in Welsh Local Government’ Sullivan, Williams & Wooding, 2004 Mainstreaming, effective or not?

14. The literature suggests various prescriptions for effective mainstreaming strategies including: • The importance of good quality disaggregated data; • the need for a strategic approach; • the necessity for institutional and personal capacity building; • effective monitoring and evaluation processes; • appropriate trainingand awareness raising; • and the availability of equality impact tools and frameworks. • ‘Managing Equality in Welsh Local Government’, • Sullivan, Williams & Wooding, 2004 Mainstreaming…what works?

15. Multiple Equality Schemes, largely unachieved • Problems related to EqIA’s • Limited corporate consistency (mainstreaming) • Limited engagement from senior management & resistant middle management • Challenging organisational wide improvement, often resting on shoulders of a few officers • Frustrated practioners Current situation – Welsh Local Government

16. A corporate ‘vehicle’ • Careful evaluation of why things don’t work • Planned organisational communication • Right message, Right audience, Right medium, Right time…...........You’ve got to ‘sell it’ right • High level = 1 to 1 communication • Middle level = provide clear communication and negotiate intended outcomes • Lower level (service management), provide good quality tools, training and ongoing support • Adopt a project management methodology • What, when, how, who by, with what? For mainstreaming to work…it requires

17. Misconception process was onerous and resource intensive • Lack of buy-in • Lead Assessors – understood theory, but not practical actions required • Too many assessments – overwhelming • Progress monitoring insufficient • Other competing priorities Case study: New approach to EqIA’s ‘Aim High’ project Powys

18. Buy in – careful communication • Aim High Status • 1 to 1 meeting with key senior personnel • Message ‘carried’ to next tier by a senior person • Tailored communication • Rationalisation • Slimmed 4 stage EIA process • Redesigned EIA toolkit – added scoping section • Service based’ assessments New approach

19. Scoping workshops • 2 hours, conducted with each of 40 lead assessors • Discussions around data, what to collect • Project objectives and milestones agreed • Project management methodology • Careful selection what to work on • Progress monitoring & clear lines accountability • Ongoing dialogue and communication New approach

20. Perceptions, positioning, communication, have powerful impact on mainstreaming potential • Legislative and process drivers have not generated enough change • For mainstreaming to work, we need a core ‘vehicle(s) to carry the change process Conclusions

21. Need to understand the organisation and take a pragmatic, targeted approach • Planned Equality improvement needs to be ‘outcome focussed’ • Once we know all this…everything rests upon effective tailored communication Conclusions

22. A final point on perception… “It all depends on how we look at things and not how they are in themselves” Carl Jung