Defra group equality objectives 2024 to 2026
Published 13 December 2024
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Introduction
We want to enable an inclusive culture across Defra group, with thriving workplaces where all colleagues are valued and empowered to do their best work. This will maximise our potential to innovate, collaborate and deliver first-class outcomes for citizens.
Our aim is to create inclusive working environments for everyone. We will continue to work to address disparities and inequalities for all groups and embed inclusive practices throughout all that we do.
The equality objectives set out in this document affirm our focus on inclusive policies as we comply with our legal duties under the Equality Act 2010, including the Public Sector Equality Duty.
We will continue to build on incorporating a broader definition of diversity, to recognise different backgrounds and life experiences, including:
- socio-economic
- work experience
- geographic
Our approach is data-driven and delivery-focused. We have defined our priorities to give greatest focus to improving outcomes in the areas where evidence suggests that we most need to deliver improvements.
Our equality objectives
Objective 1: attract, empower and retain diverse talent
We will draw on talents across all protected characteristics as well as geographical, social and career backgrounds, providing opportunities to build a workforce which is reflective of the communities we serve.
Objective 2: invest in our people to unlock the potential of diverse teams
We will equip our people to understand and discuss the benefits of diverse teams.
We will support our leadership and line manager communities to feel empowered to lead diverse teams.This recognises the importance of their roles in creating an inclusive culture.
Objective 3: foster a respectful and inclusive culture, where everyone can thrive
We will tackle bullying, harassment and discrimination, building upon our existing robust processes. This will ensure everyone is empowered to speak up and is confident incidents are managed fairly and consistently.
We will ensure our workplace policies and processes are inclusive by default.
Objective 4: improve our understanding and the way we work with the communities we serve
We will continue to seek better understanding of our communities, so that we deliver services inclusively when designing policy or interventions.