Critical Success Factors in the Implementation of Positive Action in the NHS UK
The UK Government’s Equality Bill, with its proposed Commission for Equality and Human Rights, is rapidly changing the approach to equality in the workplace. In addition to requiring public authorities to promote equal opportunities, the legislation provides support for specific types of positive action. However there continues to be a level of confusion, misinterpretation and sometimes suspicion of positive action. There are concerns that targeting support at a specific group can disadvantage others. In general, this has resulted in a shortfall in the use of positive action as to promote representational diversity in the workplace. Even where there has been some level of activity, such as in the UK National Health Service (NHS), the concentration has however been focused on the recruitment stage. Consequently limited attempts have been made to provide empirical evidence with regards to PA within the whole employment cycle. NHS Employers (the employers organisation for the NHS) in partnership with Bradford University collaborated on a project to counter this scarcity of research. Working with a range of NHS organisations in England the project identified key factors for making Positive Action a success. This paper describes the methodology employed, discusses the key findings and highlights a number of good practice initiatives which emerged.
Keywords:
Equal opportunities, NHS, Positive action, Critical success factors
Stream:
Disability, Health
Presentation Type:
30 minute Paper Presentation in English
Paper:
, Critical Success Factors in the Implementation of Positive Action in the NHS UK
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Prof. Carol Baxter
Health of Equalities and Diversity, Equalities and Diversity, NHS Employers, UK
Leeds, West Yorkshire, UNITED KINGDOM
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Carol E Baxter is Professor and Head of the Equalities and Diversity in the NHS Employers (the employers’ organisation for the NHS). She has substantial experience of working in academic institutions, most recently, as Professor of Nursing and Head of the Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Research and Development. She also has practical experience of working in the NHS in a number of professional capacities. Her professional and academic career has been concerned with issues of equity and equality with a particular focus on ethnicity and race equality in relation to research, policy and practice and has published extensively in this area. Professor Baxter has recently led a programme of research at the Department of Health addressing low conversion rates of Black and Minority Ethnic applicants into places on nurse education programmes.
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Prof. Uduak Archibong
Professor / Director, Centre for Inclusion and Diversity, School of Health Studies, University of Bradford
Bradford, West Yorkshire, UNITED KINGDOM
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Professor Archibong is Chair in Diversity, Race Equality Champion and Director of the Centre for Inclusion and Diversity at the University of Bradford. Uduak is an honorary professor at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal South Africa and a Fellow of the West African College of Nursing. Her research, teaching and knowledge transfer activities broadly cover the areas of workforce diversity, leadership development, family-centred health care cross-cultural negotiation of community / family access to, and engagement in health and social services. She has established an outstanding record of contributions in promoting and developing research to enhance levels of cross-cultural competence amongst health and social service practitioners, staff and students in academic settings. She has recently led to completion numerous large-scale collaborative research projects on representational diversity in public and community and voluntary sectors. Having published extensively on inclusion and diversity, she is on the editorial board of numerous academic journals. In addition to providing cross-cultural coaching at senior and executive levels within public and voluntary sections, professor Archibong has extensive experience in providing equality advisory service for institutions.
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Dr. Sabir Giga
Senior Lecturer in Diversity and Organisational Behaviour, Centre for Inclusion and Diversity, University of Bradford
Bradford, West Yorkshire, UNITED KINGDOM
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Dr Sabir I Giga is Senior Lecturer in Diversity and Organisational Behaviour at the Centre for Inclusion and Diversity, University of Bradford, United Kingdom. He is currently working on a number of diversity related issues including positive action in employment and identifying the causes and consequences of early retirement of Black and Minority BME healthcare personnel. He has worked extensively in the area of workplace bullying and stress, with a particular interest in issues related to diversity and fairness. Dr Giga has recently completed a UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) commissioned report on identifying good practice in workplace stress prevention, and was also the lead author on a number of reports on workplace stress and violence for the United Nation's International Labour Office. Sabir is an expert adviser to the Health and Safety Executive (stress management) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (workplace bullying).
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Randeep Kular
Equality and diversity manager, Equalities and Diversity, NHS Employers, UK
Leeds, West Yorkshire, UNITED KINGDOM
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Ref: D07P0672
