Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Policy

Raise Your Voice Charity recognises our legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010, and sees these as a minimum standard which we would seek to exceed through being proactive at promoting equality and diversity and opposing prejudice and discrimination. Under this Act, age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation are protected characteristics.

Overall our DEI aims are to:
 

1. Ensure an inclusive culture that values diversity in how we treat each other, those we work with and users of our services as a charity.

2. Ensure that our programmes, tools and resources are accessible, inclusive and meet the needs of a diverse range of stakeholders.

3. Increase awareness of DEI considerations in the use of grants data and support the practices of others to do so.

4. Ensure that DEI considerations are actively part of all our

   internal practices and decision making to maximise our

   impact.

5. As an organisation we value fairness and respect for

   difference, equality of opportunity and treatment across all areas.
    

We will ensure that the individual needs of our staff, volunteers, trustees and service users are recognised. We will be, and make sure that people can see we are, inclusive and welcoming to all kinds of people, and that everyone is treated with equality, dignity and respect in all aspects of our work.

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Unlawful discrimination, victimisation, harassment and bullying are serious breaches of this policy and disciplinary procedures will apply.

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Reasonable adjustments will be made to prevent people being disadvantaged.

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We aim for continual improvement and learn from our mistakes. We might not always be able to please everyone, but we can certainly make the effort to avoid offending people. If we get things wrong, we’ll always listen carefully and show respect to people when they let us know, and we’ll do our best to sort it out.

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Grievance procedures are in place for our RYV Team and a complaints policy for others who interact with our organisation.

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We know that there is more that we can do in this area and will continue to learn from good practice, pushing ourselves to improve.

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WORKING AT AND WITH RAISE YOUR VOICE
 

When working at (or with) Raise Your Voice colleagues can expect the following:

RECRUITMENT & SELECTION
 

• A wide range of people will be welcomed, enabled and encouraged to contribute and develop their knowledge and skills through working with us as a staff member, volunteer, consultant, partner or Trustee.

• We will always be cautious not to prefer candidates because they better resemble the current profile of the team and are therefore thought to be a ‘better fit’. We believe that diversity is a strength and we actively seek to represent the communities we work in and for. We will ensure we are aware of, and reach out to, underrepresented groups in our workforce, whether by protected characteristic or by other areas such as socio-economic background.

 

We will work with partners who share our commitment to valuing diversity, equality and inclusion.

DEVELOPMENT

• All staff, trustees and volunteers will be trained in diversity, equality and inclusion at a level appropriate to their role.

• We will encourage equitable opportunity for learning and development for all staff, as well as for volunteers and trustees.

DIGNITY, RESPECT & VALUE

We will ensure that the individual needs of all our staff, volunteers and trustees are recognised, that we include and welcome all kinds of people, and that everyone is treated with dignity and respect and differences are valued.
 

ACCESS TO, INVOLVEMENT IN, AND DELIVERY OF SERVICES

We will ensure that our services (tools, programmes, resources and support) are accessible and inclusive.
 

We will ensure that individual needs are recognised, that we include and welcome all kinds of people, and that everyone is always treated with dignity and respect.

Updated April 2024