Voscur's Statement of Commitment to Equality

 

Equality of opportunity is vital to Voscur’s work; it improves our ability to meet the needs of the organisations and people we serve, adding value to our work and the opportunities we offer. We work to advance equality of opportunity and equity as key principles across all our activity in a culture of openness and trust, collaboration and healthy relationships, and by encouraging good practice and behaviour.
 
Many individuals and communities experience discrimination, inequity, or lack of opportunity and that creates major barriers to building a fair and just society. People are discriminated against either through conscious or unconscious bias because of their characteristics or circumstances. Direct and indirect discrimination can take one or combined forms based on recognised characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex, and sexual orientation – these characteristics are defined as “protected” in the Equality Act 2010. Other forms of discrimination can be based on: colour, nationality, political beliefs, carer status, appearance, being intersex, geographical area, social class, income level, or criminal record. Voscur recognises that some people experience multiple forms of discrimination.
 

Voscur’s position on equalities is constructive, anti-discriminatory and proactive. Voscur creates a culture within the organisation that respects and values those with protected characteristics and all forms of diversity. We undertake creative, positive action to improve the position of people who are marginalised and who experience oppression, and we foster environments in which people are treated with dignity and respect.

 
Voscur is committed to improving diversity to achieve representation and inclusion, to eliminating discrimination and lack of opportunity in its own policies and practice, and to helping other organisations and individuals to do the same.

Voscur:

  • Conforms to the letter and intent of legislative requirements including the Equality Act 2010 and the Human Rights Act 1998;
  • implements mechanisms for dealing with all forms of discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and bullying;
  • implements mechanisms for applying positive action where we know there is under-representation or disadvantage;
  • maintains standards of good practice, ensuring that our working environment is free from bias and unacceptable behaviour;
  • challenges discriminatory practices of our members and stakeholders, and offers guidance to their developing inclusive and accessible practice;
  • regularly monitors and reviews its Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy and practice, building on progress made and lessons learned.

 

June 2022