Government fails to deliver simplification in new diversity legislation

The Governmentís proposals for a Single Equality Bill fail to go far enough to achieve either the simplification or consistency necessary to achieve real progress. Nor does it reduce the burden on employers in dealing with or understanding the complexities of diversity, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Developmentís (CIPD) response to the Governmentís consultation which closes yesterday (4 September 2007).

Dianah Worman, OBE, CIPD Diversity Adviser, says: ìThis green paper runs the risk of delivering a compliance based model that will entrench a box-ticking approach to produce minimum standards in diversity. If Government is serious about stopping the marginalisation of people in the labour market then it must show a greater willingness to work with employers to develop a piece of legislation that will actually work.

ìCIPD research, Diversity in business: a focus for progress, shows legislation is one of the main drivers of diversity, so getting this Bill right is essential if it is to support the progress of diversity. But more importantly still, Government need to ensure any such legislation goes hand in hand with a concerted approach to promote best practice on the basis of a clearly argued and properly evidenced business case for diversity.

ìThere are many employers already fully embracing diversity and reaping the benefits in terms of a well motivated, diverse workforce better able to meet business objectives and the needs of their customer base. Much more can and should be done to promote this good practice and encourage organisations to focus on the ways in which embedding diversity into other operational activities, such as marketing, can add value to business performance.î