Gender Equality

Introduction

South Lanarkshire College recognises that it should as a good employer and under the Gender Equality Duty (GED)  strive to eliminate all forms of discrimination that are unlawful under the Equality Act 2010 and formerly under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, specifically:

Direct and indirect discrimination, harassment or victimisation on grounds of sex, pregnancy and maternity leave, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status.

When this document refers to discrimination on the grounds of sex it refers to all the interpretations of sex discrimination as outlined above.

As part of its ongoing commitment to equality and diversity, the College plans to consolidate current initiatives and develop further initiatives in this area, including:

• An ongoing commitment to equality of opportunity in all teaching and learning
• The continued use of non-stereotypical images in marketing materials
• The further development of the Equality Group
• Targeted staff development programmes and initiatives
• Newsletter equality information
  
• Equal Opportunities Policies
• Family friendly policies and support
• Investors in Diversity
• Management Charter
• Annual equality week

This Gender Equality scheme will support the College as it strives to meet the requirement to promote gender equality and eliminate sex discrimination through the action plan which sets out its aims for the coming three years.

The College recognises that the Gender Equality Duty requires a pro-active approach to mainstreaming gender equality and promotion of equality into all decisions and activities.  The scheme and corresponding Action Plan will consolidate on previous achievements and identify new actions for the College to continually move forwards towards the main duties of the Gender Equality Duty which are:

• To eliminate unlawful discrimination
• To eliminate gender related harassment
• To promote gender equality
• To take steps to ensure that information is gathered on the effect of its policies and practices on men and women
• To consult relevant employees, learners and other stakeholders on the impact of its current and future policies and practices on gender equality.

The College will also take steps to promote equality and will consider the need to take positive action, where monitoring highlights an imbalance, to increase numbers of women or men in male-dominated areas and vice-versa.

It is intended that the good practice within the scheme will link through to all other important College documents and strategies such as the Student Charter, Quality Manual, Policies and Strategic and Operational Plans, informed by Impact Assessments and other quantitative and qualitative data.  Equality and diversity are already part of College’s strategic values and form part of the planning process and there is are rolling programmes of staff development in equality and diversity as well as significant equality and diversity training sessions.

Progress against actions will be monitored and outcomes fed through the Equality Group.  The Equality Group is chaired by the Principal.

As at 1 June 2010
Current staffing statistics indicate that 41.46% (FTE) of the College’s current workforce are male, and 58.54% (FTE) are female.  In headcount terms, South Lanarkshire College employs 33.61% male staff and 66.39% female staff.  The College Management Team comprises 64.3% female staff and 35.7% male staff, and the Senior Management Team comprises 60% male staff and 40% female staff.

We are aware that there are lower numbers of male students on some of our Care courses and that there are lower numbers of females on our Construction courses.  We continue to pro-actively recruit students to these identified areas through directed promotional activities, guidance regarding possible career choices, and marketing and publicity materials.

We have an Equal Opportunity Code of Practice for staff and for students. We promote equality and diversity to staff and students during a dedicated annual equality and diversity week, as well as through our daily work.

We plan to increase our understanding of our performance in relation to gender and identify any areas for improvement. We plan to continue our focus on training staff to ensure staff awareness of the College’s commitment to gender equality.  The Human Resources department will continue to work to support all staff whatever their support needs are.

In order to create a working and learning environment which is inclusive, all materials which are produced for learners and staff including marketing materials will portray non-stereotypical images of men and women.

The College will seek to eliminate unlawful harassment and promote equality of opportunity for staff or students who intend to undergo, are undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment.

Values & Principles

The College celebrates and values the diversity brought to the organisation by individuals and believes that the College benefits from employing both women and men at all levels of responsibility and across all areas of work.  We believe that this is important to provide role models for both female and male students in whatever area of the curriculum they are interested in.  The College believes in treating all employees, students and stakeholders with respect and dignity. We seek to provide a positive environment for work and study free from sex discrimination, harassment or victimisation. Our Student Charter clearly states that we believe in equality of opportunity.

Our Ethos is:
We believe in:

• Continual improvement
• Continuing professional development
• Equality and diversity
• Employment-focused activity
• High achievement
• Listening
• Productive partnerships
• Sustainability

The College intends this scheme as a vehicle to continue to embed equality and diversity into the heart of everything it does.  We believe that in doing so we will provide an environment that will help us to reach our strategic goals.

Three Year Plan 2010 - 2013

The following table sets out the main priorities for the College over the coming three years. These are found in further detail in our three year action plan.

Year 1

• To actively involve the Senior Management Team as the champions of the Gender Equality Action Plan
• To publish the revised Gender Equality Scheme and Action Plan
• To consider wider consultation processes
• To review the current scope of the statistical data collection to inform the continued development of the Gender Action Plan
• To continue to work on impact assessment on an ongoing basis
• To involve the Equality Group in monitoring the progress of the implementation of the Gender Equality Scheme.
• To continue to work toward all South Lanarkshire College staff attending appropriate diversity training on a regular basis
• To continue to raise awareness of equality issues across College including gender equality
• To promote equality of opportunity between men and women
• To review marketing materials to avoid stereotypical images

Year 2

• To review South Lanarkshire College Gender Equality Action Plan, updating as required
• To continue to work on impact assessment on an ongoing basis
• To effectively target disadvantaged groups
• To continue to offer a range of appropriate staff training sessions in equality and diversity
• To develop awareness raising opportunities for students and staff, working with the students association wherever appropriate
• To consult target groups on priorities for College
• To review statistical data collection which will inform the Gender Equality Action Plan

Year 3

• To review and update South Lanarkshire College Gender Equality Action Plan
• To continue to work toward all staff attending appropriate diversity training on a regular basis
• To continue to foster a positive atmosphere and culture in relation to equality and diversity

Consultation Process

The College Equality Group is responsible for reviewing equality of opportunity in relation to specific target groups including race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation and religion or belief.  The group will also monitor the outcomes of the Gender Equality Action Plan and ensure that Equality Impact Assessments are conducted and monitored.

The College has strived to promote equality and diversity for a number of years and already delivers diversity training on a rolling basis for all staff during staff development events.

An annual equality and diversity week, organised in partnership with the Students’ Association, now takes place, culminating in an equality and diversity focused staff development day.

South Lanarkshire College is committed to ensuring that adequate resources are in place to support all staff and students. To achieve this there is a strong infrastructure promoting equality throughout the College.

South Lanarkshire College ensures that all staff are advised about our committment and obligations regarding equality and diversity via our newsletters, All Staff conferences and staff development events. We will work in partnership with our students at all times in support of our committment to equality and diversity.

Strategy for Equal Opportunities 2010 - 2013

To continue to promote equality of opportunity to all equality strands including gender and sexual orientation.

The Equality Group will monitor the outcomes of the Gender Equality Action Plan.

To ensure that equality impact assessments (EQIA) continue to be systematically conducted and monitored with reference to the potential or actual effects of a policy, practice and provision on the target groups.

To monitor data on target groups and ensure that actions and outcomes are appropriately embedded within appropriate College plans.

To eliminate discrimination across all target groups which is unlawful under the DDA (1995), Special Educational Needs Act (2001), Race Relations Act, Sex Discrimination Act 1975 as amended by the Equality Act 2006, Employment Regulations and Age Regulations 2006 and Equality Act 2010.

To review the content of the Gender Equality Scheme and Action Plans on an annual basis.

The Equality Group brings together staff from across the College and is chaired by the Principal. The group have specific duties including monitoring Impact Assessments against identified targets.

Managers also have identified duties in the Gender Equality Action Plan.  The Heads of Faculty, Head of Student Services and Human Resources Manager have specific responsibilities for embedding equality and diversity throughout teaching and learning, admissions, staff development and recruitment.

It is important that all staff understand the part they will play in implementing the College’s Gender Equality Scheme.  We intend to ensure that all are made aware of the requirements of the GES and Action Plan.

We will also continue to work with our partner organisations to ensure that we contribute to their equality and diversity goals.

South Lanarkshire College is committed to ensuring that adequate resources are in place to support all staff and students. To achieve this there is a strong infrastructure promoting equality throughout the College.

The College believes that developing staff is vital and will continue to deliver significant and appropriate training for staff in support of equality and diversity. In addition to the ongoing programmes of training, we will continue to make QELTM traiing available electronically on the College’s portal.

Impact Assessments

The specific duty to carry out Impact Assessments on all policies, provision, and practices is designed to provide a mechanism for ensuring that due regard is given to gender equality in carrying out functions, making decisions and to assist institutions in meeting the general duty under the Gender Equality Duty 2007.

Overall responsibility for the Impact Assessment Procedure would lie with the author of any new policy or practice.  Any changes to the quality procedures or policies will be Impact Assessed by the author and monitored by the Principalship. Any information on the College’s intranet or web page will be impact assessed by the author and monitored by the Principalship. Strategic documents and procedures will be impact assessed by the Principalship.

The Principalship has the overall responsibility for implementing this process assisted by the Heads of Faculty, Head of Student Services and Human Resources Manager.

A mapping exercise has been carried out on all areas of the College to identify all formal and informal policies and practices and these have then been impact assessed. This will continue on a rolling basis, as well as for new policies and updates. The details of this are held centrally and can be accessed via Human Resources.

Information

The following data on current and potential staff will be collected by Human Resources and headline data reported annually to the Equality Group. The minutes of the Equality Group will be published on the College portal.

• Numbers of staff in post by age, gender, ethnicity and disability
• Application rates by gender, age and ethnicity
• Offers and acceptance rates by gender, age and ethnicity
• Numbers of staff involved in grievance and or disciplinary  procedures by gender, age, ethnicity and disability
• Numbers of staff leaving employment by gender, age, ethnicity and disability
• Numbers of staff by grade and gender
• Rates of requests for flexible working
• Numbers of staff accessing equality training
• Return rates from maternity leave, and roles to which staff return

The following data on current students will be collected and reported to the Equality Group.

• Numbers of students by gender, age, ethnicity and disability
• Achievement and retention rates of students by gender, age, ethnicity and disability
• Progression and withdrawal rates of students by gender, age, ethnicity and disability
• Destination of students by gender, age, ethnicity and disability
• Student satisfaction survey
• Complaints and other procedure monitoring of students by gender, age, ethnicity and disability

Putting the Scheme into Practice

South Lanarkshire College’s Gender Equality Scheme will be published on our portal and website. It can be made available in a variety of other formats as required. Copies can also be obtained from any all of the College’s main reception areas upon request.

The Annual report of progress and performance against the GED Action Plan will be reported to the Equality Group, published, and shared with the Board of Management, Staff and learners and other interested stakeholders in the same way.

The result of impact assessments will be reviewed by the Equality Group and any outcomes identified will be implemented and supported by the Principalship.

There will be an annual review of the Action Plan to ensure that the information gathered informs and improves the outcome for people using or working at South Lanarkshire College.

Gender Equality Scheme Action Plan

No	Outcomes	Area of Activity	Responsibility	Timescale	Priority
1	Leadership
1.1	Senior Managers acting	SMT & CMT responsibilities identified in GES Action Plan.  Future training needs identified	Head of HR	Jan 2011	H
1.2	Quality group, Depute Principal and Equality Group to cover this.		Depute Principal, Equality Group & Quality Group	Aug 2011	H
1.3	GED embedded into student culture and provision		Head of Stu Services, Head of HR	April 2011	M
1.4	GED Scheme contunually updated and informed by stake holders	Increase and vary the number of staff and students who participate in consultation groups	Head of Stu Services, Head of HR	Aug 2011	M
2	Impact Assessments
2.1	Impact Assessment process carried out on a rolling basis and needs following new policies and policy review.	All policies to undergo impact assessment process upon review.  All new policies to undergo impact assessment.	CMT	Oct 2010	H
2.2	Impact Assessment model established and fully utilised across the College increase knowedge base.	Further staff training of Impact Assessment	Head of HR	April 2011	M
2.3	Impact Assessment details reguarly published to staff	Periodic Information in newsletter as part of equality group updates.	Head of HR & Head of Stu Services	June 2011	M
3	Marketing & Publicity
3.1	Marketing Practices and materials fully inclusive of compliance of GED	All materials produced for marketing to continue to be inclusive and portray non-stereotypical images	Head of Stu Services & Marketing Team Leader	Dec 2011	H
3.2	Ensure ongoing clarity and consistency of message about support available to all learners	Ensure this information is included in all College information and publicity where appropriate	Head of Stu Services & Marketing Team Leader	Sept 2010	H
3.3	Website and intranet must be reviewed to ensure continued complaiance with GED	Maintain College internal/external sites to appropriate standards	Head of Stu Services & Depute Principal	Dec 2011	M
4	Stakeholder involvement & Consultation
4.1	Views of all students, staff and stakeholders represented	Ensure that membership of Equality Group represents gender equality. Students and staff from diverse backgrounds must be represented on cross College focus groups and impact reviews.   Continue to develop links with external partners to improve consultation process on a wider basis.	Principal, CM Quality, Head of Stu Services, Head of HR Head of HR	Dec 2011 Aug 2011	M
5	Monitoring/Data Collection
5.1	Importance of accurancy of data on student records system for students	Ensure regular monitoring of statistics includes numbers of students, acievement and retention, withdrawal rates and destinations by gender, age, ethnicity and disability, and success rates.  Review student questionnaire regarding equal opportunities.  Monitor complaints by gender, age, ethnicity and disability.	Head of ISS, Head of Stu Services, CM Quality	April 2011	H
5.2	Increase breadth of staffing information provided to equality group	Collate statistics on staff recruitment by gender	Head of HR	May 2011	M
6	Training And Development
6.1	Rolling Diversity training (qeltm) programme to be delivered to all nwe and existing staff.	All staff to be made aware of diversity and equality issues. Equality training covering different strands and for different groups to be regularly provided.	Head of HR	Aug 2010	H H
6.2	Positive culture towards equality promoted throughout recruitment procedures	All job applicants to be aware that SLC is positive about equality and diversity	Head of HR	Aug 2010	M