Protected Characteristics E&D Committee Report

Disability

The business owners beating their mental health issues By Jose GonzalezBusiness reporter, Toronto, 3 November 2016

Before starting her dog-grooming business Laura-Leigh DiGiovanni's life had spiralled out of control.

"I was living in a homeless shelter to get away from a man... we were both getting arrested, there were restraining orders," says the 47-year-old."So I was going in this downward sledge, really hitting rock bottom."

Suffering from anxiety disorder and depression, the Toronto woman says she often couldn't face the world at all. "For two years I couldn't leave the house without a panic attack. Men scared the hell out of me, everything scared the hell out of me."

Laura-Leigh was ultimately pulled from her abyss by a policeman who referred her to a Canadian mental health court. These are criminal courts created to deal with people with mental health problems. The idea is that the judges try to focus more on helping the accused tackle their condition instead of just punishing them....

Backed by a mixture of private and public money, Rise offers loans to people with mental health or addiction problems, to help them set up their own businesses.

To find out more, follow the link below:

1HOI January 2017

Protected Characteristics E&D Committee Report

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37833581

Gender

Need a reminder that your voice matters? Check out 21 quotes from women who spoke up.

History is full of women who bravely fought to make a difference in the world. As activists, journalists, or fighters, women have stepped up to combat social injustice and defend their freedoms. Others worked their way into “boys clubs,” helping to pave the way for others to follow.

But while women have always been working toward making the world a better place, their voices were not always heard or acknowledged. And some of these women still do not get the recognition that they deserve in classroom history textbooks, even though their contributions are undeniable. All of them are inspirations.

Here are 21 quotes from just a few notable female leaders about how to make a better world:

1. “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.”— Ida B. Wells-Barnett

Wells-Barnett was an important African-American journalist and activist who led an anti-lynching crusade in the United States in the 1890s. She also marched in Washington, D.C., in 1913 for universal suffrage.

2HOI January 2017

Protected Characteristics E&D Committee Report

2. “I hate wars and violence but if they come then I don’t see why we women should just wave our men a proud goodbye and then knit them balaclavas.”— Nancy Wake

Code-named "The White Mouse,"Wake was one of the most decorated Allied servicewomen of World War II. She joined the resistance when the war broke out, and is credited with saving the lives of hundreds of Allied soldiers and downed airmen.

3. “Don’t sit and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.”— Sarah Breedlove

Breedlove, who later became known as Madam C.J. Walker, was one of thefirst American women to become a self-made millionaire, making her fortune by creating a line of specialized hair products for African-American hair.

4. "Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person."— Mother TeresaTo read the rest, open the link below:

http://www.upworthy.com/need-a-reminder-that-your-voice-matters-check-out-21-quotes-from-women-who-spoke-up?c=upw1&u=94b5e70ad1ebcc06eca6465ccb7e7df2dcbc448c

Gender Reassignment/Transitioning

Transgender woman found dead in cell at HMP Doncaster 5 January 2017

A transgender woman being held at a male prison while on remand has been found dead in her cell, it has emerged.

3HOI January 2017

Protected Characteristics E&D Committee Report

Jenny Swift was being held on remand after she was charged with attempted murder

Jenny Swift, 49, was found unresponsive at HMP Doncaster, South Yorkshire, on 30 December and later pronounced dead.

Ms Swift, from Seaforth in Sefton, Merseyside, was remanded in custody after a man was stabbed in November and later died.

An unnamed friend of hers said she had asked to be put into a women's prison, the Sheffield Star reported....

BBC Home Affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said it was understood Ms Swift was being monitored in prison due to fears she might self-harm.

She had been taking non-prescription hormone drugs to help her transition to a woman, but the medication was stopped when she entered custody, he added....

Government review...In 2015, a government review of the handling of transgender prisoners in England and Wales was ordered by then-Justice Secretary Michael Gove.

It followed the deaths of transgender women Vikki Thompson and Joanne Latham, who were being held in all-male prisons.

Published in November, the review revealed that one in four prisons in England and Wales holds at least one transgender inmate.

The review said: "It is apparent that the treatment of transgender people in courts, probation and prison services has not kept pace with the development of a more general understanding of the issues surrounding gender in society."

To find out more, follow the link below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-38518833

4HOI January 2017

Protected Characteristics E&D Committee Report

Race

No black academics in top British university roles for third successive year

Marianne Calnan   20 Jan 2017

New data has shown there are no black academics in senior management positions, such as directors, managers and senior officials, in any British universities for the third consecutive year.

Records published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) revealed that of the 535 senior officials who declared their ethnicity, 510 were white, 15 were Asian and 10 were recorded as ‘other, including mixed’....

The statistics, which cover staff at 163 of the UK’s state-funded higher education institutions and the privately funded Buckingham University, showed that universities employed 3,205 black people as academics.

Some 1,805 black members of staff were found to be in secretarial roles, and a further 1,410 in ‘elementary occupations’ such as cleaners, porters and security guards. In contrast, there are around 158,000 white staff in academic posts and fewer than 70,000 performing clerical or manual labour.

Sandra Kerr, race equality director at Business in the Community, said that collecting this type of data is the first of several steps employers need to take to improve diversity. “It’s one thing to collect data, but it is another thing to analyse and use it,” she said. “These universities need to look at whether they are getting job applications from diverse candidates in the first place, and then how far black professionals, for example, are getting into the recruitment process. We need to find out why this is happening and create goals and targets to improve it.”...

“Employers need to consider who they identify as ‘high potential’ within their workforce, and who is getting the opportunities to progress. There’s absolutely an element of unconscious bias here, and organisations need to represent the community they are situated in so empathy is created between people and different perspectives and approaches are offered.”....

To read the rest of the article, follow the link below:

http://www2.cipd.co.uk/pm/peoplemanagement/b/weblog/archive/2017/01/20/no-black-academics-in-top-british-university-roles-for-third-successive-year.aspx?utm_medium=email&utm_source=cipd&utm_campaign=pm_daily&utm_term=873983&utm_content=pm_daily_200117-8524-29271-20170121211625-No%20black%20academics%20in%20top%20British%20university%20roles%20for%20third%20successive%20year

Sexuality

5HOI January 2017

Protected Characteristics E&D Committee Report

USING MONITORING DATA: MAKING THE MOST OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION DATA COLLECTION

Guidance on how to use monitoring data effectively to identify and tackle anti-gay discrimination and harassment and understand their staff, customers and service users better

. To read the guide, follow the link below:

http://www.stonewall.org.uk/sites/default/files/using_monitoring_data.pdf

Religion/Belief/Lack of Religion/Belief

Radio 4

6HOI January 2017

Protected Characteristics E&D Committee Report

Beyond Belief

Mon 9 Jan 2017 16:30

Maths and religion are both ways of seeking order and understanding in the world. Numerologists who like to find significance in every number believe that 2016 was always going to be a bad year because of that combination of numbers - 2 0 1 6. Mainstream religious traditions have often set great store by numbers. Certain ones recur repeatedly in their scriptures, 3, 7, 40. What's that all about?Ernie Rea discusses religion's obsession with numbers with Marcus du Sautoy, Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford: Alex Bellos, science writer and journalist and author of the book, "Can you solve my problems?" and Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers a Community Educator at the Movement for Reform Judaism.

To download the programme, follow the link below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b087psvz

Maternity and Pregnancy

Maternity Leave Isn’t Getting More Popular

Amanda MacMillan, Jan 19, 2017

 

7HOI January 2017

Protected Characteristics E&D Committee Report

But paternity leave is, a new study finds

The number of women taking maternity leave in the United States has not changed over the last two decades, according to a new study, even as the national economy has grown and new family-leave policies have been implemented in three states.

The research, from Ohio State University, found that an average of 273,000 women take maternity leave every month. That number has held steady between 1994 and 2015, with no trend upward or downward.

However, the number of men taking paternity leave more than tripled during the same period, increasing from 5,800 a month to 22,000 a month. The study used data from a monthly U.S. Census survey, and is published today in the American Journal of Public Health.

Study author Jay Zagorsky, a research scientist at Ohio State’s Center for Human Resource Research, expected to see a rise in maternity leave rates in recent years, especially given all the political attention the topic has received recently...

The rate of paid maternity leave increased over the study period, but only by a quarter of a percent per year. At that rate, Zagorsky says, it will take another decade before even half of U.S. women going on leave receive such benefits. “This is a very low figure for the nation with the world’s largest annual gross domestic product,” he writes.

By comparison, 70.7% of men on leave were paid for their time off in 2015. It’s likely that fathers have more of a choice whether to take paternity leave, Zagorsky says, and may be less willing to do so if they have to forfeit income...

To find out more, follow the link below:

http://time.com/4639269/maternity-leave-rates/

Marriage and Civil Partnership

Convert ing a c iv i l partnership

Couples who registered a civil partnership in England and Wales have been ableconvert this to marriage since 10 December 2014. In Scotland it has been possible from 16 December 2014.

8HOI January 2017

Protected Characteristics E&D Committee Report

The process is simple and gives couples the choice to hold a ceremony. Couples receive a marriage certificate, on which the date of their marriage will be backdated to the date of their civil partnership. The date of conversion will also appear.

To convert c iv i l partnerships registered in England and Wales

First, make an appointment to convert your civil partnership to marriage at any register office in England or Wales. Both you and your civil partner will need to attend. You’ll need to say whether you want a simple conversion, or if you plan to hold a ceremony.

You’ll both need your birth certificate, passport or driving licence with photo card, and a recent utility bill, bank statement (or similar) showing your address. The register office will be able to advise on what other forms of identification are acceptable. You’ll also need your civil partnership certificate.

The ceremony

Legally, all you need to do is sign a declaration in the presence of a Superintendent Registrar or their deputy. This states that you agree to convert your civil partnership to marriage and are happy to become your partner’s lawful husband or wife. You can say the declaration to each other if you wish. For the first year, from 10 December 2014, this is free for all civil partnerships formed in England or Wales before 29 March 2014. If you want a marriage certificate this will cost £4, when ordered on the day or £10 thereafter.

Couples can choose to hold a ceremony. These can be held in a register office, any building approved for marriage or within the premises of a religious organisation that has agreed to hold marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples. You’ll need to book the date with the venue and Superintendent Registrar. You should discuss with them what you want...

To find out more, follow the link below:

http://www.stonewall.org.uk/help-advice/partnership-rights/converting-civil-partnership

Age

9HOI January 2017

Protected Characteristics E&D Committee Report

The documents suggest people currently aged 22-30 would have a state pension age of 70. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian

Pension age may be about to rise again, says former ministerSteve Webb says government considering faster timetable for higher state pension age of 70, affecting millions of workers

The government may be preparing to increase the official state pension age to 70 for millions of people currently in their 20s, a former minister has claimed.

Steve Webb said documents produced by the Department for Work and Pensions suggested a “more aggressive” timetable on state pension age (SPA) increases than previously planned was being prepared. 

This could affect tens of millions of workers aged under 55, and bring a pension age of 70 into the official timetable for the first time for people currently aged between 22 and 30, he added. The current official SPA for people in their 20s is 68, though under the existing schedule it could be expected to rise to 69...

To read the full article, open the link below:

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/nov/28/pension-age-may-be-about-to-rise-again-says-former-minister

10HOI January 2017