Introduction To Equality And Inclusion In Health, Social Care or Children’s And Young People’s Setting

1.1
Diversity: is any dimension that can be used to differentiate groups and people from one another. Diversity recognises that though people have things in common with each other, they are also different and unique in many ways. Diversity is about recognising, valuing, respecting and appreciating the different terms of ethnicity, gender, age, disability religion and education. By recognising and understanding our individual differences, embracing them and moving beyond simple tolerance we can create a productive environment in which everybody feels valued.
Equality: Some believe that equality means treating everyone the same, however you cannot treat everyone as equal due to the fact that everyone has different backgrounds, life experiences, skills and knowledge. Individuality can be a positive attribute in all aspects of life. Equality can be more accurately described as when people are given equal opportunities giving them access to the same rights, choices and resources no matter of their age, race, sexual belief or cultural differences.
Inclusion: means to be fully included, to make people feel valued and respected no matter their age, ethnicity, disability, medical or other need, religion, and sexual orientation. It is about giving equal access and opportunities, breaking down barriers and getting rid of discrimination and intolerance.
Inclusion is the process of making the practice of ‘equality of opportunity’ a viable activity in the setting. Therefore in a childcare setting it means to remove as many barriers as possible for all children to ensure they get the maximum benefit to thrive, learn and grow. Inclusion also includes the idea that all children need to feel welcolmed and valued at a setting, so my role as a practioner is to ensure every effort is made for this to happen.
Discrimination: Discrimination means the act of prejudice against a person, to unfairly or unequally treat an individual or group of people based on certain characteristics such as age, disability, ethnicity, marital status, race, religion etc. Laws prohibit discrimination against people in a number of settings such as education, employment, health care services etc. Discrimination can take many forms, there is;
Direct discrimination – This is the most clear case of discrimination as the individual is treated less fairly due to their characteristics such as age, disability, religion and so on.
Associative discrimination – This form of discrimination happens when someone is discriminated against just because they are associated with individuals who have the above characteristics.
Discrimination by perception – This form of discrimination is the generalization of the discriminated characteristics so for example assuming that all gay people have aids.
Indirect Discrimination – When an employer forces a specific set of requirements on its employees, for example if all employers are required to be a certain age, race etc.
1.2 Direct discrimination can occur in the workplace in many ways. For example a nursery may celebrate Christmas every year and include display boards and activities around this occasion and may not celebrate other cultures festivals, this then, in a nursery for example, discriminates children. In my workplace a wide range of festivals are celebrated to ensure that not only every child’s/person’s beliefs or cultures are included and respected but to enlighten and widen the knowledge of all staff and children of the many beliefs, religions and cultures they have around them.
Another way discrimination may occur in the work place is if a practioner is unaware that their actions might in some way discriminate one child from another, for example a practioner may generalize and stereotype that children from a particular background or culture will have the same characteristics, needs and behave in a certain way instead of