National Equality Standard

Last updated
National Equality Standard
Founded22 May 2013
Headquarters London, England
Area served
UK
Key people
Arun Batra (CEO & founder)
Website www.ey.com

The National Equality Standard (NES) is an initiative created by Ernst & Young in 2013. It was developed "for business, by business" and sets clear Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) criteria against which companies are assessed. [1] Their EDI policies and practices are reviewed, areas for improvement are identified, and recommendations for improvement are provided. [2]

Contents

Background

The NES has been developed and sponsored by Ernst & Young, supported by the Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the Home Office and the Confederation of British Industry and developed in partnership with the following UK and global companies: [3]

The NES was launched in May 2013 at the British Museum. Since then many businesses have signed up [5] and the Standard has received significant media attention and news coverage. [6]

People

Arun Batra is the CEO and founder of the NES. Prior to his position at Ernst & Young, he ran the Mayor's "Diversity Works" programme in London. [7] He has recently been recognised as one of Britain's most influential Asians for leading the establishment of the NES. [8]

Batra is supported by Harry Gaskell, the managing partner of Ernst & Young's UK and Ireland advisory Practice and Head of D&I, and the Chair of the Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (ENEI). [9] Sir David Bell has been appointed as the Non-executive Chair of the steering committee that drives the development of the NES. [8]

The National Equality Standard Assessment

Through the NES, companies are subjected to an EDI assessment which has been devised by the NES Board and EY. [10] The NES Assessment provides companies with a comprehensive quality review of their EDI policies and practices, identifies areas for improvement and provides implementation recommendations. [2] Each company that undertakes the NES undergoes assessment against a predefined set of criteria across seven standards. Trained NES Assessors review documentation, ensure legal compliance, conduct comprehensive interviews and sample staff through in-depth surveys. The outcome is detailed in a comprehensive report. [11]

Feedback

The feedback from those undertaking assessments has been positive; Tina Southall, Director, Diversity and Inclusion at Vodafone Group Services described the assessment process in an interview:

“The assessment process was excellent. It really captured both the macro status but also important details. It consisted of an in-depth review of materials and a very professional and well structured audit. It provided thought provoking insights combined with pragmatic and actionable recommendations. The Standard has potential to drive a real change in Equality Standards.” [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernst & Young</span> Multinational professional services network based in England

Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a British multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is considered one of the Big Four accounting firms. It primarily provides assurance, tax, consulting and advisory services to its clients.

A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to other known alternatives because it often produces results that are superior to those achieved by other means or because it has become a standard way of doing things, e.g., a standard way of complying with legal or ethical requirements.

Web accessibility, or eAccessibility, is the inclusive practice of ensuring there are no barriers that prevent interaction with, or access to, websites on the World Wide Web by people with physical disabilities, situational disabilities, and socio-economic restrictions on bandwidth and speed. When sites are correctly designed, developed and edited, more users have equal access to information and functionality.

Clinical audit is a process that has been defined as a quality improvement process that seeks to improve patient care and outcomes through systematic review of care against explicit criteria and the implementation of change

The Corporate Equality Index is a report published by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation as a tool to rate American businesses on their treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, consumers and investors. Its primary source of data are surveys but researchers cross-check business policy and their implications for LGBT workers and public records independently. The index has been published annually since 2002. Additionally, the CEI focuses on the positive associations of equality promoting policies and LGBT supporting businesses which has developed to reflect a positive correlation between the promotion of LGBT equality and successful organizations. Following the top 100 corporations that are publicly ranked under the CEI, participating organizations remain anonymous. For businesses looking to enforce and expand LGBT diverse and inclusive policies, the CEI provides a framework that allows businesses to recognize and address issues and policies that restrict equality for LGBT people in the workplace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internal audit</span> Independent, objective assurance and consulting activity

Internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization's operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes. Internal auditing might achieve this goal by providing insight and recommendations based on analyses and assessments of data and business processes. With commitment to integrity and accountability, internal auditing provides value to governing bodies and senior management as an objective source of independent advice. Professionals called internal auditors are employed by organizations to perform the internal auditing activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities</span>

The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) is an American non-profit organization focusing on intellectual disability and related developmental disabilities. AAIDD has members in the United States and more than 50 other countries.

Sustainable procurement or green procurement is a process whereby organizations meet their needs for goods, services, works and utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a life-cycle basis while addressing equity principles for sustainable development, therefore benefiting societies and the environment across time and geographies. Procurement is often conducted via a tendering or competitive bidding process. The process is used to ensure the buyer receives goods, services or works for the best possible price, when aspects such as quality, quantity, time, and location are compared. Procurement is considered sustainable when organizations broadens this framework by meeting their needs for goods, services, works, and utilities in a way that achieves value for money and promotes positive outcomes not only for the organization itself but for the economy, environment, and society. This framework is also known as the triple bottom line, which is a business accounting framework. The concept of TBL is narrowly prescribed, and even John Elkington, who coined the term in the 1990s, now advocates its recall. Indeed, procurement practitioners have drawn attention to the fact that buying from smaller firms, locally, is an important aspect of sustainable procurement in the public sector. Ethics, culture, safety, diversity, inclusion, justice, human rights and the environment are additionally listed as important aspects of SPP.

Businesses benefit by having diversity in their work force. The business case for diversity stems from the progression of the models of diversity within the workplace since the 1960s. In the United States, the original model for diversity was situated around affirmative action drawing from equal opportunity employment objectives implemented in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Equal employment opportunity was centered around the idea that any individual academically or physically qualified for a specific job could strive for at obtaining the said job without being discriminated against based on identity. These initiatives were met with accusations that tokenism was the reason an individual was hired into a company when they differed from the dominant group. Dissatisfaction from minority groups eventually altered and/or raised the desire to achieve perfect employment opportunities in every job.

A recommended exposure limit (REL) is an occupational exposure limit that has been recommended by the United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The REL is a level that NIOSH believes would be protective of worker safety and health over a working lifetime if used in combination with engineering and work practice controls, exposure and medical monitoring, posting and labeling of hazards, worker training and personal protective equipment. To formulate these recommendations, NIOSH evaluates all known and available medical, biological, engineering, chemical, trade, and other information. Although not legally enforceable limits, RELS are transmitted to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) of the U.S. Department of Labor for use in promulgating legal standards.

The Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) was an Irish LGBT rights group based in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1988 by Don Donnelly, Charles Kerrigan, Suzy Byrne, Kieran Rose and Christopher Robson. It focused on achieving change in legislation and social policy to achieve full equality and inclusion for lesbian, gay and bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Ireland, and protection from all forms of discrimination. Its board of directors were Margot Slattery (chair), Simon Nugent, Muriel Walls, Séamus Dooley and Dr. Fergus Ryan. In May 2017 it was announced that it would close.

Mustafa F. Özbilgin is a Turkish-born British social scientist. He is Professor of Human Resource Management at Brunel Business School, Brunel University and was the editor-in-chief of the British Journal of Management between 2010 and 2013. He is also co-chair of Management and Diversity at University Paris-Dauphine in France. Between 2006 and 2010, he served as the editor-in-chief of Equal Opportunities International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commission for Academic Accreditation (United Arab Emirates)</span> UAE government agency

The Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) is the national quality assurance and regulatory agency responsible for evaluation and accreditation of higher educational institutions and universities in the United Arab Emirates. Established in 2000, it comes under the country's Ministry of Education.

Workplace Strategy is the dynamic alignment of an organization's work patterns with the work environment to enable peak performance and reduce costs.

The Outies, formally known as the Out & Equal Workplace Awards, is an annual awards gala hosted by Out & Equal Workplace Advocates. The Outies honor individuals and organizations that are leaders in advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees in America's workplaces. Through these awards, Out & Equal provides the business and LGBT communities with examples of innovative approaches and proven successes to help create safe and equitable workplaces. The awards are presented annually at the Out & Equal Workplace Summit, a nationwide conference addressing LGBT issues in the workplace.

The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA), originally the Independent Music Publishers and Labels Association, is a non-profit trade association established in 2000 to help European independent record labels represent their agenda and promote independent music. Its offices are in Brussels, Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shahnaz Ali</span> British woman (born 1961)

Shahnaz Ali OBE is a British woman best known for her leadership role in equality, inclusion and human rights in the National Health Service and local government in England. She is also known for her activism, as a young woman, in the anti-racist struggles in Bradford in the 1980s. She was appointed an OBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours list, December 2012 in recognition of her contributions to Equality and Diversity.

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP (Katten) is a full-service law firm with nearly 700 attorneys in locations across the United States, London and Shanghai. The firm's core areas of practice include commercial finance, corporate, financial markets and funds, insolvency and restructuring, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, structured finance and securitization, transactional tax planning, and private wealth. Katten represents public and private companies in numerous industries, as well as a number of government and nonprofit organizations and individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ofelia Olivero</span> Argentine-American biologist

Ofelia Ana Olivero is an Argentine-American biologist specialized in HIV/AIDS and biomedical research. She pioneered the discovery of nucleoside analogs induced centrosomal amplification and aneuploidy while working as a senior staff scientist at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). In 2016, she became chief of the NCI diversity intramural workforce branch.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion refers to organizational frameworks which seek to promote "the fair treatment and full participation of all people", particularly groups "who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination" on the basis of identity or disability. These three notions together represent "three closely linked values" which organizations seek to institutionalize through DEI frameworks. Some frameworks, primarily in Britain, substitute the notion of "equity" with equality: equality, diversity, inclusion (EDI). Other variations include diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB), justice, equity, diversity and inclusion, or diversity, equity, inclusion and access.

References

  1. "The National Equality Standard official website".
  2. 1 2 "The National Equality Standard official website".
  3. "The HR Director magazine". Archived from the original on 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  4. "The National Equality Standard official website".
  5. "The Financial Times".
  6. "Media coverage from the NES website".
  7. "Operate Black Vote".
  8. 1 2 "Top Consultant Magazine".
  9. "The Recruiter Magazine".
  10. "The Financial Times".
  11. "The HR Director". 22 May 2013.
  12. "Testimonials from the National Equality Standard Website".