Equality, diversity and inclusion

At Depaul UK we’re committed to ensuring that our staff, volunteers and partners feel respected, valued and celebrated for the broad range of life experience, skills and knowledge they bring to our organisation.

This spectrum of experience, knowledge and skills, coupled with an open-minded and creative approach to our work, enables us to provide supportive, client-led, responsive services to our diverse group of clients.

 

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement

Our Approach to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Depaul UK

 

Our Promise

At Depaul UK people are at the heart of everything we do and this is embedded in our Vision and Values.

The commitments we have made in this Statement focus on equality, diversity and inclusion and underpin our Mission to bring an end to homelessness and change the lives of those affected by it. To achieve these aims we work with the most vulnerable and marginalised people in mainstream communities.

  • Depaul UK is a place where staff feel proud to work; a place where everyone is welcome, and a place where people feel free and safe to be their true selves.
  • We believe everyone has a right to be – and feel – respected, valued and listened to.
  • We create positive environments that provide equal opportunities for all.
  • People in need of our services are able to access them easily, and in ways that work for them.

These are more than just words for us. At Depaul UK, we celebrate the benefits of being an open, diverse and inclusive organisation and consistently work together to make this a reality.

Being diverse brings with it a wealth of different experiences, thoughts and views. So, it is important that our diversity reflects the diverse needs of the people accessing our services, and our staff reflect the diversity of the communities in which we work.

What we do and how we do it matters because this is how our staff and the people using our service get to know if we really mean what we say and experience our values and equality commitments.

 

Our Commitment 

We will act to ensure that at Depaul UK we will work to:

  • Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and other conduct that is prohibited by, or under, the Equality Act 2010
  • Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share relevant protected characteristics and persons who do not share them
  • Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic/s and those who do not.

 

Our Approach 

Our values are core to whom we work with, how we work with individuals and communities and the ways in which our services are designed and delivered.

Our Values are;

  • We celebrate the potential in people
  • We put our words into action
  • We take a wider role in civil society
  • We believe in rights and responsibilities.

Depaul UK delivers an extensive range of services on a national basis and via an extensive portfolio of networks and partnerships. This is why we believe accountability is important and measure ourselves against the highest standards including those within the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty.

We are committed to being a truly diverse organisation, and this is reflected in our ambitious Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (available to download below.) This plan sets out what we are going to be doing over the next two years and is monitored at a strategic level by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Champions Working Group (made up of staff from across Depaul UK at all levels and from various teams/ departments).

 

Delivering Our Commitments 

In addition to our action plan, we will:

  • provide regular Equality, Diversity and Inclusion focused training to all our staff and volunteers
  • make sure our services are easily accessible to people needing our help
  • carry out regular equality monitoring of our staff, Trustees, people applying for jobs/ roles with our organisation and publish diversity data each year about the people working for us and the people using our services
  • regularly monitor our progress against our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion action plan through our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Champions Working Group.

 

Continuous Improvement                                                                                                                   

We will review our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement on annual basis and our associated action plan on a quarterly basis. We will also review our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy and procedures on a minimum basis of every three years to ensure it remains relevant and effective.

 

Download our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan:

 

Download