Positive Action Statement
SWR has a strong commitment to inclusion and diversity within the organisation and the services we provide to our communities. We want to reflect the communities we serve and one way we can try to achieve this is through ‘positive action’.
Positive action is lawful and is an activity which helps us identify and remove the barriers and issues to the employment, retention and progression of people from ‘under-represented’ groups (e.g. disability, race, gender etc), whilst still employing or promoting people on merit.
However, positive discrimination generally means employing or promoting someone simply because they come from an under-represented group in spite of whether they have the relevant skills and qualifications. This is unlawful and does not happen in SWR.
Some people may think they do not 'fit in' to an organisation or in particular job roles because they don’t see people like them. Past experiences may have led them to lose confidence and think they wouldn’t be welcome as an employee or for a promotion opportunity. Unconscious bias within organisations could have also led people to unconsciously employ, sponsor or promote people ‘like them’.
Positive action is not about giving these people more favourable treatment; it is about “levelling the playing field” for them.
Employment and promotion must be based on merit. Positive action initiatives help us to encourage people from certain groups who are under-represented in the workplace to apply for jobs and promotions.
Initiatives can include:
- placing job adverts to target particular groups, to increase the number of applicants from that group,
- offering training or development programmes to help certain groups get opportunities or progress at work,
- offering shadowing or mentoring to groups under-represented at certain levels within the organisation,
- hosting an open day specifically for under-represented groups to encourage them to get into a particular field.
