Agenda item

Equality Audit 2019/20

Minutes:

The Assistant Director of HR and Organisational Development submitted a report, presenting the Committee with an Equality Audit for 2019/20, which provided a summary or equalities monitoring data for the Council’s current workforce and job applicants, and monitored trends over time.  The report also provided the Committee with an update on progress that had been made towards meeting the requirements set out in the Tackling Employment Inequality Motion that had been moved and carried at the meeting of Council on 20 October 2020.  The Equality Audit 2019/20 was attached to the report at Appendix 1, a summary of the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter was attached at Appendix 2 and the ongoing initiatives to increase diversity and inclusion in the workforce was attached to the report at Appendix 3.

The report stated that the percentage of the workforce who identified as being from Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority backgrounds (BAME) had remained relatively stable in the previous two years and stood at 14.2% in 2019/20 (the percentage of BAME people in the economically active population within the Borough boundaries was 23%).  The percentage of BAME job applicants in 2019/20 was 30.9% and the percentage of candidates from BAME backgrounds who were appointed in the same period was 17.2%.  At the meeting of Council on 20 October 2020 a motion had been moved and carried on Tackling Employment Inequality, this had included a signatory to Business in the Community (BITC) Race at Work Charter, the commitments were as follows:

·         Appoint an Executive Sponsor for Race;

·         Capture ethnicity data and publicise progress;

·         Commit at board level to zero tolerance of harassment and bullying;

·         Make clear that supporting equality in the workplace was the responsibility of all leaders and managers;

·         Take action that supported ethnic minority career progression.

The report stated that the Council employed more female staff, with 59.1% females and 40.9% males, although this had reduced in the previous three years.  The Council still attracted more applications from women than men, however, these numbers were now more closely aligned than in 2018/19 with almost equal proportions of applications from men and women in 2019/20 (52.5% female and 46.1% male).

A slightly larger percentage of applicants stated that they had a disability (3.9%) than the existing workforce (3.7%), this compared with a 6% economically active population within the Borough.  The report detailed the work that had previously been carried out in this area and the actions that were suggested to increase the number of disabled staff.

The report explained the that Council had already carried out a number of initiatives to support diversity and inclusion at work.  A Team Reading Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan was being created which brought together actions from the various equality strands to enable more effective monitoring and reporting to the Corporate Management Team and to Personnel Committee.  The Action Plan would include steps that were being taken to address the staffing issues that had not already been covered in the report which were contained in the motion to Council in October 2020.  The Action Plan would also be informed by the findings of the more detailed equality audit to be carried out with assistance from BITC.

Shella Smith informed the Committee that work was ongoing with the Joint Trade Unions to agree a final version of paragraph 4.4 of the Equality Audit; when agreed this would be included in the final version of the Audit.  Shella also reported that the Council had received around 10,000 applications for jobs since January 2020, with 30% being from applicants who had identified themselves as being from BAME backgrounds.  However, the applicants were not getting through to successful posts in the same percentages, so work needed to be done in helping those from BAME backgrounds with, for example, CVs and interview techniques, with the aim of creating a ‘level playing field’ for all applicants.

Resolved:

(1)     That the Equality Audit for 2019/20, attached to the report at Appendix 1, be noted;

(2)     That the Council had signed the Business in the Community (BITC) Race at Work Charter, attached to the report at Appendix 2, and the work underway to explore working with BITC to carry out a more in-depth equality audit at the Council, the results of which would be used to develop actions to create a more inclusive culture at the Council, be noted;

(3)     That an Ethnicity Pay Gap Report for 2020, alongside the Gender Pay Gap Report for 2020, be submitted to the meeting on 17 March 2021.

Supporting documents: