5. Enhancing Capability and Culture

Building capability

An organisation’s aims might include, for example:

• A suitable base level of knowledge and skills in equality and human rights.
• Access to development opportunities, guidance, and tools when needed.
• Clear frameworks setting out the depth of knowledge required for their role.
• Understanding of both responsibilities and benefits of considering equality and human rights.
• Recognition that different groups have unique needs, including the specific need for disability and gender competence and the importance of intersectionality and the role it plays.

All staff should be supported to engage with equality and human rights, with specialist roles requiring additional depth.

For example, specialist roles may need:

• More in-depth skills and knowledge.
• Specific competencies relevant to their area (e.g., disability competence, gender competence).
• A deeper understanding of equality and human rights specific to the relevant working area.
• Access to targeted training and resources when they need them, tailored to their responsibilities.

Creating cultural change

This could include:

Integration into management processes, aiming to:

• Build equality and human rights into recruitment and promotion processes.
• Include equality and human rights in staff performance reviews and set diversity-related objectives for teams.
• Include equality competence in career development plans and leadership identification programmes.
• Create clear behavioural expectations.

Developing inclusive culture, by aiming to:

• Foster an environment where equality and human rights are embedded into everyday decision-making and practice.
• Support creativity and innovation in applying equality and human rights principles.
• Ensure diverse perspectives are valued and included, such as engaging diverse voices and experiences in shaping decisions at all levels.
• Help staff feel confident in applying equality analysis and able to recognise exclusionary practices.
• Embed equality and human rights considerations into routine decision-making, so they become part of organisational practice and are not dependent only on specialist input.

Find more information and details under each action below