Equality and diversity

We pride ourselves on being one of the most diverse boroughs in the country. We are diverse in both ethnicity and religion. We have many people of various backgrounds living side by side.

Our diversity and its positive impact, makes Harrow a great place to live and work. We envision Harrow as a community-focused place. We promote inclusion, cohesion, fairness, and justice.

We serve a diverse population. So, we aim to ensure equal opportunities for all. This extends to:

  • Residents and employees.
  • Service users and partner organisations.
  • Elected members and stakeholders.
  • visitors.

The Equality Act (EA) 2010 merges 116 separate laws into one Act. The Act protects individual rights. It also promotes equality of opportunity for all. The Act covers nine protected characteristics:

  • Age
  • Disability
  • Gender reassignment
  • Marriage and civil partnership
  • Pregnancy and maternity
  • Race
  • Religion or belief
  • Sex and sexual orientation.

As an employer, we are committed to employing a diverse workforce. This helps us to understand and relate to the community we serve. For more information, see Equality Act 2010.

Our principles and values

Our principles and values are to:

  • Ensure our equality policies support jobs and services. This is for our diverse communities.
  • Ensure our services are fast and truly accessible to users.
  • Work with the trade unions and workforce. Plan and maintain effective communication solutions. This helps us provide affordable, accessible services. It also supports work-life balance for staff.
  • Ensure our staff have the skills to deliver quality services. We can do this through effective recruitment and staff development.
  • Encourage partnerships and participation. This is to help us apply our policies, practices, and services.
  • End all forms of unlawful discrimination, both direct and indirect. These are prohibited under the EA 2010.
  • Adhere to section 149, especially the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). It imposes a 'duty' on public bodies to:
    • End unlawful discrimination, harassment, and victimisation. This includes other conduct prohibited by the EA 2010.
    • Advance equality of opportunity among different groups.
    • Foster good relations between different groups.

View our equality of opportunity policy.

Our workforce profile report

We produce a workforce profile report each year. This report reviews our workforce's diversity. It also compares Harrow and London averages. The data in the report helps us make plans to level up our under-represented groups. 

This ensures more inclusive processes and practices in Harrow. As a service provider, we will continue to improve our services through the use of:

  • A robust Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) process. All staff receive training to complete an assessment. 
  • Engaging with our communities through consultations. Completing surveys with our service users.

As a buyer of goods and services, we ensure our procurement processes are fair for all. We ensure partner services also share our commitments.

Corporate equality objectives and use of data

We publish our corporate equality objectives. This is a rule under the PSED. Our corporate equality objectives are to:

  • Address equality in life outcomes.
  • Deliver fair services to all.
  • Create a representative workforce.

These support our Restoring Pride in Harrow plan. Several measures assess our performance. The service planning process identifies these. A quarterly progress report is produced. It is presented to the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Board (EDI). It contains an annual report for the Performance and Finance Committee.

We collect and analyse data on our staff, service users, and communities. It provides valuable management information. We use it to address any inequalities. This data also shows how the services we provide to the wider community are fair. As well as our employment and training practices.

We adopted the diversity monitoring categories. This ensures our data use is consistent in the workforce. The PSED requires us to publish equalities data each year. We also publish our corporate equality objectives each year. View our supporting documents below:

Equality Impact Assessments (EqIA)

We have EqIAs to use as a service improvement practice. They help show us how our policies can affect different communities. They draw our attention to those who experience:

  • Inequality
  • Discrimination
  • Social exclusion
  • Disadvantage

Each year, directorates develop annual EqIA programmes. These programmes are aligned to the service plans. They are monitored by the EDI team. The EqIAs form part of our decision-making process. They go with all decision reports. They are also published with cabinet papers.

Working for the London Borough of Harrow

We aim to be at the forefront of promoting equality of opportunity as:

  • An employer.
  • Service provider.
  • Procurer of goods and services.
  • A community leader.

Employing people with disabilities

We encourage more people with disabilities to apply for jobs with us. We are a disability committed employer. View information on the Disability Confident campaign.

If you have a disability and you are eligible for the job, we welcome an application from you. All schools in the borough have also been urged to adopt this commitment. In your application, please state if you need any extra help in your interview.

Some applicants may need specialist equipment. Some adjustments may need to be made to the work environment. This is to enable applicants to carry out their duties. If this applies to you, we can talk about it during your interview.

Employing ex-offenders

We are committed to treating all staff, and applicants fairly. We want to attract the right mix of talent, skills and potential. We welcome applications from everyone. This is including those with criminal records.

We select candidates based on their skills and experience. To find out more, see our policy for the recruitment of ex-offenders.