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Disability
The Disability Discrimination Act defines disability as 'a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on [a person's] ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities'.
The term disability should be taken to include people with physical disabilities, people with learning difficulties, people with mental health problems, those with sensory disabilities (such as blindness or partial sight), and people with hidden disabilities (such as epilepsy or chest or heart conditions).
Many organisations, particularly those representing disabled people, prefer a more social (and less medical) approach to understanding disability. In this way, disability can be understood as any restriction on activities or opportunities resulting from social and physical barriers erected by people who have failed to take into account the needs of individuals with physical, sensory or mental impairments.
Discrimination
Direct discrimination under the law means treating a person less favourably on grounds of their colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender or marital status or for reasons relating to a person's disability.
Indirect discrimination occurs when a rule, condition or requirement which applies equally to everyone has a disproportionately adverse effect on people from a particular racial group, or of a particular religion or belief, or sexual orientation, or age, or on one gender, or a married person of the same gender, and there is no objective justification for the rule. There is no comparable concept of 'indirect discrimination' in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, but there is a duty to make reasonable adjustments to reduce or remove disadvantage.
Harassment is a form of discrimination.
For more information, visit the Discrimination Law section of this toolkit.
Diversity
The term 'diversity' is capable of many interpretations. In the context of equalities work it is often taken to mean the differences in the values, attitudes, cultural perspective, beliefs, ethnic background, sexual orientation, ability or disability, skills, knowledge, age and life experiences of each individual in any group of people. It is not the same as 'equal opportunities'.
Valuing diversity refers to demonstrably valuing diverse employees and clients or customers by having policies and procedures that take their diverse needs and preferences into account.
Equal opportunities
The development of practices that promote the possibility of fair and equal chances for all to develop their full potential, in all aspects of life, and the removal of barriers to discrimination and disadvantage experienced by certain groups.
Equalities
'Equalities' is a shorthand term to refer to the range of work aimed at ensuring the full and fair participation of marginalised or under-represented groups arising from discrimination, disadvantage and other barriers to participation. This has a particular reference to race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion or belief, and age as areas of non-discrimination that come within the scope of the UK's statutory equalities framework.
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