Race and Ethnicity
Recent Developments in Equality and Diversity Legislation
The Race Relations Act (1965) was amended in 1968. There was a further Race Relations Act in 1976 and most recently the Race Relations Amendment Act (2001) which imposed on public bodies a duty of promoting racial equality.
Commission for Racial Equality [CRE] chair Trevor Phillips commented during the RRA 40th anniversary celebrations that significant progress has been made since 1965, yet there is still more to do. "The fact that we have strong anti-discrimination laws has led to the near disappearance of commonplace practices which disfigured our society. That does not mean they don't ever happen but today they are the exception rather than the rule."
The CRE has published its assessment templates for writing Race Equality Policies (REPs), including one each for Further and Higher Education Institutions. There is also a REP assessment template which provides a means by which institutions can measure the effectiveness of their policies.
On 6 April 2006, the CRE issued a new Code of Practice on Racial Equality in Employment (pdf; 247kb) This document replaces the CRE's original code of practice (the Code of Practice for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity) which was published in 1984.
The ECU has published a booklet, Positive Action (Equality is Challenging series). It examines and explains the political and legal concept and gives examples of using Positive Action strategies in a Higher Education context. The ECU and HEFCE have also published a booklet on impact assessment (for appraisal of institutional policies).
