Equality is about making sure people are treated fairly and given fair chances. Equality is not about treating everyone in the same way, but it recognises that their needs are met in different ways.

Equality focuses on those areas covered by the law, namely the key areas of race, gender, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation and age. In addition to the legislation which seeks to prevent discrimination in all these areas, we have a public duty to promote equality and remove discrimination in race, gender and disability.

People must not be unfairly discriminated against because of any of these factors and we must all contribute to creating a positive workplace environment where discriminatory practices and discrimination no longer happen.

-And diversity?

Diversity is about valuing individual difference. So 'diversity' is much more than just a new word for equality. A diversity approach aims to recognise, value and manage difference to enable all employees to contribute and realise their full potential. Diversity challenges us to recognise and value all sorts of differences in order to make the Council a better place for everyone to work.

Why are equality and diversity important?

Diversity is also about recognising that our customers come from different backgrounds. If we welcome diversity as colleagues, value each other and treat each other fairly, we will work better together. In doing so we will provide a better service to the people of Nottingham.

It will help our customers to approach us and use our services if we have a diverse workforce that feels comfortable with and understands their different needs. So diversity will also contribute to improving the services we provide.

For more information, contact The Equality and Diversity Team on 0115 9156736 (minicom available), fax 0115 9156145 or email equalityanddiversityteam@nottinghamcity.gov.uk