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Equal Opportunities
The Equal Opportunities Committee was formed in 1994 to:-
a) develop detailed equal opportunities policies
b) have oversight of training programmes in equal opportunities
c) monitor the implementation of the equal opportunities policy
d) report annually to the General Assembly on the implementation of the policy.
Committee Members
Convener: Mrs Susan Rand Secretary: Revd Simon Walkling
Revd Wilf Bahadur, Mrs Daphne Beale, Mr Hilary Gunn (staff link), Revd Nanette Head,
Revd Derek Hopkins, Ms Lucille King, Ms Georgette Margett, Ms Stella Salmon and ex-officio members.
1 In 1994 the URC committed itself to behave as an ‘equal opportunities organisation’ and as a start formed the Equal Opportunities Committee with the above brief. To show that the church is serious about being an equal opportunities organisation it needs to set a number of things in place. These include:
• an equal opportunities policy which has strong visible support of those in authority;
• detailed guidelines showing how the policy operates, who is responsible and what happens if the policy is ignored;
• equal opportunities training for all;
• monitoring to establish the position at any particular time and to identify possible areas of discrimination;
• clear policy objectives to avoid discrimination;
• further monitoring to establish effects of any policy changes;
It is clear that this is an issue for the whole church and needs the full support and co-operation throughout the URC.
2 We have identified areas where some sort of monitoring would be constructive. They are too numerous to mention covering councils of the national and local church, those candidating for the ministry and those looking for a pastorate. Effective monitoring and interpreting data collected are specialist and time consuming tasks outside the resources of the Equal Opportunities Committee. We also expect that the work of the Multi racial, Multi cultural Development Worker will identify further areas that need to be investigated and where training is needed.
3 Equal opportunities is a discipline which covers many areas, and touches many campaigning issues. At its heart is the search for fair minded people who do not let their prejudices lead to behaviour which discriminates unfairly, and the development of fair systems and structures which provide equal opportunities.
4.1 So often, conversations about equal opportunities degenerate into jokes about political correctness or preferential treatment. The Committee sometimes feels that the basics of equal opportunities are not understood. We offer the following pointers, which undergird our work:
4.2 Equal Opportunities is about:
• Valuing individuals
Not making assumptions about people because of the group they belong to, but looking at their own skills and gifts.
• Getting the right person for the job
Which means being clear about what the job is, what attributes are necessary, and how to
discover whether candidates possess them. Then prejudice has less room to take hold. This is true whether the job is paid or voluntary.
• Being the Body of Christ
Feeling the hurt of those affected by discrimination is part of bearing each other’s burdens. So is doing something about it. This is true, whether it is "a problem" where you are or not.
• An inclusive vision
We believe that God calls everyone to be part of the Kingdom. We believe that God does not call people by quotas from particular groups for particular roles in the church. Somehow the church should be a foretaste of the rich diversity of the Kingdom.
5.1 Members of 1999 General Assembly will find that they have a monitoring sheet amongst their papers. We would be very grateful if these could be completed and placed in the box provided during the Assembly. If possible some feed back will be given during Assembly and certainly will be afterwards. This monitoring form is important as it will give us a base line on which to judge the makeup of future assemblies and will also show where there is under representation.
5.2 The Committee believes that God calls all, irrespective of background, race, age, gender and disability and that it is up to us as God’s servants on earth to encourage others to respond. One way to see if we are effective is by monitoring. We do not consciously exclude people from our churches and committees but as the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry has shown, institutions fail to provide equality of opportunity. As part of the Body of Christ, we should feel the pain of those who experience prejudice and discrimination, and seek healing and justice.
6 The Disability Discrimination Act is slowly coming into effect. Churches are not exempt from this Act. It applies over a large range of concerns including employment practices and access to buildings and participation in church activities. The Committee is in conversations with Church Action On Disability (CHAD) to explore the possibility of using their expertise as a resource for the URC, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. It is too early to bring any proposals to this General Assembly.
7 We have often been asked - ‘But what can we in the local church do?’
Here are a number of discussion questions which could be used at a church meeting to explore attitudes:
• A visitor arrives for church in a wheel chair. Can they get in? Can they take a full part in the service?
• Names have been asked for Elders election. Someone has suggested a 19 year old. How do you feel about that? How will others react?
• What are you doing in your church to encourage young people and women to be part of the life of the church, especially in this year of recruitment to the ministry?
• Your church is in vacancy. How will you feel if the name suggested is a woman?
• Would your reaction to the previous question be any different were the person to be black or have an obvious disability?
8 Over the past 5 years the committee has done many things, including:-
• carried out a monitoring exercise for local churches with over 60% response rate;
• published guidelines for local churches on good employment practices;
• fought for the appointment of the Multi racial, Multi cultural Development Worker;
• facilitated the first meeting in 1998 as a step towards developing a multi racial network - further work on this is being done by Revd Marjorie Lewis-Cooper;
• responding to requests for information; • commenting on documents.
However, we are a small committee, with limited resources. We will try to respond to the new areas of work suggested by the 1998 General Assembly (age issues and learning disability), as well as to requests from church members around the country. But if we don’t respond immediately, please bear with us.
Thanks. As this is the last Annual Report that I shall write as convener I would like to publicly express my appreciation for all the work done and support given by members of the committee since it was formed in 1994. In particular I would like to thank Simon Walkling, who also comes to the end of his term at this Assembly, for all the support he has given to me and to the committee.
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