Equality and diversity - Fulfilling our equality duties

The High­ways Agency is com­mit­ted to equal­ity of oppor­tu­nity. By embed­ding equal­ity con­sid­er­a­tions into the heart of our busi­ness we will con­tribute to the cre­ation of a fairer and more sus­tain­able soci­ety. We recog­nise that it makes good busi­ness sense to under­stand the dif­fer­ent needs of a diverse range of peo­ple so that we can deliver bet­ter and more inclu­sive ser­vices. We also know that through a diverse work­force and by encour­ag­ing diver­sity capa­bil­ity within our sup­ply chain, we can draw on a wide range of tal­ents and expe­ri­ence. This will stand us in good stead as we aim to achieve our vision of being the world’s lead­ing road operator.

The Equal­ity Act 2010 pro­vides the ideal frame­work to do this through the Pub­lic Sec­tor Equal­ity Duty which requires us to give due regard to the need to:

  • Elim­i­nate unlaw­ful dis­crim­i­na­tion, harass­ment and victimisation
  • Advance equal­ity of oppor­tu­nity, and
  • Fos­ter good rela­tion­ships between those with pro­tected char­ac­ter­is­tics and those that do not

Whilst the spe­cific duty enables us to be trans­par­ent about what we do by publishing:

  • Rel­e­vant and pro­por­tion­ate infor­ma­tion to demon­strate com­pli­ance with the equal­ity duty by 31 Jan­u­ary 2012 and annu­ally there­after, and
  • Spe­cific and mea­sur­able equal­ity objec­tives at least every four years by 6 April 2012

The Equal­ity Act 2010 has expand­ing legal pro­tec­tion to cover race, gen­der, dis­abil­ity, age, religion/belief, sex­ual ori­en­ta­tion, gen­der iden­tity, preg­nancy and mater­nity, mar­riage and civil part­ner­ships in terms of both ser­vice deliv­ery and employ­ment. (These groups are known as ‘pro­tected characteristics.’)

Making a difference - The Highways Agency Equality Objectives April 2012 - 2016The High­ways Agency equal­ity objec­tives have been set after care­ful con­sid­er­a­tion of the infor­ma­tion we have gathered.
Gathering Momentum - Progress in delivering the Highways Agency’s equality objectivesDetails of progress in deliv­er­ing the High­ways Agency equal­ity objectives.
Inclusion matters - Evidence that shapes our equality and diversity prioritiesOur strate­gic road net­work pro­vides links to com­mu­ni­ties and busi­nesses, and con­tributes to our national well­be­ing and eco­nomic growth.
Diversity and Transport – Birmingham networking eventMen and women from across the trans­port sec­tor in the West Mid­lands and beyond gath­ered in Birm­ing­ham on 18 Sep­tem­ber to dis­cuss the issue of diversity.