Wikimedia LGBT+/Governance/Diversity and equalities policy
 | This is a draft policy that has not yet been approved by the board; it is currently an almost direct copy of WMUK's equivalent policy. As a result, this policy is currently focussed on UK legal protections and has not yet been reviewed in the context of additional protections offered in other jurisdictions. Until it has been approved by the board, this policy will only exist in English. |
Introduction
[edit]Wikimedia LGBT+ is committed to increasing diversity within our community and ensuring respectful and professional working relationships irrespective of individuals’ personal characteristics. This policy aims to outline Wikimedia LGBT+’s commitment to ensuring equality of opportunity and equal treatment for contractors, volunteers, and trustees, in terms of employment and access to services; and to provide guidance on anti-discriminatory practice; and to support best practice in terms of diversity and equalities within the workplace.
Scope
[edit]The policy applies to potential and existing staff working for Wikimedia LGBT+ (be they directly employed by WMLGBT, workers employed via agencies, or contractors in terms of employment), trustees and volunteers in terms of service provision. The policy applies specifically to discrimination and equality of opportunity in respect of “protected characteristics” as defined in the UK’s Equality Act 2010:
- Age[a]
- Disability[b]
- “Gender Reassignment”[c]
- Marriage and civil partnership[d]
- Pregnancy and maternity[e]
- Race[f]
- Religion or belief[g]
- “Sex”[h]
- Sexual orientation[i]
The policy applies across the range of employment policies and practice, including those relating to Discipline, Grievance, Harassment and Complaints.
Responsibilities
[edit]Wikimedia LGBT+ values its staff, contractors, workers, trustees and volunteers, and expects them to be treated in a respectful manner. Accordingly, all have a responsibility to treat others with dignity and respect. The Executive director is responsible for providing advice and guidance on equality and diversity issues, and to ensure the Policy document is kept up to date.
See also the WMLGBT+ Bullying and harassment policy.
Aims
[edit]Wikimedia LGBT+ aims to:
- Promote equality of opportunity
- Celebrate and value diversity
- Eliminate unlawful direct and indirect discrimination
Wikimedia LGBT+ will provide equality of opportunity and equal treatment as an integral part of good practice. The organisation is committed to a working environment in which the contribution and needs of everyone are fully valued and recognised. We will support our staff, workers, trustees and contractors in not tolerating any inappropriate, violent or abusive behaviour from colleagues, other organisations or customers.
General purpose
[edit]Wikimedia LGBT+’s practices will ensure that workers, trustees, and volunteers will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, race, sex, religion or cultural beliefs, gender reassignment, gender identity and expression, marital status and civil partnership, sexual orientation, pregnancy, and maternity and paternity. We have a zero tolerance policy towards discriminatory language or actions that could create a hostile environment, and do not accept behaviour that amounts to harassment or exclusion of any individual.
Wikimedia LGBT+’s commitment to anti-discriminatory practice relates to all kinds of discrimination, as set out below:
- Direct discrimination - where someone is treated less favourably than another because they have a protected characteristic
- Indirect discrimination – when a requirement or a condition is applied which has a detrimental effect on a particular group or individual. This applies even if there was not a deliberate intention to discriminate.
- Associative discrimination – direct discrimination against someone because they associate with another person who has a protected characteristic.
- Perceptive discrimination - direct discrimination against someone because others think they have a protected characteristic even if they do not possess that characteristic.
- Harassment – unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic which violates a person’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them. This applies even if the conduct is not directed at the individual or if they do not have the protected characteristic.
- Third party harassment – potential liability for the harassment of staff by others such as clients or volunteers.
- Victimisation – when someone is treated badly because they have made or supported a complaint of discrimination (or it is thought that they have done so).
Employment practices
[edit]Wikimedia LGBT+ aims to promote equality and diversity as an employer and to ensure that no job applicant or worker receives less favourable treatment or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements that cannot be shown to be justifiable in the context of the policy. Selection, recruitment, training, promotion and employment practices will be subject to regular review to ensure that they comply with the Diversity and Equalities Policy. Wikimedia LGBT+ regards discrimination, abuse, harassment, victimisation or bullying of staff, customers or others in the course of work as disciplinary offences that could be regarded as gross misconduct.
Data collection
[edit]Wikimedia LGBT+ complies with the requirements of data protection good-practice, including the UK’s Data Protection Act 2018 and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. Any data, either qualitative and or quantitative, required in order to monitor the requirements or the impact of equalities policies, will be collected where it is reasonable, proportionate and practical to do so. Any such requirements will be notified to Wikimedia LGBT+ volunteers, participants, partners or prospective workers and will follow a common data format.
This policy will be reviewed on a regular basis and amended in line with new developments in best practice.
Footnotes
[edit]- ↑ We interpret “age” to mean actual and perceived age, with the exception of where we are legally required to take account of age boundaries such as legal adulthood or the age of participation in technology platforms as defined by the US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.
- ↑ We interpret “disability” widely, according to the definition in section 6 of the UK Equality Act 2010, but also to include discrimination on the basis of physical attributes more widely, such as “fatphobia”.
- ↑ We interpret “Gender Reassignment” as meaning being trans or non-binary, irrespective of any medical procedures received or legal recognition of that status.
- ↑ We interpret “marriage and civil partnership” to include relationship status more generally, irrespective of legal recognition of such relationships.
- ↑ We interpret “pregnancy and maternity” to include parenthood of any kind, irrespective of gestational or biological relation to the child or children in question and irrespective of the self-identified or perceived sex or gender identity of the individual in question.
- ↑ We recognise that “race” is a social construct. In the context of the protected characteristic, we interpret “race” to include ethnic origin, skin colour, citizenship status, history of migration, refugee and asylum statuses and other related concepts, both perceived and actual.
- ↑ We interpret “religion or belief” to include beliefs around monogamy and consensual non-monogamy but not to include anti-LGBTQ+ beliefs such as transphobia or HIV-serophobia.
- ↑ We recognise that “sex” and “gender” are social constructs. In the context of the protected characteristic, we interpret “sex” widely: to include sex or gender assigned at birth, and to include self-identified or perceived sex or gender identity or presentation, including any lack thereof.
- ↑ We interpret “sexual orientation” to include asexuality, romantic orientations, and any sexual practices between consenting adults, such as belonging to kink communities, all both actual and perceived.