December 2021 Diversity Spotlight

This month, Catherine Bean from the AF Diversity and Inclusion working group tells us why it’s important to tell your employer about your disability status.

“December 3 is International Day of People with Disabilities so, I want to spotlight the importance of telling your employer if you have a disability or long-term health condition.

“Declaration to your employer is different to telling your manager or team, as it should be anonymous; your personal information will be kept confidential in accordance with GDPR. This data is used for monitoring purposes and allows employers to understand the size of the population with a disability across your office. This can help drive inclusion policies at the organisation level. I’ve made sure to declare my information, because the Equality Act (2010) covers people who are neuro divergent like me, as well as people with physical or mental health conditions…

“Whether you’re disabled or not, it’s important to provide your information. Rebecca White, a chair of the Office for National Statistics Disability network, says, “Disability and long-term health condition declaration is for everyone. ‘No’ is as important as ‘Yes’. Without more accurate declaration data, major decisions, reviews and changes within the Civil Service cannot fully reflect the negative or positive impact they may have on colleagues with disabling conditions. This will help the Civil Service become truly inclusive.”

Share your Diversity and Inclusion case studies

The Attract strand of the Analysis Function Diversity and Inclusion working group is putting together an outreach pack aiming to attract new talent to the varied analytical careers on offer, and needs your help.

The team is interested in your case studies that showcase how analysis shapes government decision-making. If you’d like to take part, please supply one or two paragraphs (with an image if possible) and include:

• a brief outline of the issue that the analysis was supporting
• the areas that the analysis looked at
• an overview of the results of the analysis
• how the information was used
• the effect or benefit of the subsequent intervention
• details of any diversity considerations, such as cross-government collaboration
• your consent to share your case study with an external audience

Please email Laura.Armstrong@HMRC.gov.uk or Patrick.Rickles@OGAAuthority.co.uk with any questions and to provide your case studies.