Equality and diversity is becoming more important in all aspects of our lives as we live in an increasingly diverse society and we need to respond appropriately and sensitively to the diversity. The population in the metropolitan cities is increasing day by day. People from different cultural an economical backgrounds migrate to these big cities, creating a diverse population base. Therefore, the diverse components of the cities should have an equal representation. Diversity and inclusion framework ensures that it recognises city’s growing diversified population and that all citizens have the basic civic services equally accessible. The Constitution of India has several provisions which grant certain fundamental rights to its citizens, which includes ‘Right to Equality’.
- Article 14 guarantees Equality before Law.
- Article 15 prohibits state from discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex and place of birth.
- Article 16 empowers the state to make reservations with respect to appointment for posts in favour of backward classes of citizens if in the opinion of state such classes are underprivileged.
Reducing inequalities (SDG-10) is also one of the main Sustainable Development Goals. In order to reduce inequality, policies should be universal in principle, paying attention to the needs of disadvantaged and marginalised populations and inclusion has to be promoted actively.
Municipal governments must make equity and equality the cornerstone for the better performance from the workforce. Many cities provide community services to address needs and issues related to social diversity. Policies, programs and protocols promoting diversity benefit the city as an organisation and as a community. With the above objective, the two day long interactive session was organised by the Equi-City team along with the All India Institute of Local Self-Government (AIILSG) on May 14 and 15, 2019 at IMA Hall, Nagpur, in order to sensitise officials. The main focus of the Sensitisation Workshop was to educate officials on the Equality and Diversity Framework while promoting and advocating for inclusive and harmonious workplace. In addition, the workshops focussed on handling diverse population within the city and address their concerns. Further, officials will be able to consider their own roles and responsibilities in creating a working environment which is free from discrimination and enables individuals and teams to reach their full potential.
The workshop was inaugurated by Ram Joshi, additional commissioner, in the presence of Aziz Sheikh, additional commissioner, Rajesh Mohite, deputy additional commissioner, Mahesh Dhamecha, assistant commissioner. Joshi said that there is a need to bring about equality in service provisions in all areas of Nagpur and provide equal levels of service to all sections of the society and motivated the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) officials towards creating a ‘city with a soul’ as the tagline suggested by the Equi-City. R S Thakare said that the NMC officials need to be sensitive towards citizens’ problems and should not discriminate any section of the society on the basis of caste, religion, age, sex or disability. The workshop was conducted for Class I and Class II officers of various departments of NMC of which around 90 officials participated actively. The workshop consisted of three sessions – Equality & Diversity, Gender Diversity and Social Inclusion.
Kapil Chandrayan, Consultant – Socio-economic Research, Strategic Communication & Stakeholder Engagement, was the speaker of first session- Equality & Diversity. He explained that the scientific studies have proven that there is a big role of softer entities such as equality, diversity in our day to day activities which shapes our personalities and our work efficiency. Equality and diversity broadly means providing people with equal opportunities. Equal opportunities are a legal obligation to protect against discrimination. In order to provide equal opportunities, three main points to be addressed are “Equality” which means equal rights and treatment to all individuals, “Diversity” which means difference from what is normal or expected and “Equity” means system of justice and fairness in which where there is an even-handed treatment of all the people. We need to develop a system which will acknowledge the diversity of people, understand their needs and then accordingly take steps and provide opportunities so that individuals can attain their maximum potential.
Adv.Padma Chandekar and Dr. Vasanti Deshpande were the speakers for the second session – Gender Equality. Chandekar has expertise in Women’s Law and International Law, Human Rights and Social Equity and Dr. Vasanti Deshpande, Executive Director at “Varadaan”, Indian Association for Promotion of Adoption & Child Welfare. They explained that the basic concept of gender equality is that male and female both are equal, both deserve equal respect and they should respect each other as well but the society has created very different norms and expectations for the behaviour and roles to be performed by men and women. This mind-set needs to be changed by continuous awareness and increasing sensitiveness towards the problems of women. The problems and issues faced by women not only affect women but the whole society is also directly and indirectly affected. Hence, there is need for sensitization on gender equality in our society.
The third session on Social Inclusion was taken by Suvarna Damle, Executive Director at “Prakriti”, Resource Centre for Women and Development, Nagpur. Social inclusion is important as it develops a feeling of belongingness otherwise negativities are developed in person’s mind which may result in sense of exclusion, depression and isolation. People lack opportunities to work, play, learn and develop social relationships with each other. Damle said that there are three points which help to have social inclusion – Sensitivity, Physical environment and Legal support. She urged officials that as an authority, we have responsibilities that we should attempt to create inclusive workplaces and must consider individual differences, needs and perceptions as well as focus on creating structures, systems and processes that make people feel valued and treated equitably.
This sensitization workshop thus sensitised NMC officials and created an Equality Framework which will enable municipalities to assess their human resources structure from an equality and diversity perspective. The equality and diversity framework is non-discriminatory in nature providing equitable opportunities for each employee for merit based promotion, irrespective of community affiliations, and promote a community oriented approach. The framework also addresses equality at job segregation and salary. Equality and diversity around gender, race and ethnicity, disability, religion, sexuality, class and age leads to a better performance from the workforce.
In terms of local governance, the equality and diversity framework is a step ahead for better understanding of the Equality within the various departments of the local bodies. It develops more highly skilled and better decision-making workforce which will create a stronger and more sustainable civic authority and better outcomes for its citizens.