Diversity and equality
The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and which promote equality of opportunity. As an employer we are committed to equality and valuing diversity within our workforce. Our goal is to ensure that these commitments, reinforced by our Values, are embedded in our day-to-day working practices with all our customers, colleagues and partners.
Equality schemes
On 1 December 2006, the Department for Work and Pensions published its first disability and gender equality schemes with an annual progress report on our race equality scheme. To embrace all aspects of diversity and equality, we include our commitments to age, sexual orientation and religion or belief.
For our staff
We think it is important that all our people can contribute to the achievement of the Department’s objectives. To promote this the Department has a series of staff network groups for age, disability, gender, race, sexual orientation and work-life balance. Each group has a senior manager as its champion.
The Department provides awareness of diversity issues for its staff through learning and development products such as the Diversity toolkit, which covers equal opportunities as well as all the diversity strands.
The Department is committed to raising awareness of diversity issues. For example, as part of this drive the Department:
- works in partnership with other external organisations such as Employers Forum on Disability and Employers Forum on Age,
- is a member of Race for Opportunity and Opportunity Now which are Business in the Community campaigns, and
- is a Diversity Champion for Stonewall, the organisation working to achieve legal equality and social justice for lesbians, gay men and bisexual people.
For our customers
The Department is committed to providing the best possible services to all its customers reflecting their diverse requirements. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 place specific responsibilities on the Department as a public authority to examine all its functions for the possible impact of race and disability respectively, and ensure we are promoting equality.
In policy making
The Department undertakes wide consultation with interest groups on all major new initiatives, for example with minority ethnic communities on areas of policy which are likely to have a significant impact on those communities. The Department regularly takes part in Government wide consultation exercises, for example on the disability legislation which came into force in October 2004.
The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 places a general duty on public authorities to:
- eliminate racial discrimination
- ensure equality of opportunity, and
- promote good race relations.
The report Realising Equality in the Department for Work and Pensions 2005 to 2008 gives details of how the department is progressing towards implementing the Act.
Department for Work and Pensions Assessment of Functions and Policies (88KB) 
The Gender Recognition Act 2004 came into force in April 2005. The Act will establish a Gender Recognition Panel with the power to decide applications from transsexual people seeking legal recognition in their acquired gender. To obtain more information or an application pack go to the Gender Recognition Panel website.