Equality Diversity & Inclusion

Black

The term Black (with the capital ‘B’) is a broad political term, as sometimes there is a need to talk in a broader and more general collective, especially when talking about structural discrimination and disadvantage, and it is in this context that we use the term Black.

It is used as in an inclusive sense to describe contemporary people in Britain whose heritage includes those who suffered colonialism and enslavement, and who continue to experience racism and diminished opportunities in modern-day society. It’s a political term which has been most used routinely in anti-racist campaigns from the ‘70s onwards, and in the union movement. The term Black grew at a time when there was a need to create unity in our fight against deep-rooted racism that sees people disadvantaged because of the colour of their skin.

It’s not intended to diminish the struggles that other specific ethnically diverse communities face, and while some of those challenges differ, the roots of colonialism and discrimination remain entrenched in the political divisions that have been created in our collective history, and which continue today.

That’s not to say that this is the right way to refer to a group of communities, as different ethnicities have different and unique experiences which we must recognise.

Disability

The law considers you to be disabled if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. It also applies if you have a condition that is likely to get progressively worse over time.

We have created an eBite guidance on disability called 'Disability: Know your rights'.

LGBT+

LGBT+ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender. There are other letters that we could add to the end of this, but we have adopted the TUC standard which uses the 'plus' symbol to include all other groups outside traditional norms, including nonbinary, intersex, and other queer people (and those questioning their gender identity or sexual orientation).

Non-binary

When we start breaking away from the binary view of gender, we start to find that how people see themselves is more of a spectrum than just two choices. Some people describe themselves as non-binary. This means they don’t identify exactly as 100% male or female, but somewhere in-between. Or they may identify as an entirely separate third gender that’s neither female nor male.

Queer

Queer is an umbrella term, and it’s pretty unlimited. Some people simply don’t wish to conform to binary choices (and why should they?) but others feel it describes the true nature of their sexuality/gender identity better.

It also means that if the nature of someone’s relationship changes over time, they don’t have to erase their past or face complicated questions (for example if a straight woman develops a relationship with another woman, by using labels it may erase the past relationships and experiences she had with men).