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Equality, diversity and inclusion

We challenge discrimination of all kinds, wherever it exists.

That includes our workplace culture, within the communities we serve, and how we deliver our services.

This means we:

  • look at everything we do and challenge ourselves to be more inclusive.
  • listen to diverse and under-represented voices, and ask 'what we can do better?'
  • lead by example by investigating reported discrimination quickly, and act on our findings.

Our objectives

Our corporate equality objectives are a really important part of our council strategy, Framing Kent's Future which informs everything we do as an organisation.

We set them to comply with the Equality Act.

  1. Continue to be an inclusive employer which provides fair, open and equitable access to career progression and a trusted environment in which staff feel confident to call out discriminatory behaviour
  2. Attract and retain a diverse workforce at all levels of the organisation which reflects the communities that KCC serves.
  3. Strengthen our equality data collection and analysis across our services to better understand people’s needs and the cumulative impact of the council’s actions on people with protected characteristics.
  4. Work with our strategic partnerships to understand and support the diverse needs of our communities.
  5. Promote equality, diversity and inclusion through our supply chains, including our trading companies.
  6. Ensure council information and services are accessible for everyone including those who are digitally excluded.

Each year we publish a report on how we're meeting our equality and diversity objectives (PDF, 511.0 KB).

Each time we launch a new service, project, policy or procedure we complete an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) to identify it's impact on people and communities.

Dignity and respect at work

We do not tolerate harassment, discrimination, violence, offensive or unacceptable behaviour towards any of our colleagues.

All of our employees, partners, members, volunteers and service users deserve respect, and we expect the same from them in their interactions with others.

We have a zero-tolerance policy to any discriminatory behaviour and will act quickly and decisively on any reports of inappropriate behaviour.

Our workplace action plans

The 3 action plans we've published below are part of our our broader inclusion programme.

To learn more about our work to build an inclusive workplace, read our people strategy.