• Why should the voluntary sector in Powys be concerned about these issues?
• What is Equality?
• Who does this apply to?
• What is Diversity?
• Why is equality good for voluntary and community sector organisations?

The term 'equalities' is a short hand term for all the work carried out by an organisation to promote equal opportunities and challenge discrimination. The notion of Equal opportunities, and legislation, has tended to focus on certain groups, such as race, gender, disablility, sexuality, faith and age. But equality in practice is more than what the legislation tells us to do. True equality is about the integration of respect for diversity and the principles and practice of equality of opportunity into the everyday work of your organisation. This is particularly important in a rural area such as Powys, where access to services and choice of service is more limited.

Equality is about making sure people are treated fairly and given fair chances. Equality is not about treating everyone in the same way, but it recognises that their needs are met in different ways.

It applies to all of us. Equality means doing things differently for some people who would otherwise be disadvantaged, such as people who speak another language, disabled people, women, older people, young people, children, people from black and minority ethnic groups, gay, lesbian and bisexual people and people with different faiths.

However, groups of people who are socially excluded also face disadvantage and discrimination. We need to think of ways in which we can address the needs of socially excluded people such as refugees, asylum seekers, migrant workers, homeless people, people who abuse drugs and alcohol and those with a mental illness.

These lists cover many people, but we should be aware that people don't fit into convenient boxes and may be classed under a number of those titles. People are complex and don't fit into a single classification. If we concentrate on one of those groups, we'll be likely to exclude others. There will always be someone who is overlooked and it is an oversimplification of equalities to assume that we'll always get it right.

Equalities affect everyone, and any of us can feel oppressed or disadvantaged at some time in our lives. This is to do with the relationship of power over our lives. Taking an equality approach means exercising that power fairly. This means making adjustments to provide equal access to services. e.g. using resources for the provision of a car parking space to enable a disabled person to get into a building more easily is not preferential treatment, but gives the disabled person the same ability to access a building as able bodied people.

For voluntary and community organisations, this means in practice that;

• Equality is central to all policies and practice
• Your services and employment practices are genuinely available and accessible to all potential participants
• None of your practice has a negative effect on disadvantaged groups
• Discrimination is challenged and eradicated

What equality isn't;

• Liking everyone
• Doing a thing for the sake of political correctness
• Making things the same for everyone and doing away with choice
• Making some people more equal than others
• Just having a policy in place
• Just making sure you're not breaking the law

Beware of assuming that;

• Belonging to a disadvantaged group does not mean that you will not oppress other disadvantaged groups
• Thinking that some disadvantaged groups are more deserving than others
• That lists of disadvantaged groups will include everyone - there will always be someone missed out
• Thinking that to be disadvantaged you have to belong to a group which is normally seen as excluded.

The strength of the voluntary and community sector is in creating alliances between people who do not necessarily share the same views of experiences, while respecting differences in people's cultures, abilities and priorities. Communities differ in the way they experience things and the things they experience because of their history and culture, which means that their different needs should be recognised and met.

• Diversity is about valuing individual difference
• Includes visible differences such as gender and skin colour
• Invisible differences such as values, lifestyle choices, background, age, disability, personality
• Recognising that people have different roles and experiences - to say that someone is 'disabled' does not embrace the fact that they have skills, knowledge, are a parent, has a paid job, etc - that they are more than a label can ever convey

• You will be seen as a fair and flexible organisation with a focus on the needs of your service users
• You will be more effective in the services you provide to the people using your service
• Your service will be able to change to meet the needs of a changing community
• Your organisation will have a positive future by attracting people from different backgrounds, such as skilled trustees, positive volunteers and satisfied service users
• By sharing values and working in partnerships, the sector can begin to develop effective solutions to complex problem experienced by people with complex identities