Help us develop our new Equalities policy for Barnet - Phase 2

We asked

We asked residents, community groups and wider partners to help us develop and co-produce our new Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Policy for Barnet. To build on the Phase 1 engagement in 2023, Phase 2 involved more focussed work to develop and test the emerging EDI priorities and objectives.

You said

Between September – December 2023, we delivered a series of workshops in collaboration with local groups. Over 80 people shared their views on the emerging EDI themes and priorities. Through this phase, we learned that residents wanted us to:

emphasise the understanding of residents’ individuality which includes their lived experiences
recognise differences not only between communities, but within communities
acknowledge that services are going to need to work harder to become more accessible
think about our community development offer
promote respect for all and foster togetherness in addition to celebrating diversity.

We did

We analysed the insights gathered and produced an EDI policy engagement (phase 2) report which included the following recommendations:

Refine the emerging EDI themes and priorities

embrace the emerging themes and priorities, incorporating resident feedback to enhance comprehension e.g. outlining actions that will be taken
explicitly demonstrate how the themes and priorities are integrated into the overarching Corporate Plan priorities.

Create a unifying EDI vision

develop a concise and easy to understand EDI vision
ensure the vision is adaptable, allowing for varied articulations while maintaining a strong unifying message.

Follow inclusive language principles

demonstrate that consideration of diverse perspectives and outline guiding principles in the use of collective terms to foster transparency and understanding.

We are now developing our new external, community focussed equalities policy. An equalities update report will be reviewed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 5March. The EDI Policy is due to be finalised in summer 2024.