ABSTRACT

AIMS This chapter provides you with an introduction to the study of concepts of equality and diversity within health and social care. It explores the processes people experience as a consequence of social difference, and considers the relevant legislation surrounding these social differences. The notions of equality, inequality and equal opportunity,

prejudice, stereotyping, discrimination and oppression are discussed. Theoretical foundations of social differences are considered to take into account class, gender, race and ethnicity, age, disability and sexual identity. The chapter ends by considering the human rights framework and relevant UK and European legislation on equality and diversity issues. There exist a range of social differences that characterize contemporary society. Payne (2006: 3) suggests we automatically perceive and pigeonhole different people, individuals and groups and behave towards them in terms of the slots we have put them into. These divisions or differences are often along the divisions of class, gender, ‘race’, ethnicity, age and sexuality, although this is not exclusively so and there is a degree of ‘fuzziness’ in these differences. The distinction between division and difference has been widely discussed (Carling 1991; Anthias 1998, 2001; Braham and Janes 2002; Best 2005). Not all differences are homogenous (or the same) and there are many differences and heterogeneity of experience between people in different social divisions. These divisions are socially, culturally, politically and economically constructed and maintained. The taken for granted idea of any biological or natural origin to these differences has been widely discounted and has been part of the difficulty of understanding social difference. However, these differences and divisions often embody or involve inequality, discrimination and oppression. All individuals have differences and there exist different groups with similarities and differences. Differences often have two sides, for example man/woman, ill health/ good health, or black/white. This ignores many points in between, is often a simplistic representation and usually involves unequal relations between the two sides. These differences are often used in negative ways such as discrimination and oppression (Parekh 1992; Pitt 1992). Discrimination can be a good thing when used to identify difference, for example discrimination between red and green in traffic lights. However, it becomes more difficult when discrimination is used negatively and negative attributes are attached to differences and people or individuals are discriminated against. For example, the Apartheid regime in South Africa discriminated against black people on the basis of their race and ethnicity. Oppression is the process where discrimination is used to treat people unequally and one group dominates or oppresses another group. Oppression is where discrimination is used to disadvantage groups such as left-handed people. Oppression is a wider concept that takes into account the many structural inequalities and discriminatory thoughts, feelings and actions that individuals or groups may experience. Discrimination and oppression are closely linked and can be experienced as inequalities. At its simplest, inequality is where people have more or less of something such as money, health care, life chances or opportunities. Discrimination and oppression are linked to inequality in a variety of ways. Thompson (2003: 11-12) suggests inequalities can take many forms.