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Equal employment opportunities and diversity

The UK is a good example of a diverse society. It is made up of many different groups. More obvious visible differences between people are those based on gender, or race. However, other differences may be more difficult to identify; for example, those based on religious differences or on sexual orientation. Diversity provides both a challenge and an opportunity for our society.

•  The challenge is to make sure that all individuals and groups have equal access to the benefits of living in a ‘good' society. Examples of these benefits include access to high quality education, good jobs, leisure time and so on.

•  The opportunity is that if we value all members of our society, then we can benefit from the many different skills, abilities, and talents of everyone in our society.

Big companies like Cadbury Schweppes employing thousands of dedicated people around the world value diversity. They provide equal opportunities for all.

Cadbury Schweppes has created a policy on equal opportunities and diversity.

The policy states that:

‘We recruit and promote employees on the basis of their suitability for the job without discriminating on grounds of:

•   race
•   colour
•   ethnic or national origin
•   gender
•   sexual orientation
•   age
•   religion
•   marital status
•   disability (unrelated to the task)'.

The company will not tolerate sexual, physical or mental harassment of employees.

Cadbury Schweppes values diversity. The company recognises that employees from varied backgrounds enrich the company and help it to be a successful business. For example, employees from ethnic minority communities who work for Cadbury Schweppes in the market research department are best placed to advise the company about the tastes and lifestyles of other members of their own community. This provides Cadbury Schweppes with a much better picture of what different customers need.

Because it values all of its employees Cadbury Schweppes makes sure that it provides them with the opportunity to build their careers with the company. For example, employees who want to develop their careers internationally are supported in learning new foreign languages.

The equal opportunities and diversity approach is built into all the dealings the company has with people. Recruitment and selection of new employees is designed to encourage anyone that wants to work for Cadbury Schweppes to apply knowing that they will be given an equal opportunity to be selected.

Successful job applicants are inducted in (or introduced to) the company's way of working. The induction process emphasises the way in which the company cares for its employees, and values and respects their differences. Personal Learning and Development Plans are designed for individual employees to build a career with the company. All employees are provided with attractive and motivating payment packages. The company also believes in share ownership as one way to encourage its people to feel a key part of the company and have a personal stake in its future success.

Currently 25% of Cadbury Schweppes' managers are women and the company is committed to bringing more women into managerial positions.

Glossary of business terms

Discrimination – Discrimination involves treating an individual less fairly than others on account of factors such as being male or female, or being married.

Equal opportunities – One way of viewing equal opportunity is to see it as involving equal chance . For example, when applying for a job, everyone should be treated equally. Equal opportunity can also be considered as equal access . Having passed the hurdle of recruitment and entry to a job or profession, all individuals should be given equal access to training, chances of promotion etc.

Induction – Activities involved in introducing a new employee to a company/location/job role. For example, this might include Health and Safety training, introducing work colleagues, familiarisation with the layout of the office and office routines.

Personal Learning and Development Plan – A written document that has been agreed between an employee and his/her supervisor or training manager. The document sets out the needs of the individual in terms of building their career/work through providing training and development based on their specific needs.

Policy – A policy is a written document which sets out in general terms the company's intentions, and expected standards of behaviour in given circumstances.

Market research – Market research is used to find out about customer requirements from a company and its products (as well as finding out other details about markets).

Recruitment – This involves identifying new jobs that an organisation want to fill, and analysing the sorts of skills and qualities that someone would need to have to do these jobs. Recruiters are then responsible for advertising the jobs and creating systems for selecting the best possible candidates to fill the posts.

Selection – Choosing the best possible people to fill posts that a company is recruiting for.

Worksheet activities

Here are a number of activities related to equal employment opportunities and diversity.

Carry out the activities on the sheets provided.

1. Which three of the following do you most closely associate with celebrating diversity in society? Explain why.

•  Encouraging everyone to be the same, for example by expecting them all to behave in similar ways.
•  Valuing the differences between members of a society.
•  Taking an interest in the different cultures, languages and traditions that different people have.
•  Discouraging differences and trying to impose conformity to a common set of values.
•  Learning from each other by identifying similarities and differences between people and valuing both.

2. Give an example of ways in which a company might respect diversity in each of the following situations:

3. What do you see as being the main advantages of a company having a policy that encourages diversity? Set out your answers in the following table:

4. There are two companies that are competitors and are very similar in all aspects except one – Company A encourages diversity, but Company B does not. Which of these companies you would expect to benefit as a result of its approach to diversity? Explain why.

5. What practical steps could you personally take, as an employee, to support diversity in an organisation that you work for? Set out three practical steps:

6. Imagine that you have been asked to prepare an equal opportunities policy for a company. How would you address the following three questions?

7. Race discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favourably on the grounds of race, colour, and nationality, ethnic or national origin. It is unlawful to discriminate against any worker on racial grounds. The Race Relations Act makes it unlawful to discriminate in:

•  recruitment
•  pay (including bonuses and shift premiums)
•  other terms and conditions (e.g. holidays)
•  access to opportunities or benefits (e.g. promotion, training, bonuses)
•  dismissal
•  or by disadvantaging a worker in any other way on racial grounds.

Describe three actions that an organisation might take to make sure that it does not discriminate on grounds of race, or on any other grounds:

8. Describe practical steps that an organisation can take to ensure equal opportunities when it is:

a. recruiting new employees

b. selecting existing employees for promotion

9. Study the definitions given in the glossary for equal opportunities, for ‘equal chance' and ‘equal access'. Give an example of how each of these concepts can be applied in the management of people in the workplace.

10. Cadbury Schweppes believes that the company has important obligations to its employees. It states that:

‘We employ thousands of dedicated people around the world who contribute to our success. To earn their respect and commitment we will:

•  encourage initiative
•  invest in their personal development
•  provide a healthy and safe working environment
•  ensure equal opportunities for all, reflecting the diversity of the societies in which we operate
•  provide rewards in line with performance.'

i) How do you see these commitments as helping to support the company's Equal Opportunities and Development policies?

ii) How do you see these commitments as helping to motivate Cadbury Schweppes' people?

For more information follow these links:

Equal Employment Opportunities and Diversity at Cadbury Schweppes ,

Our business principles .

The lesson is planned for a one hour session. As a result of carrying out the activities designed for this lesson, students should be able to:

•  define diversity in the workplace
•  give examples of ways in which employers can encourage diversity
•  explain the benefits of diversity to employers, employees and society
•  give examples of ways that they can contribute personally to supporting diversity.

The resources required for this lesson are:

•  stimulus material - ‘Equal employment opportunities and diversity'
•  worksheet activities 1-5.

How the lesson can be organised:

The lesson is planned for a one hour session. As a result of carrying out the activities designed for this lesson, students should be able to:
•  know what is meant by an Equal Opportunities Policy and the sort of content that will typically be included in one.
•  describe some of the actions that organisations can take to ensure Equal Opportunities at work.
•  understand the importance of commitment in securing Equal Opportunities in the workplace.

The resources required for this lesson are:
•  stimulus material - ‘Equal employment opportunities and diversity'
•  worksheet activities 6 – 10.

How the lesson can be organised: