Society to develop diversity action plan
The Council has agreed to develop an action plan across the Society to encourage the promotion of equity and the valuing of diversity among pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
A paper presented to the June
Council meeting suggested that an action
plan should cover ethnic origin, race, colour, gender, religious belief,
disability, sexual orientation and age. The three key drivers for considering
diversity were the legal situation, moral and ethical considerations
and “the business case”.
On the legal situation, the paper pointed out that members of the profession,
as employers and as individuals, have responsibilities and liabilities
under legislation concerned with discrimination. Increasing awareness
within the profession would be likely to minimise the risk of pharmacists
and pharmacy technicians falling foul of the law.
On the moral and ethical issues, the paper said that discrimination and
prejudice can affect people’s ability to carry out their work,
their earning and career prospects and their health and overall well-being.
The Society should publicly state that discrimination in pharmacy will
not be condoned.
On the “business case”, the paper said that diversity awareness
was likely to help the overall health of the profession. A profession
that did not value diversity was likely to suffer higher attrition rates
and lower standards. Diversity awareness could promote loyalty and foster
creativity as well as helping to attract people from the widest possible
talent pool.
The Council agreed to advance the Society’s diversity agenda and
to appoint two or three members of Council to act as “champions” for
it. One of the first tasks would be to draft and agree an equality and
diversity strategy for the Society in its roles as professional body,
regulator and employer.
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal