DFID's Race Equality Scheme

Read the DFID Race Equality Scheme 2006 - 2009(441 kb)

Foreword by the Permanent Secretary

DFID’s mission is to eliminate poverty by achieving the Millennium Development Goals. As an employer DFID can only hope to achieve this mission if we ensure that our staff are all encouraged to realise their full potential. We must recruit, retain and develop a workforce comprised of the best and most talented people for the job. We believe that requires a workforce that is representative of the diverse nature of UK society today.

This mission and approach to our workforce is fully consistent with the obligations placed on DFID by Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 (RR(A)A). This Act obliges public bodies to maintain a framework of standards and principles to ensure that their policies and function - where appropriate - are relevant to the whole population of the United Kingdom, that they treat everyone fairly and that their workforce is representative. This Race Equality Scheme (RES) document sets out how DFID will meet its obligations under the Act. The Scheme was initially drawn up in 2002. It is formally reviewed every three years, but it is also a “living” document that is regularly revised and improved.

This updated RES now includes a review of our policies and functions that have an impact outside UK jurisdiction. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act does not and, of course, could not apply in jurisdictions beyond the UK. However, we believe we should work to apply the principles of the act to the work we do in partner countries and the employment of our Staff Appointed In-Country (SAIC), where it does not conflict with local law. We have included a new section in our RES that outlines our approach to race equality outside the UK’s jurisdiction.

There is no place for any form of prejudice in DFID, especially given the nature of our core business. This scheme and its action plan will help us all to turn our race equality objectives into reality as employers, employees, managers, policy-makers and service providers.

Suma Chakrabarti
July 2006