Equality, diversity and inclusion
The RCGP Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group wants to ensure that the College continues to promote equality and diversity in all we do and that we value all our people. This group ensures that our procedures and our policies are up-to-date, enabling equal opportunities for all and sharing this information across the College. This work is vitally important to ensure everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Age
We value the contribution and perspectives of all our members and have active communities of Medical Students and Later Career and Retired Members.
Disability
We recognise the existing inequalities in this space and our EDI Action Plan lays out the steps we are taking as part of this work.
Gender reassignment
We are committed to ensuring equality of treatment for all genders, for our members and our patients. Our LGBTQ+ community group helps to guide our approach, and our growing collection of CPD for best practice patient treatment.
Marriage and civil partnership
We believe in equal opportunities for all, regardless of their marital or civil partnership status.
Pregnancy and maternity
As a College we want to create an atmosphere where every member feels able to contribute and be heard. Our policies and procedures look to support members and staff who are pregnant and/or parents.
Race
General practice is a diverse profession caring for diverse patient populations – our diversity is our strength.
Religion or belief
As a College we respect all faiths and religions with zero tolerance for any prejudice based on belief.
Sex
We believe in equality across the sexes and have always championed the contribution of both to General Practice.
Sexual orientation
We were the first Royal College to have a presence at Pride events, led by our active LGBTQ+ community group who champion the needs of both LGBTQIA+ patients and GPs.
Our vision
Our aim is to be an inclusive organisation where diversity is respected and encouraged.
We want to be an organisation that promotes dignity and respect to all employees, members, candidates, assessors, patients and examiners and where no form of discrimination, intimidation, bullying or harassment takes place.
As a charity organisation, we commit to meeting the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 and the Human Rights Act 1998.
EDI membership data
We are working to become a more inclusive organisation and celebrate the diversity of our membership. Read our reports on the protected characteristics of our membership and representative bodies.
- Our diverse membership: Protected characteristic data of RCGP members, June 2023 (PDF file, 8 MB)
- Our diverse membership: Protected characteristic data of RCGP members, June 2022 (PDF file, 6 MB)
- How we use data
Governance
The Council is the governing body who are responsible for clinical and professional policy.
The Chair of Council is the clinical Officer and the Chief Operating Officer is the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) who co-chair the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group for the College.
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group is responsible for implementation of the strategy and providing leadership on issues across the College.
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Oversight Group is responsible for overseeing the completion of actions and provide the Steering group with information, concerns and challenges from Staff and Stakeholders. This is chaired by the Chief Operating Officer with relevant staff.
Why equality, diversity and inclusion matter to us
We realise it is easy to promise commitments in writing, but it is much harder to make concrete improvements to our organisational culture.
We will continue with our long-term culture change programme which aims to: address barriers to inclusion; tackle unconscious biases and support our Leadership Team in setting metrics to measure the impact of our actions.
How we will achieve this
Membership – we will...
- Create an environment where every member feels able to contribute and be heard.
- Work to address identified reasons for major differential performance of candidates.
- Measure our membership profile to ensure it reflects the make-up of General Practice.
Wider organisation – we will...
- Build networks to provide a sense of community and raise awareness of inclusion across the College.
- Value the views of our stakeholders and use their experiences to inform our work.
- Undertake diversity and inclusion campaigns and encourage everyone to take part.
- Collate and analyse the right data to help us understand diversity issues in the organisation and implement recommendations.
- Regularly review all our practices and procedures so that fairness is maintained at all times
Our suppliers and partners – we will...
- Where we have concerns that the products or services supplied to us are directly linked to human rights violations, we will only proceed if we feel our work will not contribute to human rights abuse.
- Ensure that potential suppliers adhere to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy and the Equalities Act 2010.
Customers – we will...
- Ensure that our buildings and facilities as a public building are inclusive of the protected characteristics as far as possible.
- Provide adequate training for staff to assist and support all customers with diverse needs.
Our people – we will...
- Not tolerate harassment or discrimination in our working environment.
- Promote a culture that fosters workplace flexibility and work/life balance.
- Recognise and celebrate our differences.
- Provide fair salaries and benefits.
- Provide a safe working environment.
- Provide equal opportunity for everyone in the workforce, no matter their background or characteristics.
- Encourage anyone who feels they have been subject to discrimination to raise their concerns, so we can apply corrective measures.
Our organisational values
Our values define who we are and ensuring our vision to be an inclusive organisation is at the forefront of all that we do, promote and deliver.
Our values support a culture that actively values inclusion and recognises the value of everyone.
- Excellence – we share ideas, knowledge and best practice to ensure the same level of quality is sustained across the College.
- Care – we treat others the way we would like to be treated.
- Leadership – We understand and accept that everyone has their own opinion which can be shared openly and be respected by all.
- Teamwork – we are always open and honest.
What we do with data
To carry out our duties, we only collect data that helps us ensure our activities and services are delivered in a fair way that balances the needs of diverse groups. The RCGP is committed to equality in the provision of services to all our members and stakeholders to ensure that all receive the highest possible standards of service and support from us. We recognise that any diversity information we request is of a sensitive nature, however we are doing so for a number of important reasons. We want the College to be a welcoming organisation for all GPs and ensure that the College remains relevant and meets the needs of its diverse membership. It is also important for us to anonymously monitor the diversity of our membership in order to ensure that the College’s committees, representatives, panels etc. fully represent our wider membership.
Data is only used for statistical purposes and is held on our secure membership database, it can only be accessed by a small number of staff authorised to run statistical reports, and we will never report on data where the group has less than 10 subjects. For any of the areas where you do not wish to disclose information, there is a ‘prefer not to say’ option.
Get involved
Become a Champion for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in your Faculty.
Express your interest in being an EDI Champion
You can also join the EDI group on the RCGP members' forum.
Contact
For further information, please email info.edi@rcgp.org.uk.
Note: The nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
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