What is positive action?
Positive action is a set of measures that aim to prevent discrimination, or to overcome past discrimination. The Race Relations Act 1976 recognises that past discrimination or disadvantage may result in people from particular racial groups not fully recognising their potential and achieving the qualifications or experience to make them eligible for particular work.
Positive-action under the Race Relations Act 1976 allows for targeted training programmes or encouragement in certain circumstances.
Diversify is based on the principle of positive-action training. As such, museums and galleries running positive action traineeships and bursaries must take care to comply with the law.
Diversify students must be:
Diversify offers training and not employment. Restricting applications for a job to people from a particular under represented group is unlawful (although it is lawful to encourage people from an under represented group to apply for the job, providing certain conditions are met).
For more information about Diversify, click here
What benefits can positive action have?
Positive action training can help people develop skills and give them the confidence to apply for jobs. It can help to break down the barriers that exist within the organisation and in individuals' minds.
Positive action training programmes are designed to create long-term changes so that people from minority-ethnic backgrounds are able to take up more positions within organisations in future. This type of training is about widening the pool of potential applicants.
It does not involve setting quotas, nor does it mean that standards are lowered. Positive action training aims to create long-term changes in the museum workforce. It is not a short-term quick-fix.
What does the law say?
All public authorities have a duty to promote race equality under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. This can include taking positive action.
Positive action under Section 37 (1) of the Race Relations Act 1976 allows for targeted training programmes or encouragement if it can be demonstrated that at any time in the previous 12 months there were no persons of a specific racial group doing particular work within Great Britain, or that the proportion of people from that racial group was small in comparison to the proportion of that racial group in the population of Great Britain as a whole.
Then, it is lawful to provide access to training or to encourage and help members of the under represented groups to undertake such work.
How does it work?
'Positive-action training' means training to fit a person for the particular work. It includes training posts and outreach training. It can include classes in preparing CVs, interview and assessment skills. Trainees cannot be paid a salary but they can be offered training allowances or bursaries.
Before your organisation embarks on positive-action training, you will need to collect evidence that demonstrates the need for action. The Diversify Toolkit has guidance on this.
Click here to see the Diversify Toolkit (pdf)
What else can you do?
As well as offering positive-action training, your organisation can use explicit encouragement to make it easier for people from under represented racial groups to take advantage of job opportunities.
You can do this through:
- Job advertisements designed to reach members of under-represented groups and to encourage their applications: for example, the use of the minority-ethnic press
- Use of employment agencies, community organisations and careers offices in areas where these groups are concentrated
- Recruitment and training schemes for school leavers designed to reach members of these groups
- Outreach events, working with community organisations
- Positive-action statements of encouragement in job advertisements encouraging applications from minority-ethnic people in areas where traditionally they have been under represented
The Diversify Toolkit has further guidance on this.
Positive-action is not about giving more favourable treatment to particular groups in the recruitment process. Selection for recruitment or promotion for employment must be based solely on merit.
Positive-action under the Race Relations Act 1976 allows for targeted training programmes or encouragement in certain circumstances.
Diversify is based on the principle of positive-action training. As such, museums and galleries running positive action traineeships and bursaries must take care to comply with the law.
Diversify students must be:
- of African, African-Caribbean, Asian or Chinese descent
- able to demonstrate they are legally entitled to train and study in the UK
Diversify offers training and not employment. Restricting applications for a job to people from a particular under represented group is unlawful (although it is lawful to encourage people from an under represented group to apply for the job, providing certain conditions are met).
For more information about Diversify, click here
What benefits can positive action have?
Positive action training can help people develop skills and give them the confidence to apply for jobs. It can help to break down the barriers that exist within the organisation and in individuals' minds.
Positive action training programmes are designed to create long-term changes so that people from minority-ethnic backgrounds are able to take up more positions within organisations in future. This type of training is about widening the pool of potential applicants.
It does not involve setting quotas, nor does it mean that standards are lowered. Positive action training aims to create long-term changes in the museum workforce. It is not a short-term quick-fix.
What does the law say?
All public authorities have a duty to promote race equality under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. This can include taking positive action.
Positive action under Section 37 (1) of the Race Relations Act 1976 allows for targeted training programmes or encouragement if it can be demonstrated that at any time in the previous 12 months there were no persons of a specific racial group doing particular work within Great Britain, or that the proportion of people from that racial group was small in comparison to the proportion of that racial group in the population of Great Britain as a whole.
Then, it is lawful to provide access to training or to encourage and help members of the under represented groups to undertake such work.
How does it work?
'Positive-action training' means training to fit a person for the particular work. It includes training posts and outreach training. It can include classes in preparing CVs, interview and assessment skills. Trainees cannot be paid a salary but they can be offered training allowances or bursaries.
Before your organisation embarks on positive-action training, you will need to collect evidence that demonstrates the need for action. The Diversify Toolkit has guidance on this.
Click here to see the Diversify Toolkit (pdf)
What else can you do?
As well as offering positive-action training, your organisation can use explicit encouragement to make it easier for people from under represented racial groups to take advantage of job opportunities.
You can do this through:
- Job advertisements designed to reach members of under-represented groups and to encourage their applications: for example, the use of the minority-ethnic press
- Use of employment agencies, community organisations and careers offices in areas where these groups are concentrated
- Recruitment and training schemes for school leavers designed to reach members of these groups
- Outreach events, working with community organisations
- Positive-action statements of encouragement in job advertisements encouraging applications from minority-ethnic people in areas where traditionally they have been under represented
The Diversify Toolkit has further guidance on this.
Positive-action is not about giving more favourable treatment to particular groups in the recruitment process. Selection for recruitment or promotion for employment must be based solely on merit.
