SG trans policy and guidance review 2021/2022: equality impact assessment

Screening

Project Aim

In early 2021 a short-life working group was put together to explore concerns around the consistency of definitions in the trans inclusion policy. The aim was to refresh and update the language in the policy and guidance documents, in the spirit of continual improvement.

In doing this work we were mindful of the 3 needs of the general equality duty and in particular that the decisions made in relation to this work did not directly or indirectly discriminate against other protected characteristics. The Scottish Government is making progress towards our ambition to be a world leading, diverse employer where people can be themselves at work, with a workforce that reflects the diversity of the people of Scotland and remains strongly committed to advancing trans rights, in the context of our progressive approach to advancing LGBTI equality. Women’s equality is at the heart of the Scottish Government’s vision for a fairer Scotland, where women and girls have equal rights and opportunities, are empowered to exercise those rights, have equitable access to economic resources and decision-making, and live their lives free from all forms of violence, abuse and harassment. The Scottish Government remains committed to upholding the rights and protections that women and girls currently have under the 2010 Act.

Further, this refresh of the SG employer trans policy and guidance needs to fulfil the SG employer equality outcomes:

• Outcome 1: By 2025, our workforce will have increased in diversity to reflect the general Scottish population.
• Outcome 2: By 2025, workforce culture will be more inclusive with employees from all backgrounds and characteristics and experiences reporting they feel increasingly valued

The aims of the trans equality and inclusion policy and guidance are to:

• Set out our organisational position on and vision for trans equality and inclusion, including our zero tolerance approach to transphobia and our commitment to equality of opportunity for trans colleagues and to ensuring our workplace is free from bullying, harassment, discrimination or victimisation
• Provide practical guidance for colleagues who are transitioning in the workplace, and the managers, colleagues and Directorate for People colleagues who are supporting them.

The Project Group comprised representatives from: the Council of Scottish Government Unions (the five trade unions recognised by Scottish Government for collective bargaining and employee relations); the SG staff LGBTI+ Network, who fed in views from trans and non-binary colleagues in the network; and the LGBTI Policy team and the D+I Team. The final drafts of the refreshed policy and guidance were shared with a range of teams including HR Policy, Data Protection, Gender Policy, and Gender Recognition and Reform to ensure a wide range of views were taken into account, particularly in relation to the equality impact assessment.

The Project Group agreed the following Principles to govern the work:

• The purpose of this work is to advance trans equality and inclusion.
• This work must be about/informed by lived experience – trans and non-binary colleagues must be at the heart of this work. The terminology should be that which comes from our trans and non-binary colleagues first, and then that which we chose to also incorporate.
• The documents should be informative; the language and definitions should be helpful to both 1) trans and non-binary staff; and 2) line managers / colleagues.
• These documents should set the standards for the way staff are treated and the language we endorse and want managers to use.
• Our language should not ‘other’ trans and non-binary staff.
• Where internal and external policy/guidance documents are using the same terminology, they should have same/similar definitions where possible. But it is not the case that all the terms in one document should be exactly reflected in another.
• Our internal, employer language should be progressive.
• A recognition that language evolves and needs to be continuously updated.

Who will it affect?

The policy and guidance affect all SG employees. The relevant protected characteristic in terms of the Equality Act 2010 is gender reassignment. We also recognise that the following protected characteristics may also particularly be affected by this policy and guidance and so are particularly relevant to this EQIA:

• Disability;
• Age;
• Sex;
• Religion/belief.

Overall, the changes aim to improve equality and inclusion for trans and non-binary staff, and specifically to raise awareness, understanding and confidence of line managers and colleagues of the issues and appropriate language and definition of terms. We recognise that these proposals may not impact on all members of a given group equally, for example whilst there are positive impacts identified for some trans people, for others there may be no impact. Where any negative impacts have been identified, we have sought to mitigate/eliminate these. We are also mindful that the equality duty is not just about negating or mitigating negative impacts, as we also have a positive duty to advance equality.

Scope

The project is limited to:

• Reviewing and updating the language used in the policy/guidance and the definition of terms used within the documents.
• Completing ‘housekeeping’ updates of the document – removing any repetition, ensuring references to and explanations of relevant legislation are accurate.

What might prevent the desired outcomes being achieved?

There is significant ongoing public discussion around the present proposed reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004, and trans rights more generally. Much of that discussion is polarised and we have seen this translate into the organisational context. There can sometimes be disagreement about the definition and meaning of some terms and their neutrality. Recent experience indicates that communicating the refresh of this policy and guidance and may also result in inappropriate comments which may adversely impact the positive aims of the policy.

Extent/Level of EQIA required

This will be a full impact assessment to ensure that all impacts are fully understood.