Introduction

As an employer and service provider, we are prohibited, by law, from harassing, victimising, or discriminating (directly or indirectly) against our employees or the public based on the protected characteristics (Equality Act, 2010).

In addition, as a public sector organisation in Scotland, we must:

• have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between different groups (Public Sector Equality Duty, sections 149 to 157 of the Equality Act, 2010).
• publish a mainstreaming report every two years and a new set of equality outcomes every four years to help us meet the general duty more effectively (Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012).

Complying with these regulations ensures that we actively consider and promote equality in our operations as an employer and service provider. In doing so, we help to create a fairer and more inclusive society.

This report fulfils our legal duty to report our progress in mainstreaming equality over the past two years, including key achievements. It outlines our impact and evaluates our progress against our 2023 mainstreaming outcomes:

Outcome 1

We will have more D&I data available, and we will be using it to understand the impact of our activity in this area.

Outcome 2

We will have more young people, disabled people and people from minoritised ethnic communities working in RoS.

Outcome 3

We will be a more inclusive and accessible organisation, guided by lived experience of protected groups.

Outcome 4

We will have a more accessible learning offer and more D&I learning content.

It also sets out our plan to create our new outcomes for 2027 to 2031.