Equality and Human Rights Mainstreaming strategy: consultation analysis
The independent analysis of responses to the consultation on the Equality and Human Rights strategy. The Strategy sets out a framework that will guide the work that the Scottish Government, the wider public sector and partners will do to embed equality and human rights in all that it does.
3. Strengthening Leadership
This chapter examines views on the Strategy’s proposal to support public sector leadership in mainstreaming equality and human rights. The consultation paper notes that the creation of a culture change and the achievement of mainstreaming drivers will depend on strong leadership supporting equality and human rights. The paper suggests that strong leaders will have a necessary level of understanding, protect and advance work to advance equality and human rights, engage in progress assessment, and meet their responsibilities for conducting impact assessments to ensure legal obligations are met. The Strategy will apply to leadership in Scottish and local government, executive team leadership, and public sector leadership.
Q3. Do you agree that strengthening leadership is a key driver for mainstreaming equality and human rights?
| Audience | Sample size (n=) | % Yes | % No | % Don’t know | % No answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All respondents (%) | 123 | 70 | 8 | 2 | 20 |
| All answering (%) | 99 | 87 | 10 | 3 | n/a |
| Individuals | 26 | 58 | 35 | 8 | n/a |
| Organisations | 73 | 97 | 1 | 1 | n/a |
Among those answering Q3, 87% agreed that strengthening leadership is a key driver for mainstreaming equality and human rights; 10% disagreed, and 3% were unsure. Almost all organisations (97%) agreed, compared to 58% of individuals.
Reasons for agreement
Over two thirds of respondents provided an open response to Q3. Many respondents commented expressing their agreement with the driver. Several expressed broad support for strengthening leadership, acknowledging the important role leaders have in mainstreaming equality and human rights. Others noted that strong leaders lead by example, not only by initiating a culture change but also by giving permission to the changing culture by embedding or embracing it. A few respondents thought that strong leadership would be needed to ensure that commitments to equality and human rights went beyond compliance or a tick box exercise.
Concerns about leadership
Some respondents who supported the driver also raised concerns. These were mostly around the quality of leaders, such as concerns that a lack of knowledge or awareness of human rights and equality may mean leadership is not committed to the Strategy. A few stressed that leaders needed to collaborate with their teams, listen to staff, and avoid controlling narratives and messages.
As noted elsewhere, some respondents felt that existing policies and legislation to support equality and human rights in the workplace, such as the PSED, are not currently achieving the desired outcomes. A few expressed the view that this was due to a lack of uptake and support from those currently in leadership positions. There was concern that this driver and Strategy may see a similar outcome if not implemented correctly.
Q4. Do you agree with the focus on different levels of leadership?
As shown in the following table, four fifths (80%) of those answering Q4 agreed with the focus on different levels of leadership; 14% disagreed, and 6% were unsure. Just over two thirds (68%) of individuals agreed, compared to 84% of organisations. A majority of all organisation types agreed, with advocacy organisations the only sector to record any disagreement with the focus (19%).
| Audience | Sample size (n=) | % Yes | % No | % Don’t know | % No answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All respondents (%) | 123 | 62 | 11 | 5 | 23 |
| All answering (%) | 95 | 80 | 14 | 6 | n/a |
| Individuals | 25 | 68 | 28 | 4 | n/a |
| Organisations | 70 | 84 | 9 | 7 | n/a |
Agreement with the focus
Just under two thirds of respondents commented at Q4. Several respondents agreed with the focus on different levels of leadership without providing further detail. Others noted that collaboration from all levels of leadership will be required to ensure mainstreaming.
Suggestions to extend focus further
Several respondents, mostly those who supported the focus but some who did not, suggested that the definition of leadership should be wider than outlined in the consultation paper. Some thought it should be extended to include community and civic leaders, such as councillors on community councils or members of development trusts, and a few thought it should be extended to third-sector organisations, particularly those who partner on workstreams with government agencies. Others felt that limiting the driver to formal leadership positions could prevent different types of leadership from emerging within the public sector workplace.
A few respondents requested that the different tiers of leadership be defined and expectations for different roles be explained more explicitly i.e. who is a leader and what does that mean in the context of the Strategy. There were also calls to ensure leadership includes middle management roles.
Q5. Have we captured the core elements of strengthening leadership within the context of mainstreaming?
| Audience | Sample size (n=) | % Yes | % No | % Don’t know | % No answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All respondents (%) | 123 | 36 | 27 | 13 | 24 |
| All answering (%) | 93 | 47 | 35 | 17 | n/a |
| Individuals | 25 | 24 | 56 | 20 | n/a |
| Organisations | 68 | 56 | 28 | 16 | n/a |
Just under half (47%) of those answering Q5 felt that the core elements of strengthening leadership had been captured in the consultation. Just over one third (35%) felt they had not, and 17% were unsure. Individuals were less likely than organisations to feel this was the case (24% and 56% agreed respectively). Opinions also varied among organisations. While at least half of most groups felt the core elements had been captured, 34% of equality advocacy organisations took this view, with 48% disagreeing and 17% unsure.
Reasons for agreement
Just under two thirds of respondents left an open comment at Q5. Most commonly, several respondents commented that the core elements of strengthening leadership had been captured. While some did not provide further detail, some explained why they agreed. A few specifically mentioned that the core elements captured the need for training and education to strengthen leadership, and a small number highlighted support for raising the awareness of inclusivity, particularly theories of intersectionality. One individual and one organisation agreed as they thought the core elements successfully emphasised the importance of leadership committing to culture change and being held accountable.
Accountability of leadership
Accountability of leadership through monitoring and enforcement was mentioned by some. While accountability is covered in more detail in Chapter 4, specific suggestions related to leadership included creating a leadership framework and defining metrics for collaborative engagement and inclusion. Several also noted the value of channels for providing feedback on compliance and for reporting on non-compliance.
Implementation questions
Some respondents questioned how this driver would be implemented, for example, what strengthened leadership would look like in practice or how training for leaders would be delivered.
A few other points and suggestions related to implementing strengthening leadership were made across Q3 to Q6. These included incorporating values-based recruitment[4] to the public sector, ensuring there is consistent implementation across the public sector, and having clear communication with the whole workforce to ensure that awareness about human rights mainstreaming does not sit solely with leadership. A few asked if strengthening leadership would include promoting, modelling and embedding the use of services to assist the inclusion of marginalised groups who face barriers to work, such as access to mental health assistance in the workplace, comprehensive childcare policies, and affordable transport options.
Q6. What actions would you recommend to ensure strengthening leadership as outlined will contribute to mainstreaming?
Education, training and knowledge development
Just over two thirds of respondents left a comment at Q6. The most prevalent theme, mentioned by almost half of those who answered, was highlighting the importance of education and training for those in leadership roles. As well as calls to ensure leadership have comprehensive training in equality and human rights along with the rest of the workforce (see Chapter 7), some respondents suggested incorporating peer support and mentoring networks for leadership into leadership training and development, and the use of reverse mentoring schemes[5] was also suggested.
Collaboration and sharing of best practices
Several respondents at this question advocated for collaboration and sharing of best practices. One organisation recommended the Scottish Government provide an annual statement on progress to the Scottish Parliament. For more detail, refer to Chapter 8.
Diverse leaders with lived experience
Some respondents at Q5 felt it was important that diversity was modelled within leadership roles and recommended the Strategy do more to ensure that people from different marginalised communities have the capacity to become leaders within the public sector. A few mentioned inclusive recruitment practices, both for leaders and workers in the public sector as it was felt that these practices attract people with lived experience to leadership roles and ensure a diverse workforce to move up to leadership positions from within the organisation.
Ensuring that leaders have lived experience and are representative of marginalised groups was also mentioned by several respondents at Q6. For these respondents, leaders modelling equality from their positions was a key way to ensure it is mainstreamed.