Q6 Who is the best person to achieve equality in organisations?
A An equality officer, who may be at any level in the organisation
B The Chief Executive
C The most senior woman
D The most senior black person
E The most senior gay or lesbian person
F The most senior black lesbian
G It has to happen from the bottom up
H It has to happen from the top down
I All the people in the organisation
A6 The race, gender, or sexual orientation of the person chosen to lead equality initiatives is not important. What is important is that:-
- They have support from the top of the organisation
- They are given the resources and power to change things
- They have the skills, experience and expertise necessary to fulfil the role
- They are able to respond to the needs of the organisation and the people in it.
Support from the top is essential to equality in organisations, but initiatives driven from the top can be blocked by people lower down the organisation. And people at all levels of the organisation can be drivers for equality, and it is important to use their potential. For a model that combines the top-down and bottom-up approaches, see Binney G and Williams C (1995), "Leaning into the Future".
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