Published: Friday, 5th February 2021
Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich Cllr Danny Thorpe and Cabinet Member for Culture, Communities and Equalities Cllr Adel Khaireh, today launched the borough’s first Equality and Equity Charter.
Launched during Race Equality Week, a UK-wide initiative aimed at addressing the barriers facing race equality in the workplace, the councillors became the first signatories of the charter which is just the beginning of our work to create a fairer, safer and accessible borough where everyone feels they belong.
Cllr Danny Thorpe said: “Royal Greenwich is a vibrant, dynamic borough and home to many diverse communities – which is one of our biggest assets. However, this diversity also presents challenges and inequalities which need to be addressed to make sure our borough is a place where everyone can succeed and prosper, no matter what their background.
“The Royal Greenwich Equality and Equity Charter is part of wider work we’re doing around the Council’s equality objectives which set out to tackle disadvantage and discrimination. The Black Lives Matter protests last year and the racial inequalities of the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the importance of our equalities work and making sure the values of the charter are embedded in everything we do. We are already embedding these principles in our efforts to fight COVID-19 with targeted outreach to communities across the borough who face the inequalities of the virus. We are working closely with community groups and faith leaders to encourage everyone to get tested and have the vaccine when it’s available to them.”
The Royal Greenwich Equality and Equity Charter seeks collective agreement to promote the values of equality, diversity and inclusion. The charter was formed following workshops and consultation with organisations in February 2020 and a public consultation last summer which had more than 750 responses from residents and council staff as well as voluntary and community sector groups, businesses and partners of Royal Greenwich including BAME, LGBTQI+ and disability organisations.
Cllr Adel Khaireh said: “We’re launching this charter during Race Equality Week which has a specific focus on race equality in the workplace, but the principles of our charter encompass much more than working life and more than just race. We believe we can achieve equality and equity for everyone in Royal Greenwich regardless of race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation or religion, and the launch of this charter is a step in the right direction. We are encouraging all residents and organisations to adopt the values and principles in the charter in everything that they do, so that we can unlock opportunities for all people across our borough.”