Wed 20/12/2017 08:42
EHRC RESEARCH DATABASE NEWSLETTER, December 2017
Research
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EHRC RESEARCH DATABASE NEWSLETTER, December 2017
Dear Research Database Member
Welcome to the EHRC Research Database Newsletter. We hope that you found our most recent
quarterly newsletter (September 2017) useful. If you did not receive this and would like to do so,
please contac
t xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Unless stated, all EHRC research reports can be downloaded from:
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/our-research/list-all-our-research-reports
They are also available from the Research Team on request.
New research reports
Measurement Framework for Equality and Human Rights by Equality and Human Rights
Commission
Over the last decade, we have developed a series of measurement frameworks covering equality,
human rights, good relations and children, which enable us to monitor and evaluate progress
towards protecting and promoting equality and human rights in a systematic way across England,
Scotland and Wales. We have now reviewed our previous frameworks and published a single
Measurement Framework to support our reporting to Parliament every three years.
The framework is a tool for monitoring progress towards greater equality and fulfilment of human
rights in Great Britain. It applies to England, Scotland and Wales, and covers six areas of life, or
‘domains’: education, work, living standards, health, justice and personal security and participation.
The framework includes a wide range of indicators and measures which track change over time. As
far as possible, the measures are broken down by protected characteristics, such as disability and
ethnicity, as well as by socio-economic group. The framework also looks at intersectional
disadvantage and at-risk groups such as homeless people and carers. It will form the basis of our
next ‘Is Britain Fairer?’ report, due to be published in late 2018.
Individual chapters explore:
•
the mandate and ambition for the Measurement Framework;
•
what equality and human rights monitoring is and how the framework, domains and
indicators were developed;
•
the framework’s theoretical underpinnings;
•
the five different components of evidence col ection and analysis that the Measurement
Framework uses;
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the domains; and
•
the overlap between the Measurement Framework and other important, national and
international frameworks.
As well as being used by the EHRC, the framework can be used by other organisations such as non-
governmental organisations, National Human Rights Institutions and National Equality Bodies across
the world.
The framework is available at
: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-
download/measurement-framework-equality-and-human-rights
Distributional results for the impact of tax and welfare reforms between 2010-17, modelled in the
2021-22 tax year: Interim findings, November 2017 by Jonathan Portes (Aubergine Analysis and
King’s Col ege London) and Howard Reed (Landman Economics)
This report summarises the first set of results from a research project ‘Tax, welfare, social security
and public spending: a cumulative impact assessment’. The interim report demonstrates the impact
of all modelled reforms to the tax and welfare systems. It analyses all the changes from the 2010 to
2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government and the 2015 to 2017 Conservative
majority government that can be compared using data from the UK Family Resources Survey and the
Living Costs and Food Survey. The interim report covers income tax; National Insurance
Contributions; indirect taxes; means-tested and non-means-tested social security benefits; tax
benefits; and Universal Credit. It also covers the National Minimum Wage/National Living Wage. The
final report will be published in 2018.
Key interim findings include that:
• The overal impact of policy decisions taken between 2010 and 2017 is regressive. In cash terms,
those in the bottom half of the income distribution, lose more than those in the top 10 per cent.
The reforms boost the incomes of the top fifth of those surveyed, whilst substantial y reducing
those in the bottom half.
• Ethnic minority households wil be more adversely impacted than White households, with
average losses for Black households of about 5% of net income – more than double that for
White households.
• Households with one or more disabled members will be significantly more adversely impacted
than those with no disabled members.
• Lone parents lose around 15% of their net income on average – almost £1 in every £6.
• Women lose more than men from reforms at every income level. Overal , women lost more than
£940 per year on average, more than double the losses for men of around £460 per year.
• The biggest average losses by age group, across men and women, are experienced by the 65-74
age group (average losses of around £1,450 per year), and the 35-44 age group (average losses
of around £1,250 per year).
The report is available at:
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-download/impact-
tax-and-welfare-reforms-between-2010-and-2017-interim-report
Tacking prejudice and discrimination: summary report by Equality and Human Rights Commission
This report provides an overview of the EHRC’s work to understand the link between prejudice and
unlawful behaviour. It looks at our work to find out what is effective in reducing identity-based
hostility, abuse and hate crime in Britain.
The challenge of tackling prejudice and discrimination in Britain has many different issues and
includes addressing individual attitudes and the values of our society, as well as improving the
response by the criminal justice system and other agencies. Our work includes: a systematic
evidence review; finding out more about 'what works'; recommendations for policymakers; and
developing minimum standards of evaluation.
Key findings include that:
•
The pace of change is slow and long-term evaluation is key.
•
There is not a simple ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to tackling prejudice and discrimination.
•
Real behavioural change must be measured.
•
It is necessary to prepare for unexpected outcomes.
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It is difficult to evaluate an intervention with a small number of people robustly.
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Evaluation makes a real difference to interventions.
•
‘What works?’ educational approaches can change attitudes and awareness among young
people.
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Funders and policymakers are responsible for raising expectations for evaluation.
The summary report also includes details about four about anti-prejudice projects and their pilot
evaluations. These projects were:
•
Kumon Y’All: a befriending project aiming to break down the racial and cultural divide
between Muslims and non-Muslims in West Yorkshire.
•
One Globe Kids: an app and website helping chal enge prejudice and stereotypes by letting
children ‘meet’ friends in other countries and cultures.
•
Race on the Agenda: workshops on the Equality Act and Public Sector Equality Duty to help
organisations understand what they must do.
•
Show Racism the Red Card: workshops for children in primary and secondary schools, using
football to help pupils recognise and respond to racism in an appropriate way.
The summary reports, project reports and other information are all available at:
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/prejudice-and-unlawful-behaviour
EHRC Scotland report
Public authorities’ performance in meeting the Scottish Specific Equality Duties 2017: Measuring
Up? Report 7 by Equality and Human Rights Commission
During the last four years, EHRC Scotland has been regularly assessing public bodies’ compliance
with the Public Sector Equality Duties, and aspects of their performance against its requirements.
These assessments have been published in our ‘Measuring Up?’ series.
This report looks at how public authorities met the Scottish Specific Duties of the 2010 Equality Act
during the first four years of reporting. It looks at how well public bodies have met their duties based
on the information they published in April 2017.
This review has identified areas of weakness – most notably in regard to the setting of measureable
equality outcomes, and the col ection and use of employee data – which have led to direct
interventions or testing new ways of approaching persistent problems.
The key recommendation at the conclusion of the ‘Measuring Up?’ series is that the Scottish
Government uses this information and analysis, together with other relevant evidence, to assess the
extent to which varying or amending the current Duties would assist in driving forward performance
in public bodies and ensure equalities is at the heart of all that they do.
The report is available at:
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-download/public-
authorities%E2%80%99-performance-meeting-scottish-specific-equality-duties-2017
Behavioural insight reports
Applying behavioural insights to reduce pregnancy- and maternity-related discrimination and
disadvantage by Tiina Likki and Chiara Varazzani (The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT))
This report draws on research conducted in early 2016 to assess how evidence from behavioural
science can offer new and innovative ways to change the behaviour of both employers and women.
It looks at the three chal enges the Commission chose to focus on, based on earlier research
findings: flexible working; health and safety; and recruitment.
Encouraging flexible recruitment: an email trial by Tiina Likki, Kristina Londakova and Martin
Sweeney (The Behavioural Insights Team)
This report outlines the results of a trial looking at whether tailored messages can change behaviour
among human resources professionals. The trial, which formed part of the Commission's wider work
with the BIT to improve the experiences of pregnant women and new mothers in the labour market,
looked at ways to increase the number of employers who ‘recruit flexibly’ by making it clear in their
job adverts whether a job is open to flexible working.
Improving the relationship between line managers and female staff: testing a perspective-taking
exercise by Tiina Likki, Kristina Londakova and Janna Ter Meer (The Behavioural Insights Team)
This report outlines the results of a behavioural trial looking at improving the relationship between
line managers and female staff.
The trial tested whether an online perspective-taking exercise
improved line manager communication and increased their empathy and support towards female
and pregnant employees. The trial, which formed part of the Commission's wider work with the BIT
to improve the experiences of pregnant women and new mothers in the labour market, consisted of
a randomised control trial in partnership with one of the largest police forces in the UK.
These reports are available at:
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/prejudice-and-unlawful-behaviour
Is Britain Fairer 2018: forthcoming event
The next Is Britain Fairer? review will be published in October 2018. This statutory report on the
progress of equality and human rights in England, Scotland and Wales is produced every three years
and is intended for policy makers and influencers across all sectors. At a number of key stakeholder
events, the Commission will share headline findings with colleagues and representatives from
government, statutory bodies, third sector organisations, think tanks, data providers, academics and
researchers. These pre-launch stakeholder events will be the first opportunity for people to discuss
the themes and issues highlighted by the review, grouped by the six domains in the Measurement
Framework. The events will also provide a platform to address any gaps in the review and help shape
future work to improve equality and human rights outcomes.
The proposed dates are:
• London - Great Britain conference, Monday 19 March 2018
• Cardiff - Wales conference, Thursday 22 March 2018
• Scotland - Roundtable discussions, details to be confirmed
To register interest in the stakeholder events please contact
xxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
EHRC advice and guidance
Sexual harassment and the law: guidance for employers
The EHRC has published practical guidance for employers on sexual harassment in the
workplace. This covers a definition and examples of what sexual harassment is; the
responsibilities of employers; what a sexual harassment policy should include; how to put the
policy into practice; how to handle sexual harassment complaints; and criminal behaviour.
We have also launched a survey aimed at those who have experienced, witnessed or
supported others with workplace sexual harassment, to ensure that the voices of people who
have been affected shape the solutions that we propose. The survey asks individuals to let the
EHRC know what they think might have helped in their case and what changes they think are
needed to tackle this issue. The deadline for completion of the survey is
19 January 2018.
The EHRC has also written to large employers across Great Britain to ask them to provide
evidence about what safeguards they have in place to prevent sexual harassment, what steps
they have taken to ensure that all employees are able to report instances of harassment and
how they plan to prevent harassment in the future.
The guidance and the survey for individuals are available at:
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/sexual-harassment-workplace
EHRC tender opportunities
We are occasional y asked the best way for people to find out about EHRC procurement
opportunities. Our approach to advertising these is outlined here:
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/contact-us/procurement-opportunities
Most Procurement opportunities are advertised through our Procurement portal.
https://procontract.due-north.com/Opportunities/Index?p=c71c7101-720a-e711-80dd-
005056b64545&v=1&applyFilter=True
You will need to register on the portal to view research specifications (registration is free) and will
then get e-mails informing you about relevant opportunities:
https://procontract.due-north.com/Register
Higher value contracts are also advertised through the Government’s Contract Finder:
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search
Currently there is one procurement opportunity, which can be viewed on Contracts Finder and our
Procurement Portal. The EHRC is seeking a supplier(s) to evaluate its Working Forward project. This
project aims to conceptualise and understand the outcomes and longer term impacts of its work by
evaluating the impact of an ongoing project, Working Forward. This is a high profile project which
aims to improve the work life experiences of pregnant women, those on maternity leave and those
returning from maternity leave by working with a range of businesses, including some of the largest
on the FTSE 100. The evaluation is expected to take around two years.
The deadline for expressing an interest in this particular tender opportunity is
2 January 2018.
Ongoing and future research projects
An updated list of all ongoing EHRC research projects and their summaries is attached.
Equality reading lists
Since September 2009, each of these newsletters has included a reading list prepared by the EHRC's
Librarian on a particular equality theme. The latest addition is a new reading list on welfare reform,
following earlier reading lists on access to civil justice, caste, children and young people's rights,
disability, education, equal pay/pay gaps, Equality Act 2010, flexible working, gender diversity in
senior management and boards, good relations/social cohesion, health inequalities, human rights,
race and ethnicity, religion or belief, older workers and older people, pregnancy and maternity
discrimination, prejudice and unlawful discrimination, sex discrimination, sexual orientation, stop
and search, trans, violence against women and vulnerable workers. All reading lists are available at:
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/our-research/reading-lists
In order to help us keep the reading lists up to date, it would be helpful if you could send
information about relevant additional journal articles/book titles on these topics to
xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Expansion of the database
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With best wishes
XXXX & XXXX
Human Rights and Research Team
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XXXX
Research Manager
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