The Equal Opportunities and Diversity Panel oversees CILIP’s work on diversity and equality issues. Ayub Khan currently chairs the Panel. It has developed a strategy for CILIP which includes the following Equal Opportunities & Diversity Statement approved by CILIP Council on 26 April 2004:
CILIP EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES & DIVERSITY STATEMENT
Our vision is an informed society in which everyone has ready access to the knowledge, information and works of imagination appropriate to their needs, wants and aspirations. This is the distinctive contribution of library and information professionals to developing a society where:
- All groups are empowered
- Attitudes and prejudices that hinder the progress of individuals and groups are confronted and tackled
- Cultural, racial, and societal diversity is respected and celebrated
- Individuals and communities live together in mutual respect and tolerance
- Discrimination is challenged and tackled robustly.
In affirming this vision CILIP will seek:
- To achieve recognisable excellence as an organisation that values and puts into practice equal opportunities and diversity
- To work towards establishing an LIS workforce that is representative of the diversity within UK society
- To facilitate an awareness and appreciation of the value and importance of diversity and equal opportunities to LIS work amongst our members and staff
- To collaborate with other interested parties in the encouragement and mainstreaming of best practice in service delivery so that the values of diversity and equal opportunities are embodied in the services provided by our members
- To tackle prejudice wherever it is found in the LIS domain.
The Panel is currently working on the “Compass” scheme, a professional development programme focused on the needs of people from black and minority ethnic communities in the UK and enabling them to compete for more senior positions in the profession. Tribal were commissioned to research the feasibility of such a scheme and their report was presented to CILIP in July 2007. The Panel is now exploring options for implementation and hopes that a report will go to Council with proposals later in the year.
In 2008 the Panel hopes to do an equalities audit of CILIP to establish a baseline for future comparison and assess how good CILIP is at addressing diversity and equality issues.
Equal Opportunities Panel