The Northern Ireland Section 75 equality duty: an international perspective

‘Mainstreaming’ equality came to international prominence in the mid-1980s. This approach of promoting equality contrasts with anti-discrimination laws designed to protect the rights of individuals in that it is concerned with transforming public decision-making processes and resource allocation. It requires making the concerns and experiences of hitherto marginalised and discriminated groups an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all policies and programmes. This holistic approach has developed rapidl y and has been endorsed and adopted by countries and supranational organisations around the world. However, despite its widespread acceptance, in the two decades since mainstreaming came to international prominence, there have been very few detailed evaluations of the various approaches developed in different countries. A survey of the published literature reveals that some countries and organisations have favoured a 'light-touch' approach to mainstreaming - based upon enabling legal and institutional mechanisms, whereas others have adopted a more regulatory approach with an emphasis on monitoring, compliance and legal enforcement. This paper is concerned with an example of the latter approach. The 'Section 75' statutory equality duty, as set out in the Northern Ireland Act (1998) has been described as 'unique and world leading'. It requires strategic practice that compels public sector agencies to mainstream equality. It is singular in both its broad scope and its use of strong regulatory and monitoring mechanisms. Here we contrast the N.I. duty with an extensive range of international approaches to mainstreaming, and examine the way in which the S.75 duty has been implemented. Our discussion reveals that whilst the initial operationalisation of the pioneering N.I. equality duty has impacted upon its overall effectiveness, it nevertheless has great utility. Important lessons can be learned from the Northern Ireland experience, lessons that can inform the contemporary approach to promoting equality in a variety of national and international contexts. Moreover, the evidence set out in this paper indicates that in several respects, the N.I. duty reflects the future trajectory of international approaches to promoting equality

Good Things Come in Small Packages: Getting the Most From Shared Print Retention and Cooperative Collection Development With a Small Group of Libraries

In June 2013, the Central Iowa Collaborative Collections Initiative (CI‐CCI), inspired by a Charleston preconference on data‐driven shared print collections, was established. CI‐CCI went from being just an idea to a formal, MOU‐governed organization in just six months. It is consists of a group of five mid and small central Iowa private academic libraries. Members are Central College, Drake University, Grand View University, Grinnell College, and Simpson College

Multilevel governance, equality and human rights: evaluating the first decade of devolution in Wales

The creation of a ‘regional’ legislature for Wales in 1999 presents the opportunity to evaluate the promotion of equality and human rights in the context of multi-level governance in the UK. A decade on, positive aspects include the political reprioritisation of equalities in policy and law and new forms of representative and discursive politics. However, significant shortcomings are also evident. Overall, the Wales case study suggests that sub-unitary-state legislatures have the potential to tailor equalities policies to meet local needs more effectively, yet progress may be arrested by context-specific factors, as well as those that resonate with the international literature on mainstreaming equalities in the work of government

Economic renewal and the gendered knowledge economy in Wales

The Welsh Assembly Government's Economic Renewal Strategy aims to develop Wales into a 'knowledge economy'. 'Knowledge economies' depend upon close networks and effective collaboration between the members of the 'triple helix' of universities, government and industry. The Assembly Government is obliged, under the Government of Wales Act (2006), to pay due regard to equality of opportunities in all its policies, a commitment underlined by the requirements for equality impact assessments under new British equalities legislation. In this paper, we conduct a political arithmetic of the gender of key players in the 'triple helix' in Wales. Will the Economic Renewal Strategy promote equality or unintentionally reproduce already rigid patterns of gender segregation in the labour market

The Northern Ireland Section 75 equality duty: an international perspective

‘Mainstreaming’ equality came to international prominence in the mid-1980s. This approach of promoting equality contrasts with anti-discrimination laws designed to protect the rights of individuals in that it is concerned with transforming public decision-making processes and resource allocation. It requires making the concerns and experiences of hitherto marginalised and discriminated groups an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all policies and programmes. This holistic approach has developed rapidl y and has been endorsed and adopted by countries and supranational organisations around the world. However, despite its widespread acceptance, in the two decades since mainstreaming came to international prominence, there have been very few detailed evaluations of the various approaches developed in different countries. A survey of the published literature reveals that some countries and organisations have favoured a 'light-touch' approach to mainstreaming - based upon enabling legal and institutional mechanisms, whereas others have adopted a more regulatory approach with an emphasis on monitoring, compliance and legal enforcement. This paper is concerned with an example of the latter approach. The 'Section 75' statutory equality duty, as set out in the Northern Ireland Act (1998) has been described as 'unique and world leading'. It requires strategic practice that compels public sector agencies to mainstream equality. It is singular in both its broad scope and its use of strong regulatory and monitoring mechanisms. Here we contrast the N.I. duty with an extensive range of international approaches to mainstreaming, and examine the way in which the S.75 duty has been implemented. Our discussion reveals that whilst the initial operationalisation of the pioneering N.I. equality duty has impacted upon its overall effectiveness, it nevertheless has great utility. Important lessons can be learned from the Northern Ireland experience, lessons that can inform the contemporary approach to promoting equality in a variety of national and international contexts. Moreover, the evidence set out in this paper indicates that in several respects, the N.I. duty reflects the future trajectory of international approaches to promoting equality

A new distance learning national framework for social work continuing education: critical reflections on the first phases of implementation

This article utilizes a range of secondary research methodologies to explore the challenges and opportunities that have arisen from the establishment and first years of delivery of a new single and predominantly distant learning national post-qualifying framework. The continuing professional education and learning (CPEL) framework is directly commissioned by the professional regulator Social Care Wales, provided by an alliance of four universities (Bangor, Cardiff, Glyndwr and Swansea) and actively involves employers, practitioners and service users in their development. Critical reflections on the early implementation of the Experienced, Senior and Consultant Programs that contribute to the CPEL framework will help understand the key characteristics, challenges and opportunities post-qualifying education for social workers can bring. The article commences with an analysis of the moves to design a national post-qualification framework that is more accessible, flexible and responsive than the previous patchwork quilt set-up, including an examination of the increased role of distance learning and the teaching methodologies that support it. It then critically summarizes the specific context and developments of the CPEL framework. This is followed by substantive analyses of the key messages. These messages are of the value of; provider collaboration, quality of e-learning experience, employer commitment and student-perceived competence/satisfaction