Our ambition and commitment to equality
Hounslow is a wonderfully diverse borough, but it is an unequal borough. We want to make Hounslow a fairer, more equal and inclusive place to live, work and study, a place where everyone feels heard, respected and welcome.
Many of our residents are disadvantaged because of where they live or because they form part of a group with protected characteristics. Their access to services and opportunities, and their ability to shape decisions taken about them or their area, is often lower than others. This is not acceptable and it is our mission to change this.
As the borough’s anchor institution we have a community leadership responsibility to empower those who are disadvantaged to reach their full potential and play an active part in the borough’s future. In partnership, we must build a truly inclusive society where social mobility and access to opportunity is shared by everyone.
We know that inequality is complex and can have overlapping causes. We want to understand why systemic inequality remains stubbornly entrenched despite the efforts of well-intentioned individuals, groups and organisations over decades. We want to foster a culture, both within the Council and across our communities, where everyone feels responsible for understanding difference and striving for equality.
Much has been achieved over recent years to increase equality in our borough, but not enough. The Covid pandemic – its health and economic impact – the current cost of living crisis, and social movements like Black Lives Matter, Me Too and Reclaim These Streets, highlight how there is still much more to do.
Our ambitions are not something we can achieve alone. Traditional approaches are not enough – we need new insights and radical ideas. It is for this reason we have co-designed a strategy for equality, diversity and inclusion alongside hundreds of you, our residents, businesses and partners.
This strategy and its delivery plan is a road map for realising our ambition for equality across the borough. Driven by our One Hounslow ethos of collaboration, compassion, innovation and empowerment, it explains how we will deliver real change for those who need it most.
We are adopting a bold programme to tackle place-based equality to focus help on those living in our most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. We are committed to help those in most in need, redirecting investment and policies to break the vicious cycle of inequality where people live.
Alongside this place-based approach, the strategy sets out a range of actions the Council will take to improve equality, diversity and inclusion for people who identify with one
of the equality groups of disability, age, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and faith. It also lays out how we will embed the equality agenda within the culture of our organisation,
to both ensure our colleagues have equal voice and opportunity, and that they see promoting equality for our communities as fundamental to their job.
Though this strategy is a moment in time, we know our approach must be dynamic and ever-evolving, and the conversations we have with our communitues to understand their lived experiences will be continuous.
Together, as One Hounslow, we will achieve equality for our outstanding borough.
