Zero Discrimination Day

Zero Discrimination Day aims to promote global solidarity to end global discrimination for good.

Celebrated annually on the 1st of March and organised by the United Nations (UN), 2024’s theme is ‘to protect everyone’s health, protect everyone’s rights,’ highlighting the importance and need to protect people’s health, and rights, and to put an end to AIDS.

Zero Discrimination Day educates and encourages people to promote inclusion, compassion, peace, and change for the betterment of everyone.

What is Discrimination?

Discrimination is the biased, unjust, or prejudicial treatment of someone, or groups of people, based on characteristics like race, gender, age, or sexual orientation.

If you have been treated differently by others based on any of the below characteristics, you could have experienced discrimination.

• Age
• Gender
• Race
• Disability
• Religion
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Sexual Orientation
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage or civil partnership

All these characteristics are protected by the Equality Act 2010.

How can this affect your people?

Facing discrimination while at work can be detrimental to mental health and wellbeing. Already juggling personal and professional life, having to cope with discrimination on top of this can prove immensely difficult and cause talent to leave your organisation if not supported or dealt with correctly.

Experiencing discrimination can feel debilitating and create isolation within your organisation, so it is important that you provide mental health wellbeing, such as an EAP, further demonstrating your commitment to protecting people’s health and encouraging zero discrimination.

Inclusion is the backbone of many organisations. It promotes creativity, and innovation, boosts fresh perspectives and ideas, enhances your people’s experience in the workplace, and can connect your organisation to a wider range of customers.

What should you do if you have been discriminated against or experienced a hate crime?

Under the Equality Act 2010, workplaces have a lawful obligation to take appropriate action when colleagues have experienced discrimination.

Complaints should be made through correct processes and providers must have a comprehensive system to report discrimination of any kind. All colleagues should feel as though they can make a formal complaint without any barriers or prejudice.

How to promote Zero Discrimination Day?

1. Equality, diversity, and inclusion policy

Ensure your equality, diversity, and inclusion policy is up-to-date, fair, respectful, and supportive to all. Your policies must reflect the objectives of Zero Discrimination Day, to protect everyone’s rights with respect and dignity.

Protecting your people’s rights with a robust equality, diversity, and inclusion policy will drive innovation, create a positive work environment, and grow your organisation for the better from the ground up.

1. Celebrate Awareness Days

Celebrating and encouraging your people to get involved with awareness days is a great way to commemorate important topics and dates that may affect the people in your workplace.

Show that you have zero tolerance for discrimination by supporting awareness days, like Black History Month, Pride Month, and International Day of People with Disabilities.

Organise engaging ways to get your colleagues interested in taking part in awareness day activities, such as fundraisers, cake sales, decorating workplaces, and paid dinners or lunches.

1. Efficient Recruitment

Your recruitment process can be extremely lucrative and exciting for your organisation. It brings fresh new faces with new ideas and perspectives.

Be mindful of your equality, diversity, and inclusion policy during the interview process. Get a good feel of the new prospect alongside your policy and avoid unconscious bias when making your decision.

Cast your recruitment net wider than you usually would to encourage a wide range of people with different backgrounds and experiences to promote diversity.

1. Training

Everyone should have training when starting a new role. It improves the quality of work and supports your people in learning new skills to promote the growth of your organisation.

Be clear and honest about your inclusion policy in your training sessions and express your firm expectations for zero discrimination.

Offer refresher courses every so often to reinforce the equality, diversity, and inclusion policy expectations.

1. Take reports of discrimination seriously

Of course, you will never be able to control other people’s actions, however, you can control the way you react and deal with the situation.

It is important to take every report of discrimination seriously. In dealing with reports of discrimination, act fairly, promptly, and without unconscious bias to uphold integrity and show dedication to ending discrimination within your workplace.

Supporting your organisation's mental health challenges

With a Health Assured Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), we can offer you practical advice and support when it comes to dealing with anxiety, and depression, and how to improve your work-life balance.

Our EAP provides guidance and supports your employees with their mental health in the workplace and at home. We can help you create a safe, productive workspace that supports all.

We support your employee's mental wellbeing with any problems they might be facing in their professional or personal lives with our 24-hour counselling helpline.