The voluntary sector ... talking the talk on equality, but not walking the walk to freedom from discrimination ....

For those familiar with the laboured huffing and puffing that is aroused when prodding people and organisations to admit that discrimination exists and that it poisons the systems and structures of what we call society, the locus of that huffing and puffing tends to be around the dead horse that is the public sector in Scotland, with both government and the Equality & Human Rights Commission only occasionally taking time out from measuring the size of their pension pots to emerge into the daylight and apply the lightest of enforcement whips to that dead horse, all in the manner of a semi-retired and rather bored-with-it-all dominatrix.

Some recent chance encounters as I travel the highways and byways of what passes for equality work in the UK made me remember that there are any number of witnesses to this sordid spectacle, and that they are usually to be found in what is variously called the voluntary sector, the third sector, and the charitable sector.  Some in the voluntary sector, such as Scotland's network of Regional Equality Councils, have more than a passing interest in checking whether the horse is really dead and in whether the whip is being applied with sufficient vigour.  

Others, such as the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations [SCVO], occupy a slightly more ambiguous position in relation to equality.  While not a primary player in the work which gets done each day on identifying and eliminating discrimination, SCVO does have a tangential influence on that work by virtue of its role :

SCVO works in partnership with the voluntary sector to advance our shared values and interests. We have over 1500 members who range from individuals and grassroots groups, to Scotland-wide organisations and intermediary bodies. Through lobbying and campaigning SCVO works to advance the interests of our members and the people and communities that they support.

Elsewhere on the SCVO web site you learn that the third sector, for which SCVO acts as a voice, has 45,000 organisations, with an annual income of £4.5 billion, assets of £8.6 billion, and staff numbers of 138,000.  The NHS in Scotland had, in 2013, a budget of £11.9 billion and 140,00 staff.

Wow.  That suggests the third sector is a serious player by any measure.  SCVO itself as an organisation is a sizeable player, with an income in 2013 of £14.5 million and employing over 90 staff.

Given SCVO's role and the sector's punch in terms of funding and staff, I asked chief executive, Martin Sime, if SCVO gathered data on the protected characteristics of its own staff in line with the principles set out in the specific equality duties, and that if they did, could he provide me with a copy of that data, anonymised of course.

His response ?  

Thanks for getting in touch about this.  The work of the third sector in promoting equality is important and would not be effective if we failed to practice what we preach.   However, I cannot agree that the sector’s role is to monitor public sector compliance with their duties and legal obligations.     Nor do I accept the assumption that voluntary groups should be “compliant in principle” with legislation which is targeted at the public sector and which places no legal requirements or obligations on our sector.  It could well be the case that some voluntary organisations make it their business to hold public authorities to account for their compliance with the law; that is a matter for them.   Similarly, I am sure that there are voluntary organisations where equal opportunities policy and practice could be improved.   But I do not think it helpful to conflate this with public authority duties.

I returned with a second email request, agreeing to disagree with Martin Sime on whether the context for my question was fair, and asking again if data was gathered and, if it was, could I have sight of it.  His response ?

Thank you for your reply.   I do not wish to engage in a protracted dialogue about this. 

Is this then a key element of why Scotland struggles with making equality happen, instead of talking about it endlessly and wringing its hands in despair about how difficult it all is ?  If the third sector can't, as Martin Sime puts it, 'practice what we preach', where is the integrity of that sector in trying to hold government, the public sector and the EHRC to account on behalf of those who encounter discrimination in their daily lives ?  

If the third sector can't, or won't, evidence that discrimination is being eliminated from its own work, why should it be trusted by society to be a key player in identifying and eliminating discrimination in the work of others ?