Today, majority of the countries have made substantial strides in addressing matters pertaining equality between men and women and races in the job market as well as access to opportunities, inclusion of people living with disabilities and diversification. The black community, that counts as part of the minority groups in Guernsey, falls into the category of those whose equality and inclusion rights are to be advocated for.https://simbangoma.com/guernsey-black-lives/
In the year 1969, the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), was stretched to Guernsey. Fast forward, 54 years later, the state does not fully enjoy protection against racial discrimination. Disparities in wages amongst races and unequal access to opportunities are but a few cases in point. Should racial discrimination be a point of discussion in this age, era and time? In the advent of globalization?
In 1976, Economic, social and cultural rights were introduced in Guernsey. As much as progress has been made in the implementation of such rights, there is still a gap to be bridged concerning equal pay, to work of the same value as well as equal access to employment opportunities for the minority groups; women, people living with disabilities, LGBTQ and the youth.
In 2003, the ratification of elimination of all forms of discrimination against women was extended to Guernsey. One whose implementation has barely been realized, since women have been sidelined on the grounds of sex, to the access of good education, employment opportunities and housing.
In 2013, the state introduced a convention for the protection of people living with disabilities, but its realization has been strained due to the absence of a discrimination legislation. In 2020, steps were made in that the states of Guernsey approved the discriminations legislation whose drafting is due in 2022.The propositions for the new legislation were submitted in the year 2020, that will ensure that the issue at hand is addressed are outlined in the following policy paper.
https://gov.gg/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=123704&p=0
With the signing of the legislation, employers will be expected to have and implement harassments and equality policies in their workplace, in an effort to ensure that all employees are treated equally. As an employee, you are looking to protection against any form of discrimination on the grounds of sex, marriage status, race and sexual orientation. How the legislation will benefit various stakeholders is detailed below.
The legislation will be implemented in 3 phases, with two between phases, with phase 1 being on sexual orientation and religious beliefs. The ‘Celebrating Equality’ project runs from May-September 2022.Our participation in this project shows our support and enthusiasm concerning the legislation and this will be a whistleblower on the relevance of the legislation of the other two phases in an effort to build an inclusive society here in Guernsey.
You can. I can. We all can, if we put our hands together. You can participate in this project by sharing your stories touching the subject matter, being an ambassador by networking with your close friends, family and colleagues as you enlighten one another on matters to do with equality and inclusion, or (and) host run events highlighting the named topics and invite as many friends in Guernsey as you can.
If Guernsey has to enjoy diversity and appreciate inclusion and equality of its people, we all need to pull efforts together.
Together, we can make Guernsey an inclusive state.
