Promoting equality and respecting diversity will be central to your role as a care worker. To ensure you provide care and support that meets the needs of everyone, you must familiarise yourself with various terms which are explained below.
Equality: Treating people equally according to their needs and making sure that everyone is given equality of opportunity. For example, you may need to give information in different formats such as Braille, or make sure there is access to a building for an individual in a wheelchair.
Diversity: The idea that all individuals are different and that there are many parts of an individual’s character and identity that make them unique. For example, an individual’s age, gender, religion, culture etc.
Inclusion: Being included within a group or society as a whole. Individuals can feel excluded if they are not allowed to join in with certain activities so you should make sure that you work in an inclusive way where everyone has the opportunity to take part when they want to.
Discrimination: Treating an individual differently because of assumptions made about a person or group of people based on their differences. You should ensure that you treat all individuals fairly and equally regardless of their character or background.