Aims
The REC aims to bring about positive and meaningful change within ELA and the wider employment law profession including by:
- Supporting ELA’s diversity and inclusion initiatives
- Improving access to careers in employment law for people from ethnic minority backgrounds
- Creating a network of ethnic minority employment lawyers and allies who can share insight, experiences and provide mutual support to those already within the profession
- Providing support for career development and progression for members
- Ensuring that the REC is inclusive in terms of ethnicity, geographical location and levels of qualification
- Helping members to enable allies to support our aims through allyship or otherwise
- Contributing to the L&PC’s responses to government consultations and legislative proposals on race-related issues and /or be the working party responding to the consultation, where appropriate
- Working with the Training Committee (and/or other committees of ELA) to hold training, events and webinars in relation to race equality and discrimination
- Contributing views and content to allow the Deputy Chair (and/or as appropriate the Chair of ELA) to speak externally on behalf of ELA on issues relating to race and racial discrimination and / or issues that have a significant impact on ethnic minority communities
- Where appropriate, seeking to engage with relevant stakeholders in government and elsewhere on race-related issues to facilitate meaningful change
- Improving ELA’s engagement with members on race-related matters generally and more specifically, encouraging members to discuss race, further support awareness of racial inequality and seeking to implement the results of those discussions; and
- Leading on other race equality and discrimination related work within L&PC
How to support the Committee
It is very encouraging that there is such enthusiasm for this important part of ELA’s work. We welcome ELA members who would like to be involved in the REC’s work in any way. If you would like to be added to our list of interested members to enable us to keep you informed about ways of contributing please ela [at] elaweb.org.uk (contact us).
Work
The REC’s work so far has included:
- Being part of the ELA’s working party in responding to a call for evidence and good practice on in-work progression issued by the Department for Work & Pensions, including why ethnic minority workers are identified as most at risk of staying in low pay. The ELA’s response can be found here
- Contributing to the ELA’s working party set up to respond to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities’ call for evidence for ethnic disparities and inequality in the UK, in particular in the area of employment. The ELA’s response can be found here
- Being part of the ELA’s working party in responding to a call for evidence in respect of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Diversity and Inclusion in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) inquiry into Equity in the UK STEM workforce
- Creating a new Alllies network (EMELAN) which provides information and raises awareness of key issues