Mencap’s vision is for the UK to be the best place in the world for people with a learning disability to live happy and healthy lives.  We have dedicated ourselves to understanding and learning more about diversity and inclusion, and of our collective role in promoting this across all levels of our organisation and within society. 

Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy is focused on achieving equality through equity – acknowledging the existence of current and historical inequalities and proactively putting in place, positive action, and adjustments to remove these barriers to equal access and opportunities for everyone we work with and for. 

We have started with defining what equity, diversity and inclusion means to us and developing a collective approach to guiding our journey to achieve our vision.  
 
We understand that equity, diversity, and inclusion are essential characteristics of a just and inclusive society. We also know that inequalities deprive people of their rights , dignity, opportunities and sometimes, their lives. 

Over the past 18 months we’ve seen inequalities exposed by the pandemic, particularly the devastating impact on people with a learning disability, and even more so for those from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic communities. Last summer we saw multiple examples of performative allyship, where organisations made public declarations of commitments to tackle social injustice and inequalities. 

However, this response is not new and despite good intent, we have been here before. There is a cycle of inaction, words without meaningful action. This has maintained the ‘status quo’ and silently communicated the value society places on the lives of those who have been and continue to be marginalised.  We accept that in the past, although Mencap has worked alongside people with a learning disability and their families to prioritise and tackle inequalities, we have not done enough to prioritise and tackle other inequalities that exist, and we have a long way to go to realise our vision. 

Our ambition is to develop good equity, diversity and inclusion practices and procedures over and above those required by law .   True to our value to be Brave, we will confront uncomfortable and complex issues to better understand the experiences of anyone who experiences inequality and social exclusion because of disability, race, ethnicity, sexuality , religion , or any other characteristic.  Specifically, in relation to race, arguably the most uncomfortable and challenging area of the EDI agenda , anti- racism is an essential and integral component of our EDI Strategy.  Global events have shown the ongoing consistency of racism, particularly against Black people (anti-blackness) across the world and tackling this will be crucial to activities for this area of our work.    

Equity is embedded in our Big Plan, ensuring this is owned at every level, beginning 

with the Board of trustees.  Our commitments are not performative or tokenistic and we hold ourselves accountable. We pledge to be informed and inclusive leaders, accepting that inequalities and bias are constantly at play in working practices and personal attitudes.  We know that strategy, policy and processes on their own change nothing. We are on a learning journey to encourage certain values , challenge our perspectives, to change behaviours, decision-making and our culture.    

Our EDI statement is a public declaration of our commitment to develop a charity that is fully inclusive. We want to recruit and retain staff from all sectors of our society, and to provide support to all groups and communities.  We want our workforce and those we serve to be treated as valued, individual people and we will work tirelessly to make sure that they are. 

You can find an easy read version of Mencap's EDI plan here

Download Mencap's EDI strategy here