Whilst people generally have an idea about what non-discrimination means in principle, they can be a bit less sure about what it means in practice. This can often be the case when relating to procurement and the ways we decide on what to buy. The issue can crop up at the specification writing stage, where we’re preparing to go out to market and look for something to buy.
For example, we recently bought a set of lecterns for use on campus that weren’t height adjustable. As such, this meant that they weren’t accessible by all the people that needed to use them. The person buying them chose a well manufactured and reasonably priced model, but unfortunately they didn’t take a full range of user requirements into account when they selected the final specification.
Another example is the video content we use on the Health and Wellbeing pages of the YSJU website. They contain informative material to support the help sections on those pages, but they’re not captioned. Anyone with a hearing impairment is unable to benefit from those videos. With a bit more foresight at the specification stage, the decision to use those videos might have been different – or they could have been modified to suit a broader range of users.
Captioning Videos: Why It’s Important
By being mindful of the needs of others and adequately specifying the things we buy will help us meet Global Goal number 10 – which asks us to endeavor to reduce the inequalities in the world around us.
Many of the opportunities in our societies remain out of reach for a significant proportion of people. The pressures of financial and social exclusion restrict their ability to thrive and to themselves contribute towards the totality of human good on our planet. Gender, religion, race, status and physical ability only superficially segregate us and those of us who are fortunate to find ourselves in prosperous circumstances have the means to the level the playing field and foster a more inclusive and more productive world.
Global Goal 10
As this is a complex objective, it will not be the responsibility of one section or department within the university who are tasked with addressing it. Instead this is a responsibility that our entire community shares together. Our targets to help us meet this goal include;
- Promoting universal social, economic and political inclusion
- Ensure equal opportunities for all and strive to end discrimination
- Adopt fiscal and social policies that promote equality
- Seek to improve the regulation of markets and institutions
- Support and encourage broader representation in financial institutions
Seeking to reduce the inequalities in society is no small task and we must be aware that even if it can never be fully eliminated, we should still accept that we have the power to counter its oppressive influence
If you wish to learn more about the Global Goals, procurement and the university’s wider activities in these areas, please get in touch.
Further information about diversity and equality at York St John University can be found here;
https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/equality
Further information about the UN Global Goals can be found here;