Promoting Equality, Valuing Diversity

Issues of equality and diversity are complex, difficult, and sensitive. This equality/diversity training manual is designed to help people build on the strengths - and avoid the pitfalls - of the past. The book dispels some of the myths and oversimplifications around issues like 'political correctness,' and it shows how dangerous it is to oversimplify and distort some very complicated issues. Writing in the foreword, author Neil Thompson says, "Promoting equality and valuing diversity is not an easy task - in fact, it is a major challenge. However, it is well worth the time, effort and energy invested in it." The manual provides a background knowledge base underpinning the work and includes a series of 22 exercises on race and ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, and religion. It also contains a guide to further study. It is an excellent resource that will be of immense value to training and development professionals, managers interested in promoting understanding in their teams or staff groups, practice teachers and mentors, and lecturers and tutors in colleges and universities. Those who registers their purchase with Russell House Publishing can obtain - at no extra cost - the worksheets, case spotlights, and presentation slides in PDF and PowerPoint format. Neil Thompson writes: "We are now in a position to make the transition from the dogmatic reductionism that has haunted us for some years now and, using the foundations provided by the diversity approach, build a much more positive, more sophisticated and thus more effective approach to tackling discrimination and contributing to more humane workplaces and a more humane society more broadly."

The challenge of developing forms of practice that are effective in tackling discrimination and oppression remains a major one. In Promoting Equality, Valuing Diversity, internationally renowned author Dr Neil Thompson explores a wide range of issues relating to equality and diversity. Topics include the case for equality and diversity, understanding and challenging discrimination in relation to age, race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability and religion.