What is diversity in health and social care?

Diversity is essential to health and social care. Find out what it means and why it’s important.

What is diversity?

Diversity means accepting and celebrating the differences between people. This can include age, sex, gender, race, religion and more.

Diversity in health and social care can refer to both the practitioner and service user.

Protected characteristics

There are nine characteristics protected against discrimination by law.

  • Age
  • Disability
  • Gender reassignment
  • Marriage or civil partnership
  • Pregnancy and maternity
  • Race
  • Religion
  • Sex
  • Sexual orientation

Diversity could include these characteristics and more. For example, economic background is not included, but you should treat people with respect regardless of the money they have.

Why is diversity important?

Health and social care workers will work with people from lots of different backgrounds, including people with disabilities. It’s important to treat every person with respect and dignity. This will ensure they receive the right care and can access the support they need.

Diversity in health and social care can help to improve the service. A diverse workforce means new ways of looking at things. For example, workers may be able to suggest better ways to communicate with people from their background. This could include cultural norms and overcoming language barriers.

Diversity amongst practitioners can mean that service users see themselves represented. This could encourage them to engage with the service more, and understand that it is there to help them.

Accepting and celebrating our differences can also help service users feel more confident. This is important as it can encourage them to get out into society. This prevents social isolation and loneliness.

How to promote diversity

It's important to have a system in place to promote diversity. Here's how to do that.

Where next?

Diversity in health and social care can improve services by introducing new ideas and perspectives. An appreciation of diversity will ensure that everyone is treated with respect and dignity. This will improve both service user experience and work satisfaction for practitioners.