Equality and Diversity at Work
| Module title | Equality and Diversity at Work |
|---|---|
| Module code | LAW3169 |
| Academic year | 2024/5 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Dr Ruth Sealy (Convenor) Dr Christopher Begeny (Lecturer) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 12 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 45 |
|---|
Module description
Understanding equality and diversity are essential for a successful workplace. Companies are required to ensure expectations of equality are always met in the workplace.
This module is designed for Law, Psychology and Business students and intends to provide a perspective on equality and diversity that incorporates insights about the legal framework, the business environment, and the psychological dimension. You will build on your knowledge acquired in your discipline specific subjects so far, broadening your knowledge to include an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and tackling real life issues of equality and diversity. You will cover a range of equality issues and explore how and why problems arise, how these should be managed, and how you apply your broader critical perspective to enhance equality and achieve diversity. In this module you will focus on key equality themes and will give you the opportunity to engage with current critical arguments at the juncture between law, psychology and business.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module aims to develop your interdisciplinary understanding of the key legal, psychological and organisational principles involved in contemporary equality and diversity issues. It aims to provide you with the knowledge and skills to understand the reasons for and manifestations of inequality in society, specifically in the work environment; it also aims to provide you not only with the knowledge and skills to identify the problems associated with contemporary inequality, but also with the ability to engage with the issues, and to identify solutions to tackle such inequality from an academic perspective. The central aim of this module is to help you develop a more complete understanding of these issues than could be given by any of these disciplines alone, and to develop interdisciplinarity. The aim is for you to make interconnections across educational disciplinary boundaries, through the inclusion of multiple perspectives, knowledge and skills (Law, Psychology, Business), and to synthesise different perspectives and work with others collaboratively in finding solutions to today’s equality problems. This module intends to support you in becoming an interdisciplinary thinker who will analytically and creatively find solutions to today’s most challenging and authentic problems.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate critical awareness of the wide range of legal, psychological and organisational origins, manifestations, and solutions to inequality and lack of diversity
- 2. Identify, explain and critically evaluate key issues of inequality in the workplace and apply relevant rules and theory from Law, Psychology and Business
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge and understanding of legal, psychological and organisational concepts, values, principles and procedures with regards to equality in the workplace, and explain the interdisciplinary relationship among them, as well as their limits
- 4. Apply interdisciplinary knowledge from Law, Psychology and Business to a problem and suggest a solution supported by relevant arguments derived from these disciplines
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Work effectively and proactively across disciplinary boundaries to consider other viewpoints, compare and contrast concepts across subjects
- 6. Synthesise and research across disciplines, developing varied perspectives, integrating (potentially) conflicting insights from different disciplines, and consider alternative ways of solving complex authentic problems
- 7. Select, integrate and present coherently and reflectively, relevant concepts and arguments
- 8. Read a wide range of documents; finding and researching extra material across three disciplines
Syllabus plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
Introduction
- Overview
- Levels of analyses and disciplinary contributions
- Team building
The meaning of Equality and Diversity
- Policies
- Organisation
- Individual and interpersonal
Forms of Inequality and Lack of Diversity
- Policies
- Organisations
- Individual and Interpersonal
Enabling Equality and Overcoming Challenges
- Policies
- Organisations
- Individual and Interpersonal
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | 123 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity | 22 | 11 x 2 hour seminars |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity | 5 | 5 x 1 hour interdisciplinary workshops |
| Guided Independent Study | 77.5 | Reading and preparation for seminars and workshops |
| Guided Independent Study | 45.5 | Preparation for assessments |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short Essay, voluntary ; submission of draft essay part for summative essay and self marked; draft may be reworked and developed on the basis of tutor feedback and included in summative essay as one of the substantive parts of the essay. | 750 words | 1-8 | Self-marking, with guidance and oversight given by tutor; individual comments from tutor and general feedback to cohort |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 100 | 3000 words | 1-8 | Written feedback |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay (3,000 words) (new question will be set) | All | August/September re-assessment period |
Re-assessment notes
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
This list is compiled in APA referencing style; another accepted referencing style for this module is OSCOLA
Allport, G.W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Garden City, NY: Doubleday Anchor.
Dovidio, J.F., Hewstone, M., Glick, P., & Esses, V.M. (Eds.). (2013). The SAGE handbook of prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination. London, UK: Sage Publications.
Ely, R.J. & Thomas, D.A. (2001). Cultural diversity at work: The effects of diversity perspectives on work group processes and outcomes. Administrative Science Quarterly, 46, 229-273.
Fredman, S. (2011). Discrimination law (2nd ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Hepple, B. (2014). Equality: The Legal Framework (2nd ed.). Oxford, UK: Hart Publishing.
Jones, J.M., Dovidio, J.F., & Vietze, D.L. (2014). The psychology of diversity: Beyond prejudice and racism. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
Kaiser, C.R., Major, B., Jurcevic, I., Dover, T.L., Brady, L.M., & Shapiro, J.R. (2013). Presumed fair: Ironic effects of organizational diversity structures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104, 504-519.
Khaitan, T. (2015). A theory of discrimination law. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
McColgan, A. (2014). Discrimination, equality and the law. Oxford, UK: Hart Publishing.
Tropp, L.R., & Mallett, R.K. (Eds.). (2011). Moving beyond prejudice reduction: Pathways to positive intergroup relations. Washington, DC: APA.
van Knippenberg, D., van Ginkel, W. P., & Homan, A. C. (2013). Diversity mindsets and the performance of diverse teams. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 121, 183–193.
Wadham, J., Robinson, A., Ruebain, D., & Uppal, S. (Eds.). (2016). Blackstone's guide to the Equality Act 2010 (3rd ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 6 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 18/11/2016 |
| Last revision date | 31/01/2022 |
