Race, Faith & Diversity Training
Practical race, faith and diversity training exploring race, religion or belief, cultural identity, discrimination, bias, inclusion and culturally responsive workplace practice.
Practical race, faith and diversity training exploring race, religion or belief, cultural identity, discrimination, bias, inclusion and culturally responsive workplace practice.
Race, religion or belief and cultural identity can shape people's experiences of workplaces, services and wider society. Understanding these differences — without relying on stereotypes — is an important part of creating fair, respectful and inclusive organisations.
This practical course helps staff and managers develop greater confidence when working with colleagues, customers and service users from different racial, ethnic, cultural, religious and belief backgrounds.
Delegates explore equality law, discrimination, stereotypes and bias alongside practical issues such as communication, religious observance, culturally responsive services and challenging inappropriate behaviour.
Understanding diversity does not mean learning a fixed list of beliefs or behaviours associated with different communities. Good practice involves recognising that culture, race, faith and identity may be important while treating each person as an individual rather than assuming what they believe, need or value.
The Equality Act 2010 protects people from unlawful discrimination because of race and religion or belief.
Race includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins. People may also belong to more than one racial group.
Religion or belief includes religious beliefs and certain philosophical beliefs. The Act also protects people who do not hold a particular religion or belief.
The course helps delegates understand these concepts while recognising that legal categories cannot describe the full complexity of people's identities and lived experiences.
Culture can influence communication, family life, traditions, values and people's experiences of organisations and services.
However, culture should not become a shortcut for explaining somebody's behaviour.
Two people who share an ethnicity, nationality or religion may have very different beliefs, experiences and preferences. Inclusive practice therefore combines awareness of difference with respectful curiosity about the individual.
The course is suitable for employees at all levels and can be particularly useful for managers, supervisors, HR and People teams, customer-facing staff and professionals delivering services to diverse communities.
It can be tailored for private, public and voluntary-sector organisations and adapted to the situations delegates are likely to encounter in their own workplace or service environment.
Race and ethnicity can influence people's experiences through personal identity, community, history and the way they are perceived and treated by others.
Racism may be overt, but racial inequality can also arise through stereotypes, assumptions, apparently neutral practices, unequal access to opportunities or patterns of decision-making.
Delegates consider how these issues can affect recruitment, progression, workplace relationships, customer interactions and service delivery.
Religion or belief can affect aspects of everyday working life, including religious observance, dress, dietary requirements, prayer, festivals and working patterns.
Not everybody who identifies with a particular religion practises it in the same way, and some people may identify culturally with a faith while holding different personal beliefs.
The course therefore focuses on respectful conversations and fair decision-making rather than assuming what somebody requires because of their religion or perceived religion.
Recognise how race, faith, culture and bias can influence workplace experiences and access to services.
Ask respectful questions and explore individual needs instead of relying on cultural or religious assumptions.
Identify practical ways of making workplace practices, decisions and services fairer and more inclusive.
Stereotypes simplify complex groups of people into assumptions about how they behave, what they believe or what they are capable of.
They can be negative or apparently positive. Both can affect decision-making.
For example, assumptions about somebody's communication style, family expectations, religious beliefs or abilities may influence recruitment, task allocation, progression or the way their behaviour is interpreted.
Delegates explore how to notice these assumptions and introduce more objective and inclusive approaches to decision-making.
The course introduces relevant Equality Act 2010 principles and helps delegates distinguish between inappropriate behaviour and conduct that may amount to unlawful discrimination or harassment.
Delegates consider how discrimination can arise through decisions, policies, workplace practices and interpersonal behaviour.
The training also explores why intent is not the only consideration when assessing the impact of behaviour.
People do not always intend to offend, exclude or discriminate. However, good intentions do not automatically remove the impact of behaviour. Inclusive workplaces encourage people to listen, reflect and respond constructively when concerns are raised.
Names are an important part of identity. Repeatedly refusing to make a reasonable effort to pronounce or use somebody's name correctly can leave them feeling dismissed or excluded.
The course also explores terminology relating to race, ethnicity, faith and cultural identity and why language changes over time.
Delegates are encouraged to avoid becoming paralysed by fear of using the wrong word. Respectful questions, willingness to listen and openness to correction are usually more constructive than avoiding conversations about difference altogether.
Organisations may receive requests relating to prayer, religious festivals, dress, dietary requirements, working hours or other aspects of religious observance.
Not every request will necessarily be possible or legally required, but decisions should be considered fairly and consistently rather than being rejected because they are unfamiliar.
Delegates explore how dialogue and practical problem-solving can often identify workable solutions.
Organisations serving diverse communities need to consider whether their services are genuinely accessible and responsive to different people.
This does not mean providing a completely different service for every cultural group.
It means considering whether communication, processes, assumptions or established ways of working create unnecessary barriers and being willing to adapt appropriately where possible.
No training course can make somebody an expert in every culture, religion or community.
Cultural humility provides a more realistic approach: recognising the limits of our own knowledge, reflecting on assumptions and being willing to learn from the people with whom we work.
This encourages curiosity without turning colleagues or service users into representatives responsible for explaining an entire community.
Race and religion or belief are only part of a person's identity.
Experience may also be shaped by sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, socioeconomic circumstances, nationality, migration history and other aspects of identity and life experience.
An intersectional approach helps delegates understand how these factors may combine rather than treating each characteristic as though it exists independently.
Inclusive workplaces require more than personally avoiding discrimination. Staff may also need confidence to respond when they witness stereotypes, inappropriate comments or exclusion.
The most appropriate response will depend on the circumstances, the seriousness of the behaviour, the people involved and organisational procedures.
Delegates explore practical ways of questioning assumptions, interrupting inappropriate behaviour and escalating concerns where necessary.
Public authorities and organisations carrying out public functions may also need to consider the Public Sector Equality Duty.
The duty requires those covered by it, in the exercise of their functions, to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not.
Where relevant to the organisation, the course can explore what these principles mean in practical decision-making and service delivery.
Interactive scenarios allow delegates to explore how race, faith and cultural diversity can arise in ordinary workplace situations.
A colleague repeatedly mispronounces a team member's name despite being corrected several times.
Discussion: What is the impact and how could a colleague or manager respond constructively?
A manager allocates work based partly on assumptions about an employee's cultural background and what they will "naturally be good at".
Discussion: Why can apparently positive assumptions still create unfairness?
A service user says that an appointment arrangement creates a difficulty connected with their religious observance.
Discussion: What should staff explore before deciding how to respond?
Awareness has limited value unless it changes behaviour and decision-making.
Delegates are encouraged to consider where greater inclusion can be built into recruitment, management, communication, customer service, policies and everyday interactions.
The aim is not to memorise rules about different communities but to develop transferable skills for responding fairly and respectfully when unfamiliar situations arise.
By the end of the course, delegates should be better able to:
Race, faith and diversity can arise differently depending on the organisation, workforce and communities being served.
We can tailor the training to reflect your sector, policies and priorities and incorporate realistic scenarios relating to employment, management, education, healthcare, social care, housing, customer service, public services or community engagement.
This helps delegates apply the learning to situations they are genuinely likely to encounter.
All our courses are tailored to ensure the training reflects your organisation's goals, workplace practices and priorities.
The course can be delivered face-to-face or online via Zoom or Teams.
To support participation, discussion and interaction, we recommend the following group sizes per session:
Need to train a larger workforce? No problem. We regularly work with organisations that need to train larger numbers of employees. Where appropriate, training can be delivered across multiple sessions to ensure everyone receives the same high-quality, interactive learning experience. We can develop a delivery programme to suit your workforce size, locations and timescales.
Please note: the half-day rate is not always available for face-to-face sessions.
Over 25 years' experience delivering equality, diversity and inclusion training, consultancy and professional development.
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