Diversity and our values

Diversity and our values A workforce for London

London’s diversity is its biggest asset and we try to make sure our workforce reflects this diversity at every level. We also want to make sure that our workforce takes pride in what they do. Find out how we are doing this.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the GLA

London is best served by a GLA that is equal, diverse, representative and inclusive.

The GLA’s ambition is to create a fairer, more equal city for all Londoners – whatever a person’s race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability or socio-economic background. To do this to the best of our ability, we must have a workforce that reflects London’s diversity.

The keys to our success include our knowledge of the lived experience of Londoners; the breadth of our perspectives; our reach into communities; and our capacity to innovate to bring about positive change. These all depend on us attracting and retaining amazing staff, at all levels and in all teams, who are collectively representative of the city we serve.

Being an inclusive organisation is central to our values. We want all staff to have the same positive experience of working, progressing and feeling they belong in the GLA. We want everyone to be respected for who they are, and to be able to have their voice heard. We are determined to eliminate our ethnic, disability and gender pay gaps, and we value highly the contributions of our many brilliant staff networks. We are committed to being an anti-racist organisation. We do not tolerate discrimination in any form.

But until our workforce is representative of London, and until every member of staff has the same positive experience of working here, we have more to do. We are committed to taking all possible steps to ensure that our workforce, in all teams and at all levels, fully reflects the diversity of London.

That means that, more than ever, we need to put equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of how we work and how we engage with each other. So, in 2022-23, we will:

• expect all managers to contribute proactively to embedding an inclusive culture at the GLA, and will hold them to account for this
• expect all staff to take personal responsibility for understanding and appreciating colleagues whose lives, for whatever reason, are different from their own
• ensure that our core recruitment, progression, learning and development, and other processes are fair to all current and prospective members of staff
• review the channels of communication, and spaces for discussion, available to staff to share their experiences of working at the GLA directly with senior management, and to ensure their voices are heard
• all take personal responsibility for accelerating our progress towards being an equal, diverse, representative and inclusive GLA in the coming year, by meeting our own objectives.

We will be a better, more effective organisation for being a truly inclusive one.

Our approach to equality

We want City Hall to be a workplace where every employee is treated with respect, and where there is no bullying or harassment. For example:

• we encourage and support different equality groups, who do everything possible to stop discrimination
• we have a general duty to promote equality through our policies and initiatives
• all staff attend a course to understand what diversity and inclusion means within their role, and how to challenge unsuitable behaviour at work
• we take accusations of bullying and harassment very seriously. We look into all complaints quickly, fairly and in strict confidence. If the complaints are backed up, we will take disciplinary action.

This dignity at work policy has the full support of the Mayor, Assembly, Head of Paid Service, senior management team and UNISON.

Find out more information about our commitment to equality.

Our commitment to equality

The GLA staff charter

Our staff charter outlines the values of the Greater London Authority at City Hall. It describes what we commit to as an organisation and what is expected of our staff. These commitments cover:

• leadership and accountability
• collaboration
• fairness and integrity

Code of ethics

Our staff are expected to meet the highest standards of conduct. These are set out in our Code of Ethics and Standards for Staff, which includes:

• being professional, politically impartial, respecting confidentiality and complying with the law
• using public money efficiently and effectively
• promoting equal opportunities and stopping discrimination
• meeting high performance standards
• fair treatment and disciplinary and grievance procedures
• a healthy and safe working environment

Competency framework

Our values are also embedded within our competency framework, which outlines the behaviours that are needed for our organisation to perform effectively. This framework forms the basis of how we manage people: recruitment and selection, performance management and development.

Why we support fair pay

We have conducted studies on the impact of fair pay policies on business.

These studies found clear evidence that employers who supported fair pay (such as paying the London Living Wage) benefited in many ways. They benefited with better recruitment, holding on to staff, improved morale, motivation, productivity and the reputation of being an ethical employer.

You can view the current salary bands in our GLA salary scale.

In recognition of our commitment to fair pay, diversity, well-being and employee voice, the GLA has been reaccredited at the 'Excellence level' for the Mayor’s Good Work Standard - the highest level of achievement.

Reporting our diversity

We produce large amounts of information every year on equality in our workforce. These reports:

• provide statistics about our employees and our recruitment
• recommend initiatives to make sure improvements are made
• help to update existing HR policies or inform new ones
• are updated every six months

The reports are presented to the GLA Oversight Committee. You can view them in our governance section, under Workforce reports.

Diversity and Inclusion Management Board

Making sure we have a diverse, fair and inclusive workforce is an important goal for us. We have set up a Diversity and Inclusion Management Board to make sure this happens. Its job is to:

• lead on issues of equality, diversity and inclusion
• make recommendations on strategy, policy and best practice
• promote inclusion activities in line with our corporate vision and values
• make sure the aims from the Mayor’s Inclusive London strategy are being achieved

The taskforce has a clear agenda, outlined in the Diversity and Inclusion work programme. Senior representatives from across City Hall are responsible for this, with support from HR and in partnership with colleagues from Unison, our LGBT+, BAME and women’s networks.

Diversity and Inclusion Action Standard

To make sure there is a consistent approach to workforce diversity and inclusion across the GLA Group, we have developed a set of common practices and standards called the Diversity and Inclusion Action Standard. Find out more.

Race Equality Campaign

Our Race partner

Independent review of Ethnic Minority experiences at the Greater London Authority

We recently commissioned The Equal Group to conduct an independent review into whether there are structural barriers that prevent Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority staff, and particularly Black staff, from progressing in their careers at the Greater London Authority. The Equal Group’s summary and full reports are now published.

Stonewall Diversity Champions

The GLA is a member of the Stonewall Diversity Champions Programme and is committed to improving the workplace culture for lesbian, gay, bi, and trans staff. In 2022, the GLA was once again named as one of Stonewall's Top 100 Employers, achieving 30th place and ranking 3rd in the public sector. The GLA also acheived a Gold Award for the submission.

Disability Confident

The GLA is proud to be a Level 2: Disability Confident employer. We are committed to becoming a more inclusive and accessible organisation, and creating a truly inclusive and accessible workplace and culture for our disabled staff. We have named Disability Equality as a key corporate priority within our EDI Strategy. We welcome and encourage applications from disabled applicants.

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