Where we started
Equally Ours (previously the Equality and Diversity Forum) started out in 2002 as a pan-equality meeting of experts to discuss proposals to create a single statutory equality body to replace the then Equal Opportunities Commission, Commission for Racial Equality and Disability Rights Commission.
From that first meeting we grew to be an influential network that successfully made the case for improving protections for everyone, resulting in the Equality Act 2010 – the biggest single shake-up of the UK’s equality laws.
Protecting and promoting rights
We set up our Research Network in 2010 to support evidence-based policy making. Since then, we’ve defended the Equality Act 2010 and Human Rights Act 1998 from attack on numerous occasions, and have been working hard to make sure that leaving the EU doesn’t result in reduced rights.
We’ve been instrumental in changing the terms of the equality and human rights debate, using constructive dialogue and collaboration to improve national policy and help people use their rights in practical ways.
We were one of the first adopters of strategic communications in the UK, establishing a ground-breaking initiative to help people see the relevance of human rights in their everyday lives.
Equally Ours today
Our members are still core to who we are and what we do and, to this day, we remain the only UK-wide pan-equality and human rights organisation in the UK – speaking powerfully with one voice on issues of common interest.
Our vision is to make a reality of equality and human rights in everyone’s lives.