Glossary of terms

and abbreviations

ACAS Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.

Acceptability criteria Term most often used in the recruitment and selec-
tion context and refers to subjective criteria that may often have stereo-
typed
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will ‘fit in’ to the social networks and relationships of the organization.
Business case A justification of equality/diversity initiatives based
upon economic rationality.
CAC Central Arbitration Committee.
Class action US system which permits individuals, who have been
affected by identical discrimination, to be given the same remedy as the
person who was successful in a previous case.
Codes of practice Government guidance providing recommendations
on employment practice, which are not legally binding. May be used as
evidence at employment tribunal.
Collective bargaining The method of determining working conditions
and terms of employment through negotiations between an employer
and a trade union. A collective agreement is the outcome of such
negotiations.
Concrete ceiling The term used to describe the seemingly impenetrable
barriers preventing the progress of people from minority ethnic groups.
CRE Commission for Racial Equality set up by the Race Relations Act
1976. Its duties are to work towards the elimination of race discrimina-
tion, to promote equality and good relations between people of different
racial groups. It issues various guides for employers on good practice.
DDA Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
Demand-side An economic term. Demand-side factors are those which
influence employers’ requirements for labour.
DfES Department for education and skills.
Domestic sphere/domestic labour Terms used to denote unpaid work
in the home and family responsibilities.
Downward occupational mobility The term used to describe the ten-
dency for women to enter lower status employment following a break
for childbirth/care.
DRC Disability Rights Commission.
EAT Employment Appeal Tribunal.

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298 The Dynamics of Managing Diversity

EC European Commission.
ECHR European Court of Human Rights.
ECJ European Court of Justice.
Economic activity rate The proportion of the workforce which is either
in employment or registered as unemployed.
EEC European Economic Community.
EIRR European Industrial Relations Review.
Employment tribunal Employees can complain to the employment tri-
bunal when they suspect that a statutory employment law has been
breached by an employer. The tribunal system operates like an infor-
mal court of law.
EO Equal Opportunities.
EOC Equal Opportunities Commission set up by the Sex Discrimination
Act 1975. Its aim is to work towards the elimination of sex discrimina-
tion, promote equality between the sexes. It issues various guides for
employers, encouraging good practice.
EOPs Equal Opportunities Policies.
Equality bargaining Collective agreements on equality issues.
ETUC European Trades Union Congress.
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EU European Union.
Family-friendly policy Employment policies facilitating the balancing
of work and parental/caring responsibilities.
Feminine-in-management A thesis emphasizing women’s unique man-
agement skills, also termed as ‘women in management’.
Gender pay gap The term frequently used to describe the earnings dis-
parity between women and men. If the ‘gap’ is 20 per cent, then women
earn 80 per cent of men’s average earnings.
Glass ceiling The term refers to invisible barriers preventing women
from advancing to higher levels within organizations.
GOQ Genuine Occupational Qualifications.
HRA Human Rights Act 1998.
HRM Human Resource Management.
Human capital The term used to describe the skills, education, training,
abilities and experience possessed by individuals.
Immigrant worker Non-nationals who intend on residing permanently
in the country of migration.
Indirect labour costs Costs other than direct remuneration associated
with the employment of labour, for example maternity/parental leave,
and training.
Institutional racism The term used to describe the existence of policy
and administrative processes within social institutions, which result in
the adverse treatment of minority ethnic people.
IPD Institute of Personnel and Development, the professional body for
those involved within the field of personnel or human resource man-
agement. It produces various guides for human resource practitioners,
which encourage good employment practice.
Mainstreaming The inclusion of equality issues in every part of busi-
ness strategy and policy.
Migrant worker Non-nationals moving from country to country, pre-
dominantly for work.

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 Glossary of terms and abbreviations 299

MSF Manufacturing, Science, Finance – Britain’s fifth largest trade

union. Membership is predominantly in the private sector, consisting
of skilled and professional workers.
Occupational segregation The tendency for certain social groups to be
disproportionately situated in certain occupations or status positions.
OPCS Office for Population and Census Surveys.
Patriarchy has been defined as ‘a system of social structures and prac-
tices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women’ (S. Walby
[1990]. Theorizing Patriarchy, Blackwell, p.20).
Positive action Refers to efforts to remove obstacles to the free operation
of the labour market. The aim is to promote free and equal competition
among individuals.
Positive discrimination Involves the deliberate manipulation of
employment practices with the intention of achieving a proportional
distribution of disadvantaged social groups within the workforce.
Public sphere A term used to denote paid work in the labour market.
RRA Race Relations Act 1976.
SDA Sex Discrimination Act 1975.
Social
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market, including working conditions, dialogue between management
and labour, protection of workers.
Social identity The process of achieved or ascribed categorization,
which occurs within societal relations.
Social Justice Case Justification of equality/diversity initiatives based
upon ethical or moral rationality.
Stakeholder One of many participants (individual or group based) with
a vested interest in the organization (e.g. employer, management, trade
union, employee, customer, supplier, government).
Statistical discrimination Discrimination against groups of workers,
relating to perceived characteristics of that particular group.
Suitability criteria Term most often used in the recruitment and selec-
tion context and refers to more objective criteria based around skills,
qualifications and experience.
Supply-side An economic term. Supply-side factors are those which
shape the nature of the labour supply, that is the workforce; including
demographic and skill variables, personal preferences.
Third Country nationals Migrant and immigrant workers who are
nationals of non-EU countries.
TUC Trades Union Congress, the co-ordinating body of Britain’s trade
union movement.
Union recognition An employer may ‘recognize’ a trade union either as
the representative of employees who are members (in cases of grievance or
discipline, for example) and/or for the purposes of collective bargaining.
UNISON Britain’s largest trade union. Membership is located in the
public services.
WERS Workplace Employee Relations Survey (formerly WIRS:
Workplace Industrial Relations Survey)
Work-Life Balance Employment policies facilitating the balancing of
work and life outside of work (implicitly extends beyond parenting/
caring responsibilities).

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