What does accepting diversity mean?

Accepting diversity means welcoming and valuing people from different backgrounds, faiths, ethnicities, abilities, ages, sexual orientations, and life experiences, and treating them as equal members of a shared society.

The idea is one of the "fundamental British values" articulated by the UK government in 2011 as democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. Schools in England are required to actively promote these values under statutory guidance for the spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development of pupils. Public bodies are placed under a Public Sector Equality Duty by the Equality Act 2010, requiring them to have due regard to eliminating discrimination, advancing equality of opportunity, and fostering good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

Accepting diversity goes further than simply tolerating differences. Tolerance can imply putting up with something disliked. Acceptance involves recognising that the presence of many cultures, faiths, and ways of life is a feature of modern Britain, not a problem to be managed, and that everyone shares the same legal rights and responsibilities regardless of their background. Practical examples include providing prayer rooms in hospitals, schools, and workplaces; offering interpretation services at GP surgeries, courts, and public meetings; celebrating festivals from a wide range of traditions (Diwali, Eid, Vaisakhi, Hanukkah, and Christmas) in civic settings; building accessible spaces for disabled people; and enforcing laws against hate crime that treat racist, religious, homophobic, transphobic, and disability-motivated attacks as aggravated offences.

The Equality Act 2010 identifies nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Discrimination against a person because of one or more of these characteristics is unlawful in employment, education, the provision of goods and services, the exercise of public functions, and the running of associations. The Equality and Human Rights Commission enforces the Act and produces statutory codes of practice.

Census data shows the United Kingdom has become progressively more diverse. The 2021 Census recorded that around 18 per cent of the population of England and Wales identified as Asian, Black, Mixed, or Other ethnic group, and a similar share identified with a religion other than Christianity or with no religion. Cities including London, Birmingham, Leicester, Manchester, Cardiff, and Glasgow are among the most diverse in Europe.

Respect for individual differences, combined with shared loyalty to the rule of law and democratic values, is at the heart of what modern British citizenship asks of its members.