Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusive practice. We provide services to a diverse population of over 450,000 people in the Dudley borough and beyond, and to do this effectively, we need people from diverse backgrounds to ensure we make sound decisions that are representative of the different perspectives in society.

We are committed to being a more inclusive organisation, ensuring equal opportunity and celebrating diversity. Encouraging and supporting the workforce we employ to reach their potential. This will support our ultimate goal to be a brilliant place to work and thrive. Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) are enshrined in our vision and through our values of care, respect and responsibility that underpin the day-to-day activities and diverse communities of the Trust.

Our aim is to provide a quality service where there are no barriers to access, where people matter most.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Journey

We have developed a three year Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Journey which sets out our strategic aims using the employee lifecycle. Please click below to view our Journey:

EDI Journey Objectives

The plan which underpins our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Journey has been developed and describes the objectives and actions for 2023. This plan brings together actions to address National, Regional, Local and Trust specific metrics and is set out in the employee lifecycle format. This plan reflects actions from data sets such as our Workforce Race & Disability Equality standards and the Gender & Ethnicity Pay Gaps. It also addresses actions recommended as part of our Race Code Kite mark

Our Workforce - Age Profile

Age Profile
<=20 years	1.08%
21-25	7.02%
26-30	14.15%
31-35	15.31%
36-40	14.36%
41-45	10.76%
46-50	9.71%
51-55	11.11%
56-60	9.73%
61-65	5.46%
66-70	0.99%
>=71 years	0.33%

Our Workforce- Disability Profile

Disability profile
Disabled staff	5.86%
Non-disabled staff	66.05%
Disability unknown or not stated	28.09%

Our Workforce - Ethnicity Profile

Ethnicity Profile
Ethnicially diverse	26.66%
White	64.21%
Unknown/not stated	9.13%

Our Workforce - Sexuality Profile

Sexuality Profile
Bisexual	0.86%
Gay or Lesbian	1.1%
Heterosexual	76.98%
Other sexual orientation not listed	0.16%
Undecided	0.14%
Unknown/not stated	20.76%

How We Work

There are a range of standards, guidelines and duties in place to support the organisation in its approach to equality, diversity and inclusion. This includes the national Equality Delivery System (EDS2), the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) and associated Equality Objectives and tools such as the Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) and Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) and gender pay gap reporting (GPG). We also have a clear Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion governance process embedded into our organisation which all the above standards feed into (see right). We are supported in our journey by a number of organisations, as we have progressed we have also attained some kite marks along the way. Below are the organisations we subscribe to and the kite marks we have attained

enei TIDE 2025

TIDE is enei’s all-in-one tool for self-assessment, evaluation, and benchmarking, designed to help organisations assess and enhance their culture, focusing on progress and strategies in promoting diversity and inclusion.

Disability Confident Leader

A Disability Confident Leader is the highest level within the UK government's Disability Confident scheme. It signifies that an employer is actively committed to not only employing disabled people but also actively promoting disability inclusion within their organisation and the wider community. A Disability Confident Leader acts as a champion for disability equality in the workplace, including encouraging other businesses to become Disability Confident as well.

Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion

A UK-based, not-for-profit organisation that helps employers build and maintain diverse teams and inclusive cultures through our membership, training, and consultancy services.

RACE Code

This Code, and its Accountability Framework, is designed to provide organisations with the opportunity to address a very specific challenge: how to deal with race inequality in the boardroom and senior leadership team.

Find out more about our EDI Staff Networks