Corporate Plan

Our draft corporate plan sets out how we will promote equality of opportunity and actively challenge discrimination over the next three years. It sets out what we aim to achieve and, just as importantly, how we’re going to do it.

You can read the summary below, or you can read the full document here .

We want to hear from you

The consultation on our draft corporate plan will run from the 14 November to the 6 February. Your ideas and feedback on our draft corporate plan are vital to shaping this plan and ensuring it reflects the needs and hopes of our community. Please share your thoughts via our survey to help us make sure our work reflects what the people in Northern Ireland need.

Our ambitions 2025-2028

Building on previous years successes and lessons, we will continue to improve peoples lives through the effective implementation of our statutory responsibilities.

Over the next three years, we will:

• Strengthen equality laws to safeguard everyone in Northern Ireland
• Drive positive change for people facing inequalities
• Make a difference to people’s lives with our powers
• Build a resilient, accountable and accessible organisation

Strengthening equality laws to safeguard everyone in Northern Ireland

We have duties to keep equality laws under review and powers to advise government on ways they could be strengthened, simplified, and harmonised.

Over the next three years our work under this ambition should have the following impact:

• People will have improved protection from race discrimination.
• Improved protection from hate crimes for everyone.
• Executive commitment to extending protections from age discrimination.
• Executive commitment to deliver improved protection from disability discrimination.
• Greater transparency on equal pay between men and women.
• New standards adopted and the Commission’s remit and independence reinforced.
• Improvements to the delivery of equality duties.

Driving positive change for people facing inequalities

We have duties to promote equality of opportunity and good relations. We do this through our work to increase awareness, advocacy and action to tackle inequalities blighting the lives of many people.

Over the next three years our work under this ambition should have the following impact: 

• Increased awareness of ‘cradle to grave’ inequalities.
• A Programme for Government which prioritises and resources equality and good relations actions.
• Public policy keeping pace with international standards and obligations, including those under Windsor Framework Article 2
• Improved access to education particularly for children with SEN and disabilities.
• Delivery of an effective racial equality strategy to reduce inequalities.
• An effective refugee integration strategy introduced.
• Delivery of strategies - disability, gender, sexual orientation, childcare, VAWG /domestic abuse. 

Making a difference to people’s lives with our powers

As a strategic enforcement body, we are committed to using our powers and duties to challenge discrimination and promote equality of opportunity.

Over the next three years our work under this ambition should have the following impact:   

• Well publicised strategic casework, influencing the law and wider public attitudes to discrimination.
• Evidence of statutory equality duties making a positive impact on a more transparent and accountable public policy making.
• Employers and service providers demonstrating good procedures and practices and workplaces and services that are welcoming and inclusive.
• Evidence of the UK government meeting its Article 2 commitments.

Building a resilient, accountable and accessible organisation

We are committed to building a resilient, accountable, accessible, Equality Commission that can respond to emerging challenges while promoting agility and innovation.

• A Commission, able to demonstrate impact from its work, that uses public funds responsibly and deserves to be better funded.
• An accessible, agile and continuously improving organisation that is responsive to the needs of its stakeholders, internal and external, particularly those representing the most vulnerable and harder to reach groups
• Improved digitalisation of processes will create a more efficient, user-friendly, and accessible organisation.