Including everyone in guiding

It's everyone’s responsibility to make sure all members - no matter what their identity or background - feel supported and involved in guiding.

What’s inclusion? 

In Girlguiding, inclusion is defined as giving all girls the same chance. 

This is achieved by creating a safe environment where all girls feel an equal sense of belonging and receive tailored support to reach their maximum potential. 

What’s equality? 

Equality is very similar to inclusion and is defined as providing 'equality of opportunity'. 

Practically, this means doing what you can to ensure girls have the same chances to both join Girlguiding and participate. Equality also has legal recognition. This legal requirement, from the Equality Act 2010 means we should be giving all girls access to equal opportunities, even if they minoritised identities.  

What’s diversity? 

Diversity means difference. We want our units and members to both recognise and embrace the common differences that may exist among people.  

Equality and diversity policy

We want everyone involved in Girlguiding to have a great experience, whoever they are and wherever they’re from. Girlguiding’s equality and diversity policy is grounded in the Equality Act 2010 and applies to all countries and regions that Girlguiding operates in, including Northern Ireland. The Equality Act 2010 is a legal requirement to make sure we don't discriminate against anyone who joins or wants to join.

What does it mean for me and my unit? 

Girlguiding is an inclusive organisation, and all members must follow our code of conduct and policies. 

It’s unlawful to discriminate against any member, or anyone wishing to become a member, who has a protected characteristic. 

This includes preventing them from becoming a member or providing them with a different guiding experience. 

Our including-all e-learning was made in collaboration with volunteers to help provide practical ways to make your unit more inclusive. This learning will help you understand why inclusion is important at Girlguiding, recognise instances of discrimination, learn ways to deal with it and how to report it. You can find the including all e-learning on the learning platform. 

Useful definitions 

Characteristics: parts of someone’s identity. The Equality Act 2010 makes it illegal to discriminate against someone because of some characteristics. These are known as protected characteristics.   

Identity: how people see and think about themselves and others. People often use characteristics to describe identity, like gender race or sexual orientation.   

Diversity: making sure people with lots of different characteristics, backgrounds, identities and circumstances are represented.   

Equality: giving everyone the same resources or opportunities.  

Equity: treating someone fairly by considering what they personally need to have the same opportunities as others. Everyone has different circumstances. This means we sometimes need to treat people differently to give them the same opportunities.   

Inclusion: making sure everyone feels welcomed, accepted and valued.