Introduction

Within the public sectors of western democratic societies like the UK, the US, Canada and Australia, substantial research attention and policy focus is generated by questions concerning equality and diversity. This is perhaps unsurprising, given that contemporary western societies are characterised by inequality (Thompson, 1998) and, moreover, are underpinned by modernity's ‘imperative of order’ with the concomitant belief that, with the application of the correct kinds of policies and procedures, progress can be made in relation to eliminating/reducing inequalities and oppression.

In the UK, in contrast to the US and Canada where human rights legislation has generally produced a more inclusive approach to equality so that a wide range of social groupings have been the focus of concern, ‘race’ and gender have traditionally been the predominant focus. However, emerging trends in the UK suggest that a broader range of social groupings are featuring more frequently in equality legislation, policy and practice. In many instances there continue to be differences in the level of protection afforded different social groupings with respect to ‘race’/ethnicity, gender, class, faith, sexual orientation, disability and age; however, contemporary policy developments suggest that hierarchies of equality provisions are being levelled out so that there is growing harmonisation of protections afforded to different groupings. This reflects the emergence of ‘new social movements’ based on new collectivities of individuals that cut across traditional class and political affiliations, these including the feminist movement, the disability rights movement and the lesbian and gay rights movements (Woodward, 2002). New social movements have traditionally been preoccupied with building identities in opposition to mainstream society, and highlighting the oppression and discrimination that members experience.

Another emerging trend within the field of equality and diversity in the UK is that at the same time that policies are being targeted at a wide range of group collectivities in relation to ‘race’/ethnicity, gender, class, faith, sexual orientation, disability and age, there is a growing sense of the artificially constructed nature of these collectivities. There is increasing awareness amongst policy makers and researchers that the distinct experiences and voices of specific communities and individuals are obscured and made invisible within the broad-based approaches to diversity that have traditionally been adopted.