tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/citizens-uk-13392/articlesCitizens UK – The Conversation2017-05-22T09:13:45Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/767192017-05-22T09:13:45Z2017-05-22T09:13:45ZProgressive politics can win in a post-truth world by making myths of its own<p>Much has been made of Donald Trump’s wanton deployment of myths in the place of facts in recent months. To the dismay of his opponents, challenging these myths with rational evidence or “fact checking” simply <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/02/23/why-fact-checking-doesnt-change-peoples-minds/">does not cut through</a> to his supporters. This disheartening truth-myth gap is playing out in reactionary politics everywhere, as anti-immigration and anti-Islamic sentiments (among other things) surge across the Western world and beyond. </p>
<p>Visceral and often unfounded narratives seem to resonate with the sentiments of large swaths of the global populace – and no amount of social scientific data seems able to dispel the myths. All this points to a fundamental problem: humans don’t make good statisticians and we’re rarely inspired to act on the basis of facts alone. What we’re good at is making myths. We are wired with an ability to combine ideas and observations into meaningful narratives – factually accurate or otherwise. It’s what gets us out of bed in the morning. But since the Enlightenment, we’ve been taught not to trust myths. Instead, the rationale goes, we should act solely on the basis of evidence. </p>
<p>This attitude has become a core tenet of politics too. Whereas mainstream political parties once derived their legitimacy from the ability to spin a meaningful narrative about where their country is headed, they now increasingly turn to social scientific methods to observe what people want – or at least, the wants of voters in decisive constituencies. They make the same calculations when formulating policy. This approach is thoroughly alienating, not only because it makes for dull politics, but because it ultimately enables a university-educated elite to ignore the real concerns of ordinary people.</p>
<p>Empirical, calculated politics just doesn’t work – and those seeking to stem the tide of reactionary politics across the world neglect the power of myth at their peril. Despite all our training not to trust these instincts, we still yearn for something deeper, and this is why electorates are so susceptible to almost anyone who can offer a story with some meaning. And once a myth takes hold, no amount of rational evidence is going to change our minds. </p>
<p>Instead, those on the progressive side of politics need to realise that myth can only be countered with myth. Myths of division can only be forcefully met with myths of solidarity. Rather than simply debunking the “alternative facts” of reactionary politics with fact checks, it would be better to develop counter-myths: of diverse people living together in harmony and fighting side-by-side for social justice.</p>
<p>The good news is that even in these reactionary times, plenty of progressive groups out there are already putting myths of solidarity to work.</p>
<h2>How it’s done</h2>
<p>One excellent example is <a href="http://www.citizensuk.org/about_us">Citizens UK</a>, who try to empower ordinary people to agitate for change in their neighbourhoods, cities and nations. They do so by working from the ground up, drawing on the ability of local institutions to assemble people into various actions, from street demonstrations to listening campaigns, that hold governments and businesses responsible for the difficulties faced by ordinary people.</p>
<p>This undiscriminating focus on what the group’s organisers call “relational power” means that any organisation can be involved in the struggle – a church, a mosque, a school, a trade union. By bringing these diverse groups together, Citizens UK is able to overcome divisions in society to exert pressure in the service of change. </p>
<p>The work of online activists matters too. Myths of solidarity pervade the Twittersphere: <a href="https://twitter.com/faithmattersuk?lang=en">@FaithMatters</a> cites cases of Jews protecting Muslims from attack and Muslims defending Jewish cemeteries. <a href="https://twitter.com/PulseofEurope?lang=en">@pulseofeurope</a> demonstrates people all over the continent rallying together to celebrate Europe’s common values. Even though the individual cases they point to are very real, neither account claims to reflect the worldwide norm; they simply offer exemplars, glimmers of hope.</p>
<p>The effect is cumulative. As people of all religions and none work together in common cause, they realise that only by working with others can they really challenge the status quo, and that what divides them is far less significant than what unites them. As people begin to glimpse of a different way of living together, each small action fuels the next – and in time, today’s actions will become tomorrow’s myths.</p>
<p>With small contributions to actions like these, whether on the streets or online, people can slowly begin to challenge myths of division with myths of solidarity. In a post-truth world, it is myth, not truth, that will set us free.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76719/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Timothy Stacey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Rationality doesn’t bring people together to make change happen – but powerful stories do.Timothy Stacey, Postdoctoral Fellow, Goldsmiths, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/587962016-05-09T12:50:26Z2016-05-09T12:50:26Z‘Good Muslims’ or ‘Good citizens’: how Muslim women feel about integration<p>A great many things have been said about Muslims as UK citizens, mainly by non-Muslims. The prime minister, David Cameron, believes that if more Muslim women became proficient in English, for example, it would help beat extremism and terrorism. Meanwhile, Trevor Phillips, the former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, says that UK Muslims “See the world differently from the rest of us”.</p>
<p>Phillips also presented a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/apr/14/what-british-muslims-really-think-about-channel-4s-show">controversial</a> <a href="http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/c4-survey-and-documentary-reveals-what-british-muslims-really-think">Channel 4 programme</a> called What British Muslims Really Think, which put across the message that Muslims are more conservative than the majority population and don’t want to integrate into wider society. </p>
<p>The debate is often highly intemperate – and both Muslim and non-Muslim voices alike have suggested it contributes to further stigmatisation of an already marginalised and disadvantaged Muslim population. In this highly politicised climate, the relationship between Islam and citizenship has also come under scrutiny by <a href="http://www.citizensuk.org/islam_public_life_commission">Citizens UK</a>, a charitable voluntary organisation with churches, mosques and unions among its members.</p>
<p>In July 2015, Citizens UK launched its <a href="http://www.citizensuk.org/islam_public_life_commission">Commission on Islam, Participation and Public Life</a> headed by conservative MP Dominic Greave. Greave somewhat unfortunately framed the Commission’s work as aiming to “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/19/citizens-uk-muslim-initiative-extremism">help tackle extremism</a>”.</p>
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<p>The commission is holding a series of public hearings throughout the UK, asking Muslims to speak about barriers to their participation in society but also asking how “the Muslim community” can improve its participation. Although commendable for speaking with and soliciting views from Muslims around the country, there is also a problem with the approach chosen by Citizens UK, in that it only focuses on the Muslim population. In a febrile political atmosphere, it risks legitimising the isolation of Islamic faith and the prejudiced idea that Muslim citizens in Britain are uniquely problematic and a “one-voice” community.</p>
<h2>Common ground</h2>
<p>In a study published in April 2016, <a href="http://www.stk.uio.no/english/people/aca/beatrich/">Beatrice Halsaa</a> and I <a href="http://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9781137405333#otherversion=9781137405340">conducted research</a> that compares women of Muslim and Christian faiths and also contrasts the UK context with Norway and Spain. Contrary to the notion that Muslims might view citizenship differently from Christians, our research shows that they have at least as much in common as not. </p>
<p>Interviews with women attending churches and mosques in Leicester, Oslo and Madrid showed that Muslim and Christian women in these cities had similar views of what citizenship is and how a good citizen should act. This is a point that has deep political ramifications – especially for those who believe that Muslims somehow have less of a sense of citizenship than other groups. It also illustrates the need to look for common ground among different faith communities, not just differences. </p>
<p>The main aspirations expressed by both Muslim and Christian women are the same: to live in peace and care for their families, friends and neighbours. They all express a desire to contribute to society by playing an active part in local communities and to feel that they belong by connecting with others. What emerged from our interviews was the shared belief that a good citizen not only respects the law of the land, but also has compassion for others and volunteers to make society better.</p>
<h2>‘So you are from al-Qaeda?’</h2>
<p>But a major point of difference also emerged: the discrimination and stigmatisation felt by the Muslim women we interviewed in all three countries. By contrast, our Christian interviewees did not speak much at all about any form of exclusion. </p>
<p>Moreover, very few Christian women reflected in any way on privileges attached to Christianity as the dominant religion in their own country. An exception was an Anglican woman in the UK who suggested it is easier to follow the Christian religion in the UK than any other religion, as “everything is set up for you, people don’t question it”. In other words, citizenship is far from equal for people of different religions.</p>
<p>Uniquely, the Muslim participants in all three countries spoke of the barriers to their “<a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13621025.2015.1049979">lived citizenship</a>” – their everyday life experiences as citizens. Muslim women felt a need to demonstrate that they are “good Muslims” and “good citizens” so as to counter stereotyping and negative media portrayals.</p>
<p>A Shia woman in the UK said that she is not as comfortable in public spaces as she used to be. She also observed that it is more normal for Muslim women to wear the hijab, but that this heightened visibility of faith is also causing problems of stigmatisation and stereotyping. She and others suggested that Muslim women are under more pressure than Muslim men to demonstrate good citizenship – as women are more visibly Muslim due to their dress. Another told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I just feel for Muslim women; at the moment it is really important for us to be part of the society. Because otherwise they are going to take the media hype and isolate us. </p>
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<p>Muslim women identified barriers to citizenship that were not echoed by Christian women. Negative <a href="https://theconversation.com/hard-evidence-muslim-women-and-discrimination-in-britain-56446">stereotyping in the media and discrimination</a> in the workplace, in educational contexts, on city streets and public transport, affected Muslim women’s citizenship in negative ways. Their religious identities were questioned, their religious dress was ridiculed and their sense of belonging to society was undermined. </p>
<p>One woman recounted being met when at secondary school with reactions such as “Oh, so you are from al-Qaeda” and “Look out, she is going to plant a bomb”. These findings confirm other <a href="http://theconversation.com/hard-evidence-muslim-women-and-discrimination-in-britain-56446">recent studies</a> of the discrimination that Muslim women experience due to their religious identity. They feel that being a Muslim puts you in a position of disadvantage and marginalisation in relation to a majority society that is overwhelmingly either Christian or secular – and one that is rife with stereotyping and increasing Islamophobia as evidenced by <a href="http://tellmamauk.org">Tell Mama</a>.</p>
<h2>Risking division</h2>
<p>While discrimination may well emerge as a main finding from the <a href="http://mend.org.uk/citizens-uk-commission-on-islam-participation-and-public-life-holds-public-hearing-in-cardiff/">public hearings</a> being held by the Citizens UK’s Commission on Islam, the strong sense of shared values and collective purpose and the similar sensitivities towards civic responsibilities we found among both Christians and Muslims in our study might be overlooked.</p>
<p>The “Muslim other” is much more like the broader community in the UK than we might think – and if this point is missed, then political debates as well as governmental strategies (such as <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance">the Prevent agenda</a>) might well lead to further stigmatisation and alienation rather than to inclusion and cohesion. The “integration challenge” may not be as huge as some people want to suggest – whether for political reasons or just plain prejudice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58796/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Line Nyhagen has received funding from the European Commission's 6th Framework Programme (2007-2011).</span></em></p>The debate surrounding Muslims and citizenship entrenches discrimination.Line Nyhagen, Reader in Sociology, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/338692014-11-07T13:24:16Z2014-11-07T13:24:16ZHow activist groups became a force in workplace relations<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63849/original/xnzwtrzk-1415262918.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Groups like Stonewall have become big players in the workplace</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/paris_corrupted/4806226513/in/photolist-8jHaGn-oXykAz-oFkGip-oFjUaz-oXMYJC-oFkFKR-oVMU5J-oXPScD-oXPMyF-oFkE5M-oXykPR-oFkaib-oXPPze-oXyg8B-oFjVH4-oFkcjL-oXMYWm-oXMZAN-oXMXaq-oXMXVy-oFjYD4-oFkpQq-8fnSHT-oVMWVd-oXMWuN-8dFjam-a3fxL6-a3iz4o-a3iQzu-a3fHCB-dSD8c-2stds-8dC6vx-a3Zbfm-4uEiE2-a3ixKU-a3fy5v-a3fG9Z-a3fHP8-a3izHA-a3iuEq-a3fFwn-a3fGFB-a3fCX6-a3fG24-a3fyMc-a3iy6j-a3itDG-a3iyVE-a3iuAu">Linzi</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A key event in the British employment calendar is the publication of the <a href="http://www.stonewall.org.uk/at_work/stonewall_top_100_employers/default.asp?fontsize=large">Workplace Equality Index</a> each January. It is a ranking of the top-100 “gay-friendly” employers by Stonewall, the UK’s main campaigning organisation for lesbian, gay and bisexual people.</p>
<p>In a similar vein, campaigning by community network Citizens UK has helped bring to prominence the notion of the living wage – a wage calculated to provide a minimum decent standard of living to workers who receive it. The latter’s sister organisation, the Living Wage Foundation, operates a procedure through which more than 1000 employing organisations have been accredited as living wage employers.</p>
<p>Both are examples of civil society organisations’ growing role in employment relations. According to our research, <a href="http://eprints.port.ac.uk/5437/">there are</a> now about 400 such organisations trying to influence domestic employment in the UK. They usually rely on charitable donations and grants and sometimes also contracts with government to provide services to fund their activities. </p>
<p>They include advisory and advocacy organisations such as Citizens Advice; equality organisations such as Age UK, Action On Hearing Loss and Arthritis Care; and campaigning organisations concerned with single issues like safety at work or bullying. </p>
<h2>What they do</h2>
<p>Over the past three decades, British employment relations have become more complex and fragmented. Where once there were just trade unions there are now multiple channels of worker voice. Activist organisations form part of that by providing work-related services to individuals, helping to develop government policy and shaping employment practices beyond the letter of the law. </p>
<p>For workers, they provide information, advice and advocacy (some such as Citizens Advice concentrate on this kind of work). They also help workers find or retain work and build careers. For example Women in Film and Television <a href="http://www.wftv.org.uk/mentoring-scheme">offers</a> training, mentoring, networking and job-placement services. This is a different approach to trade unions, who would typically only support training within the employer organisation. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63851/original/wz4ss2cg-1415267054.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63851/original/wz4ss2cg-1415267054.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63851/original/wz4ss2cg-1415267054.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63851/original/wz4ss2cg-1415267054.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63851/original/wz4ss2cg-1415267054.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63851/original/wz4ss2cg-1415267054.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63851/original/wz4ss2cg-1415267054.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63851/original/wz4ss2cg-1415267054.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The alternative to union advice?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&searchterm=citizens%20advice&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=195347045">Duncan Andison</a></span>
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<p>In their dealings with the different branches of government, civil society groups sometimes seek to exert pressure through publicising an issue. But more frequently they behave as political insiders, responding to government requests for information and advice, serving on commissions and committees, and often receiving substantial funding to provide services or help implement policy. Much of this is of course equally true of trade unions, with whom these groups sometimes form alliances to secure particular changes to the law. </p>
<p>Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index is an example of an attempt to influence employment practices beyond the law. Groups try to influence employers in numerous ways – offering corporate membership or developing partnerships to promote particular initiatives. Cancer charity Macmillan has for instance <a href="http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinformation/Livingwithandaftercancer/Workandcancer/Workandcancer.aspx">worked with</a> the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development to promote good practice around workers with cancer.</p>
<p>Identifying good practice and enshrining it in voluntary codes, advice or standards is another common strategy – and was the most striking finding in our research. Groups offered things like training and consultancy, written guides, audit tools, benchmarking, award schemes and accreditation. </p>
<p>They sell these packages by strongly articulating the business case for diversity – tangible performance benefits, corporate reputation and so forth. And often they appear to have succeeded: employers have broadly embraced diversity management since the 1980s, and many want to develop positive “employer brands” through high-profile policies of corporate social responsibility. </p>
<h2>Why employment?</h2>
<p>There are several reasons why these groups have become more involved in employment issues. Most obviously, there has been an urgent need. Carers UK and Independent Age have, for instance, been drawn into campaigning on work-life balance because their constituents face major problems in combining paid employment with child and eldercare.</p>
<p>The rise of social activism since the 1960s has also played a part in making the likes of older people, GLBTI people, and more latterly faith groups more assertive. Activist groups saw an opportunity to help governments develop relevant policies and then to help employers interpret and implement the laws that emerged. The private voluntary regulation then uses the law as a base from which to further extend.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63852/original/bg3xqysw-1415267333.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63852/original/bg3xqysw-1415267333.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63852/original/bg3xqysw-1415267333.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63852/original/bg3xqysw-1415267333.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63852/original/bg3xqysw-1415267333.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63852/original/bg3xqysw-1415267333.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63852/original/bg3xqysw-1415267333.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63852/original/bg3xqysw-1415267333.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The rise of social activism has made such groups an inevitable workplace presence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&search_tracking_id=drz9KGOjMqBHM-tP8C2SAg&searchterm=social%20activism&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=146645084">Kunai Mehta</a></span>
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<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19521535">The decline of trade union membership and collective bargaining</a> in recent decades was also an opportunity. This has been particularly relevant to general advocacy groups such as Citizens Advice and groups whose campaign themes draw them to largely non-union sectors like construction – over migrant workers’ rights, for example. </p>
<p>Yet these organisations don’t only thrive where unions are absent. Many are most active in the heavily unionised public sector for precisely the same reasons as unions: the “good employer” tradition renders management receptive. And unions have also adapted to the rise of new social movements themselves, negotiating collective agreements that recognise equality in gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and so on. Partly for this reason, unions and civil society organisations commonly work jointly and often reinforce rather than replace one another.</p>
<h2>Pros and cons</h2>
<p>So how do civil society organisations fare in employment overall?
When it comes to representing individuals, they have the advantage of being attuned to the distinct needs of their constituents. But their main weakness is that generally they don’t have a presence at the workplace – unlike trade unions – which limits their ability to make decisive interventions. They also often only have modest resources to commit. </p>
<p>In these austerity years the government has been reluctant to introduce further labour market regulation. Many organisations’ dependence on state funding also risks pushing them to a more consensual or less controversial agenda than their constituents may require. </p>
<p>Activist groups’ efforts to develop private voluntary codes with employers are meanwhile susceptible to the same weaknesses as any voluntary regulation: the incentive to comply is <a href="http://www.ippr.org/publications/what-price-a-living-wage-understanding-the-impact-of-a-living-wage-on-firm-level-wage-bills">often</a> highly variable between employers and over time. The same is true with employers’ accreditation systems. Stonewall has developed audit methods to get around this difficulty, but it remains a potential weakness. </p>
<p>Finally there is a downside to how these groups work with trade unions. They commonly told us they had constructive relationships, but that is often where they are jointly lobbying for a policy. In other areas, the relationship <a href="http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/community-unionism-jo-mcbride/?K=9780230572508">has sometimes</a> been more fraught. Unions complain about civil society organisations dealing directly with employers “over the heads” of workers and their representatives, while civil society organisations counter that unions are neglecting the needs of their worker constituents. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63853/original/q7m4xrh2-1415267690.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63853/original/q7m4xrh2-1415267690.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63853/original/q7m4xrh2-1415267690.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63853/original/q7m4xrh2-1415267690.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63853/original/q7m4xrh2-1415267690.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63853/original/q7m4xrh2-1415267690.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63853/original/q7m4xrh2-1415267690.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63853/original/q7m4xrh2-1415267690.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Relations between activists and trade unions could be better.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?safesearch=1&search_type=keyword_search&extra_html=1&lang=en&language=en&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&use_local_boost=1&searchterm=trade%20union&show_color_wheel=1&media_type=images&page=1&sort_method=popular&inline=112197956">1000 Words</a></span>
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<p>To the extent the two sides can overcome their differences, they can help one another. To address the big problem of civil society organisations’ relative absence from the workplace, there may be scope for more joint work with unions focusing specifically on workplace activity. This could help ensure the activist campaigns, policies and codes are sustained over time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/33869/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Edmund Heery receives funding from Nuffield Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steve has received funding from the Nuffield Foundation.
</span></em></p>A key event in the British employment calendar is the publication of the Workplace Equality Index each January. It is a ranking of the top-100 “gay-friendly” employers by Stonewall, the UK’s main campaigning…Edmund Heery, Professor of Employment Relations, Cardiff UniversitySteve Williams, Reader in Employment Relations, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.