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I am a civil servant

Race and ethnicity

Different backgrounds, experiences and points of view bring positive benefits to our teams and the work they produce.

What you can do

Show respect:

• Treat everyone with dignity and respect.
• Ask colleagues how they would like to be addressed, and how to pronounce/spell their names if unsure.
• Respect the beliefs of others about food, dress and social etiquette, and do not behave in ways which could cause offence.
• Don't assume that treating everyone in the same way is the same thing as treating everyone fairly.

Keep an open mind:

• Communicate openly with each other.
• We can all learn from each other and our different backgrounds and experiences.
• Acknowledge and guard against your own prejudices, we all have them.

Racial, cultural and ethnic identity is often, but not always, closely related with religion/faith, and we should remember this when working with colleagues from different backgrounds.