Diversity, Equality and Inclusion

Himal Southasian Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Policy

Vision

To be an inclusive organisation which is fair and just, strives to remove discriminatory  barriers, and where everyone, regardless of their background, identity and circumstances, is respected, supported and engaged to be and do their best.

Principles

Himal Southasian strives to:

1. Encourage equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace in the pursuit of representative and progressive Southasian journalism

2. Foster a positive, affirmative and inclusive working environment for all members of the Himal Southasian team, whether in temporary, part-time or full-time positions

3. Prevent discrimination on the basis of:

• age
• sex
• gender identity
• disability
• race (including colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origin)
• caste
• class
• religion or beliefs
• sexual orientation
• pregnancy or parental status
• neurodiversity
• language

4. Enable fair work and remove discrimination in the areas of:

• code of conduct
• pay and financial benefits
• terms and conditions of employment
• dealing with grievances and discipline
• selection for employment, promotion, training or other developmental opportunities 

Inclusive Climate

To achieve a climate and culture that is inclusive for all our employees, we will:

• Ensure our organisational vision and strategies promote our DEI policy
• Publish our DEI policy and bring it to the attention of contributors and other stakeholders
• Seek a diversity of people of different gender identities, ethnic and national origins, religions and belief systems, sexual orientations, castes, classes, ages, disabilities, neurodiverse conditions and language backgrounds in the staffing, management and governance of the organisation
• Stipulate inclusive behaviours in employees’ code of conduct in connection to the DEI policy
• Conduct an annual review of the vision and principles of the DEI policy to raise awareness of inclusion issues and address issues as required

Diversity and Equality

To achieve inclusion for groups that face discrimination as specified in the principles, we will:

• Seek applications from and create opportunities for groups that are under-represented at different levels of the organisation 
• Only discuss criteria relevant to the job during selection and assessment processes
• Ensure maternity and paternity provisions are in accordance with Sri Lankan employment law and communicated to employees
• Support those with caring responsibilities
• Make reasonable accommodations to ensure disabled people are able to work in our organisation
• Not tolerate discrimination, harassment or victimisation in any form

Fair Practices

Our organisation is committed to:

• Establishing a fair wage structure and fair conditions and benefits for all employees that comply, as a minimum, with employment laws in Sri Lanka
• Ensuring there is equal pay for equal work of equal value for all employees
• Conducting fair and consistent annual appraisals for all employees to clarify job and behavioural expectations and to identify training and opportunities for their development
• Developing and communicating procedures for reporting grievances
• Promptly investigating grievances and taking disciplinary action where appropriate

Responsible Behaviours

All members of the Himal Southasian team personally commit to helping create an inclusive working environment and culture by:

Leaders and Managers:

• Acting as role models of inclusive behavior for all team members, contributors and stakeholders
• Promoting the contributions of team members of diverse abilities and work styles
• Making employees aware of any terms and conditions of employment that can remove barriers to their equal participation in the workforce
• Employing language, behaviours and ways of working that are respectful and empowering for everyone
• Making team members aware of the organisation’s grievance and disciplinary policies and procedures
• Following the organisation’s grievance and disciplinary policies and procedures
• Acting decisively when issues of discrimination, harassment and victimisation are raised
• Periodically reviewing organisational practices and procedures to ensure fairness, and updating them regularly to take account of any changes in legislation and in the organisation’s DEI policy

All Employees:

• Being familiar with, promoting and implementing the organisation’s inclusion policy
• Being familiar with the organisation’s grievance and disciplinary policies and procedures
• Showing consideration and respect toward all team members, and valuing contributions from all team members
• Challenging and reporting unacceptable behaviours
• Learning about the causes and impacts of discrimination for specific groups
• Ensuring all language and behaviour at work is respectful of and not discriminatory to any individual identities
• Not engaging in any behaviour that constitutes bullying, harassment or victimisation

Policy Implementation 

• Reviewing annually the need to collect data that will check and confirm progress with regard to the vision and principles of the DEI policy
• Reviewing annually all aspects of employees’ contracts/service agreements to update them in line with the DEI policy
• Reviewing annually how the DEI policy is being implemented in practice and updating it to ensure its effectiveness