CTDC | Centre for Transnational Development and Collaboration

Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Anti-Discrimination Policy

Effective Date: 15 December 2025

1. Preamble

The Centre for Transnational Development and Collaboration (CTDC) is committed to building organisational and learning environments where dignity, fairness, inclusion, and respect guide all interactions. CTDC partners with individuals and communities who often experience marginalisation, discrimination, and systemic inequality across social, political, economic, and institutional contexts.

CTDC holds a responsibility to ensure that its internal structures, educational practices, and external engagements do not replicate or reinforce harm, exclusion, or unequal power. This policy establishes CTDC’s commitments to preventing discrimination, addressing unequal treatment, and actively cultivating equitable and inclusive environments.

For UK-based employees, this policy is grounded in the Equality Act 2010. For all personnel, learners, and partners globally, it reflects CTDC’s organisational values of fairness, accountability, care, feminist ethics, and decolonial practice.

This policy operates alongside the Code of Conduct, Safeguarding Policy, Accessibility & Inclusion Policy, and the Complaints Response Mechanism (CRM).

2. Purpose of the Policy

The purpose of this policy is to:

Establish CTDC’s zero-tolerance stance toward discrimination, exclusion, and identity-based harm
Affirm CTDC’s commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion across all organisational and educational contexts
Define identity-based harms and unequal treatment, whether direct, indirect, structural, cultural, or interpersonal
Ensure all personnel, learners, partners, and community members experience safety, dignity, and belonging
Clarify expectations for behaviour, communication, facilitation, leadership, and decision-making
Provide clear and accessible processes for reporting and addressing discrimination or exclusion
Align CTDC with legal obligations while applying broader commitments to justice and accountability

3. Scope of Application

This policy applies to:

CTDC employees (UK-based and international)
Consultants, contractors, advisers, and associates
Volunteers, interns, fellows, and temporary staff
CTDC leadership and Board members
Partner organisations and project collaborators
Learners, community members, and programme participants

This policy governs conduct across:

Workplace and organisational interactions
Digital and virtual platforms
Research, fieldwork, and community-based environments
Teaching, training, facilitation, and events
Any setting connected to CTDC activities or representation

3.1 Protection and Inclusion within the CTDC Alumni Community

This policy applies fully to the CTDC Alumni Community Platform and associated learning networks, discussion spaces, and peer exchanges.

CTDC commits to ensuring that alumni spaces:

Remain safe, respectful, and free from discrimination, harassment, or exclusion
Are moderated in line with CTDC’s values of accountability, care, and justice
Provide clear reporting pathways for concerns arising within community spaces
Do not tolerate exploitation, professional gatekeeping, or misuse of power

Participation in alumni spaces is a privilege contingent upon adherence to CTDC policies and values.

4. CTDC’s Commitments (Equality, Diversity & Inclusion)

CTDC commits to:

Preventing all forms of discrimination, exclusion, harassment, and identity-based harm
Ensuring equal opportunity and equitable access, recognising that different people may require different forms of support
Actively valuing diversity of identity, experience, knowledge systems, and social location
Embedding inclusion, accessibility, and equity into recruitment, contracting, curriculum design, facilitation, performance, remuneration, and decision-making
Designing learning environments that are accessible, culturally responsive, neurodiversity-affirming, and politically contextualised
Providing accessible and trusted reporting channels and treating all concerns seriously
Maintaining transparency, confidentiality, procedural fairness, and care throughout complaints processes
Addressing both individual incidents and systemic or structural patterns of exclusion
Ensuring all personnel understand their responsibilities under this policy

4.1 Equality and Inclusion in Educational Design and Pedagogy

CTDC affirms that equality, diversity, and inclusion are core pedagogical commitments shaping the design, delivery, and evaluation of all CTDC Academy programmes. Educational practice is understood not as neutral, but as inherently political and relational.

CTDC commits to ensuring that all learning programmes, Practice Camps, workshops, and educational materials are:

Designed using inclusive, feminist, and justice-oriented pedagogical approaches
Context-responsive and attentive to global power asymmetries, including North–South, linguistic, economic, and epistemic inequalities
Structured to accommodate different learning styles, cognitive processing needs, and levels of prior access to formal education
Delivered in ways that actively minimise exclusion, intimidation, or gatekeeping within learning spaces

Educational authority, facilitation, and assessment practices must not reproduce hierarchy, elitism, or epistemic domination.

4.2 Linguistic Equity and Multilingual Access

Recognising language as a key axis of inclusion and exclusion, CTDC commits to linguistic equity across its educational and organisational activities.

In line with CTDC Academy’s bilingual delivery model, CTDC will:

Provide learning opportunities in more than one language where feasible, including English and Arabic cohorts
Recognise linguistic labour and avoid privileging native-speaker norms as markers of competence or authority
Ensure that translation, interpretation, and language accessibility are treated as core inclusion practices rather than auxiliary services
Avoid penalising participants, learners, or staff for accent, fluency, or non-standard language use

Linguistic diversity is recognised as an asset rather than a deficit within CTDC learning environments.

4.3 Economic Accessibility and Anti-Elitism in Learning Access

CTDC acknowledges that economic inequality is a structural barrier to participation in professional and academic learning spaces.

In alignment with the CTDC Academy model, CTDC commits to:

Maintaining subsidised or reduced-fee access pathways for learners facing financial barriers
Ensuring that pricing structures do not implicitly exclude participants from the Global South, marginalised communities, or precarious professional contexts
Applying transparent and fair criteria for subsidised access, grounded in need, relevance, and commitment rather than prestige or institutional affiliation
Actively resisting elitist models of professional education that reproduce class-based exclusion

Economic accessibility is treated as an equality issue, not a charitable add-on.

4.4 Inclusive Digital and Online Learning Environments

CTDC commits to ensuring that all digital learning environments associated with CTDC Academy uphold equality, dignity, and inclusion.

This includes:

Designing online platforms that are accessible to disabled and neurodivergent learners
Establishing clear norms for respectful engagement, participation, and discussion in virtual spaces
Preventing online harassment, exclusion, silencing, or intimidation within learning cohorts or community platforms
Applying this Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Anti-Discrimination Policy fully to digital classrooms, alumni platforms, and online community spaces

Digital learning spaces are governed by the same standards of care, accountability, and respect as in-person environments.

4.5 Ethical Use of Data and Personal Information in Equality Practices

CTDC recognises that data related to identity, background, and personal circumstances can be sensitive and potentially harmful if misused.

In collecting information through CTDC Academy registration and engagement processes, CTDC commits to:

Using personal data solely to improve accessibility, inclusion, and learning relevance
Avoiding profiling, stereotyping, or exclusion based on disclosed information
Ensuring confidentiality and ethical handling of identity-related data
Never using equality-related information to disadvantage participants

Equality-driven data collection is guided by care, consent, and purpose limitation.

These commitments are implemented in alignment with CTDC’s Data Protection and Responsible AI Use Policies, ensuring ethical data handling, informed consent, and protection against profiling or automation-related harm.

5. Definitions: Equality, Diversity, Inclusion, and Discrimination

Equality

Equality refers to ensuring fair treatment, access, and opportunity for all individuals. CTDC recognises that equality does not mean treating everyone the same, but rather addressing structural and contextual barriers that create disadvantage.

Diversity

Diversity recognises the presence and value of difference, including but not limited to identity, culture, language, gender, disability, class, belief, and lived experience. CTDC understands diversity as shaped by history, power, colonialism, and patriarchy.

Inclusion

Inclusion refers to the active, ongoing practice of creating environments where people feel respected, valued, and able to participate meaningfully without fear of marginalisation, silencing, or harm.

Discrimination

CTDC defines discrimination as any behaviour, practice, decision, or structural condition that results in unfair, harmful, or unequal treatment of individuals or groups based on identity or social position.

Discrimination may be:

Direct — overt unequal treatment
Indirect — policies or practices that disproportionately disadvantage a group
Interpersonal — harmful interactions between individuals
Structural — embedded inequities in systems, norms, or processes
Cultural — assumptions, narratives, or norms that marginalise groups
Intersectional — overlapping and compounding forms of harm

Examples include:

Exclusion from opportunities or learning spaces
Harassment or unwanted behaviour
Derogatory or demeaning language
Inequitable workloads, pay, or access
Stereotyping or identity-based assumptions
Microaggressions and cumulative harm
Retaliation after raising concerns
Erasure or invalidation of lived experience

6. Protected and Relevant Characteristics

CTDC defines discrimination as any behaviour, practice, decision, pattern, or institutional process that harms, excludes, marginalises, or treats individuals or groups unfairly based on actual or perceived identity characteristics.

Discrimination may occur openly, subtly, or structurally; through speech, actions, policies, or omissions; and may be intentional or unintentional. It may also manifest through harassment, exploitation, bullying, assault, or exclusion from opportunities and resources.

In alignment with the Equality Act 2010 (UK), international labour standards, and CTDC’s political commitments, discrimination includes harm based on the following protected or relevant characteristics:

6.1 Race, Ethnicity, Colour, and Language

CTDC prohibits all forms of racialised harm, including:

Stereotyping, shaming, or demeaning cultural or ethnic practices
Exclusion from opportunities or decision-making based on race or ethnicity
Xenophobic or racist comments, jokes, slurs, or insinuations
Linguistic discrimination, including devaluing accents, dialects, or fluency
Unequal treatment of migrant, minority, or non-native-language-speaking communities

In line with the Equality Act 2010, race includes colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origins.

6.2 Age

Age-based discrimination may affect younger or older individuals and includes:

Exclusion based on assumptions about age
Infantilising or dismissing expertise
Age-based stereotyping (“too old” or “too young”)

6.3 Disability (Physical, Mental, Sensory, Neurodivergent)

CTDC commits to accessibility and reasonable adjustments for disabled and neurodivergent people, including those with:

Physical or mobility impairments
Visual, hearing, or sensory disabilities
Mental health conditions
Neurological or cognitive differences

Examples include derogatory language, failure to provide reasonable adjustments, or exclusion from leadership or decision-making. UK-based employees may request reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010.

6.4 Religion, Faith, Belief, and Political Ideology

Including hostility, mockery, exclusion due to observance, or denial of reasonable accommodations.

6.5 Gender and Sex

CTDC rejects patriarchal, sexist, and heteronormative discrimination, including misogyny, gender stereotyping, sexualised behaviour, and exclusion of gender-diverse people.

6.6 Sexual Orientation

Including homophobia, erasure, coercive questioning, or heteronormative assumptions.

6.7 Social, Economic, and Political Class

Including class-based stigma, exclusion, or devaluation of working-class backgrounds.

6.8 Relationship Status, Family Responsibilities, and Caring Duties

Including penalising carers, stigma toward non-normative family structures, or exclusion of breastfeeding parents.

6.9 Nationality, Citizenship, and Immigration Status

Including xenophobia, exploitation, exclusion, or devaluation of non-Western expertise.

6.10 Physical Appearance, Dress, and Embodiment

Including fatphobia, body policing, appearance-based shaming, or hostility toward cultural or religious dress.

Gender Identity and Expression

Including misgendering, refusal to use correct pronouns, invasive questioning, or exclusion related to trans or gender-nonconforming identities.

Other Forms of Identity-Based Harm

Including caste-based discrimination, colourism, anti-Blackness, anti-Roma discrimination, language-based exclusion, and stigma related to illness or mental health.

CTDC applies these protections in all contexts involving the use of personal data or AI technologies, in accordance with its organisational data protection and AI governance policies.

7. Prohibited Behaviours

Examples include:

Discriminatory remarks or behaviour
Harassment, bullying, or intimidation
Refusal to use a person’s stated name or pronouns
Exclusion from meetings, communication, or opportunities
Inequitable workloads or role assignments
Identity-based stereotyping or assumptions
“Jokes” or “banter” rooted in harmful stereotypes
Retaliation against individuals who report concerns
Dismissing or minimising harm raised by marginalised individuals
Systemic or repeated microaggressions

7.1 Equality in Participation, Facilitation, and Learning Dynamics

Within CTDC Academy and other educational contexts, discriminatory behaviour includes, but is not limited to:

Dominating discussions in ways that silence or marginalise others
Dismissing lived experience, particularly from marginalised participants, as anecdotal or unprofessional
Using academic, technical, or institutional status to undermine others’ contributions
Reinforcing gendered, racialised, class-based, or colonial hierarchies of knowledge
Penalising participants for emotional expression, reflective learning styles, or non-linear knowledge practices

Such behaviours are considered breaches of this policy even when framed as “rigour”, “debate”, or “professional standards”.

8. Policy Breaches

Any discriminatory behaviour, regardless of intent, constitutes a breach of this policy and may trigger:

The Complaints Response Mechanism (CRM)
The Safeguarding Policy
Disciplinary procedures for employees
Contract review or termination for consultants
Legal obligations under UK law

Possible outcomes include warnings, mandatory training, role restrictions, termination, or escalation to legal authorities where required.

9. Responsibilities of Personnel

All personnel must:

Treat others with dignity and respect
Avoid discriminatory conduct
Challenge harm where it is safe to do so
Report concerns through appropriate channels
Participate in required training
Uphold CTDC’s values of fairness, accountability, and care

Managers hold additional responsibility to ensure equitable environments and to intervene early where concerns arise.

10. Reporting and Complaints

Reports may be made through:

CTDC’s Complaints Response Mechanism (CRM)
Line managers
Senior leadership
Safeguarding leads
Anonymous reporting channels where available

All reports are handled confidentially, seriously, and in accordance with CTDC policies.

11. Investigation and Response

All investigations follow the Complaints Response Mechanism (CRM) process:

Documentation
Acknowledgement
Risk assessment
Support provision
Investigation
Findings
Action
Closure and organisational learning

12. Protection From Retaliation

Retaliation against complainants, witnesses, or those supporting a report is strictly prohibited and constitutes a serious breach of this policy.

13. Training and Awareness

CTDC provides regular training on:

Equality, diversity, and anti-discrimination
Bias, power, and structural inequality
Inclusive and accessible practice
Respectful communication and conduct

Participation in required training is mandatory.

14. Monitoring and Review

This policy is reviewed every two years, or earlier if required due to legal, organisational, or contextual developments.

15. Legal and Organisational Alignment

This policy is aligned with the UK Equality Act 2010, international labour and human rights standards, and CTDC’s organisational policies on safeguarding, data protection, privacy, and ethical AI use.

Together, these frameworks uphold CTDC’s commitments to equity, care, and justice across all areas of work and learning.

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