Legal projects receive Scottish government equality funding

Alan Thornburrow

The Scottish Women’s Rights Centre and social enterprise JRS Knowhow will lead a learning programme on gender-based violence for professionals across the sector while neurodiversity charity Salvesen Mindroom Centre is partnering with Burness Paull and other employers on a pilot scheme promoting neuroinclusion at work.

The two schemes are among of 13 projects that successfully applied to the Scottish government’s Workplace Equality Fund.

The Scottish Women’s Rights Centre and JRS Knowhow will train 120 workplace advocates across a range of legal bodies on issues surrounding gender-based violence. Backed by the Law Society among other bodies they plan to support small, medium and large-scale operations across Scotland.

The Salvesen Mindroom Centre supports children, young people and families with learning difficulties, such as autism, ADHD and dyslexia, as well as training organisations to create more inclusive environments. It’s Neuroinclusion at Work programme involves major companies across a range of sectors, which will each pledge £5,000.

The pilot scheme with Burness Paull includes a suite of workplace training, best practice roundtables and development of resources to support more inclusive workplaces.

Katy Mathieson, co-ordinator at the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre, said: “Our team at the SWRC are delighted to welcome this funding from the Scottish government. The Workplace Equality Fund will be vital in advancing work in the prevention of sexual harassment in the legal sector.

“We are excited to add a specialised gender-based violence lens to the context of the legal profession - in a trauma informed and needs-centred way - as well as provide survivors with reassurance that we are actively working to tackle sexual harassment and violence in the legal sector.

“Collaboration and partnership are core to our work across the board in policy, training and communications, so going forward we hope to incorporate this into how we utilise this funding.”

Jen Ang, director at JRS Knowhow, said: “We know that sexual harassment is a problem in the legal sector globally, and Scotland is no exception. Together with the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre, we will develop workshops and training materials for anyone hoping to make the Scottish legal sector a more safe and inclusive environment.

“We aim to work with stakeholders to create resources that are trauma-informed and improve the understanding of how to recognise and redress sexual harassment in the workplace.”

Alan Thornburrow, chief executive at Salvesen Mindroom Centre, said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive this funding award. For some time now Salvesen Mindroom Centre has been in conversation with a range of forward-thinking employers about how they can fully support and develop a neurodiverse workforce.

“Simply put, workplaces that recognise, embrace and support neurodiversity will attract and retain the best employees.

“This WEF award will help us to work collaboratively with partners such as law firm Burness Paull, to develop a scalable programme of Neuroinclusion at Work: it’s the vital next step on the way to achieving equity in the workplace.”