Our statement
The British Medical Association (BMA) stands firmly against all forms of discrimination and prejudice. We believe in dignity and respect for all individuals, regardless of their personal characteristics and circumstances.
We commit, as a trade union and a professional association to tackling all forms of discrimination, by taking an anti-discrimination approach to every aspect of our work.
An anti-discrimination approach is based on the principles of an anti-racism approach, which means taking action to seek out and dismantle all forms of structural racism. This is different to a ‘neutral’ or passive non-racist approach where an organisation’s baseline position is the assumption that there is no racism in its systemic structures and policies, nor in people’s behaviours and actions. This approach focuses on addressing structural issues, not just individual behaviours, and it is pre-emptive as well as reactive.
We commit to applying the principles of an anti-racist approach to tackling all forms of discrimination.
This statement encompasses all forms of discrimination, but it is essential for us to understand and learn that all forms of discrimination are not the same, they do not manifest in the same way and therefore any actions to address them must be targeted. We endeavour to understand, challenge and address all forms of discrimination.
This work is intersectional, to accurately reflect the experiences of all doctors and medical students as well as BMA staff, who do not necessarily experience discrimination based on only one personal characteristic. We acknowledge that the way discrimination manifests and how individuals experience its effects are varied and diverse, and we commit to addressing them comprehensively.
We commit to actively and determinedly seek out discriminatory policies, practices and behaviours with the intention of challenging them.
We commit to implementing measures to address the causes of discrimination, and to being transparent and accountable in how we make progress.
We recognise the need for an organisational culture of humility, to admit when we get things wrong and to strive to do better in the future through truly listening to the people who are affected by our actions.
These commitments extend to all our activities, including representing and negotiating on behalf of all doctors and medical students in the UK, advocating for outstanding healthcare and a healthy population, providing members with high quality services and tailored support to meet their needs, throughout their working lives, and in our corporate structures.
We call on all members of the health and social care workforce, including medical students, doctors, all healthcare professionals, managers and policymakers, to join us in this commitment. Our goal is to create an inclusive and anti-discriminatory environment, where every person in the UK receives equitable access to, experiences of, and outcomes from healthcare, and medical professionals can thrive and succeed in the workplace regardless of their personal characteristics and circumstances.
What does this statement cover?
This statement covers all types of discrimination. In this context that means broader than legal definitions with contextual consideration for the impact on individuals and groups. Contextual consideration includes some level of critical assessment of the wider political, structural, historical and geographical context as relevant to individual and collective impact.
Below is a non-exhaustive list of types of discrimination that fall into the frame of this statement – with the caveat that terminology is fluid and often interpreted differently by individuals:
- Ableism
- Anti-Black racism
- Antisemitism
- Classism
- Disability discrimination
- Homophobia
- Islamophobia
- Negative impact on mental health because of discrimination
- Racism
- Religious discrimination
- Sexism
- Transphobia
- Xenophobia
Why is this important?
The BMA is a professional association and trade union representing over half of all doctors in the UK. As an organisation, we also work at an international level to support the global medical community, campaign on key issues around global health and advocate for the highest standards of human rights in healthcare both for doctors and patients across the world.
The medical profession is increasingly diverse. We support all endeavours to review the rigid structures of medical education, training and workforce environments to adapt for the purpose of retaining our talented and diverse workforce. This will be achieved by advocating for policies and practices that dismantle systemic discrimination, both within the BMA and the wider healthcare system. This includes taking an anti-racist (anti-discrimination) approach to addressing all systemic discrimination. Our report, Why are we still here? The factors still affecting the progression of ethnic minority doctors in the UK, states that ‘Anti-racist action requires us to understand how it is perpetuated and disrupt the root cause.’
As healthcare professionals, we recognise that unlawful discrimination can have profoundly negative impact on an individual’s mental and physical health.
For those using health and care services, these forms of discrimination can also result in disparities in access to quality care, contribute to health inequalities, and undermine trust in the medical profession.
The BMA is dedicated to fostering an inclusive and respectful environment, where all members and staff of the BMA, medical professionals and colleagues in the health and social care sector, regardless of their background, are treated with dignity and respect. We actively promote diversity in medical education, training, and leadership positions, recognising that a diverse workforce enhances patient care, encourages innovation, and fosters a deeper understanding of the diverse needs and experiences of patients. Likewise, we are actively working to increase the diversity of the BMA’s staff so that they are more representative of the BMA’s membership.
The BMA encourages ongoing education and training for all healthcare professionals and BMA staff to raise awareness about all forms of discrimination that cause harm. By equipping ourselves with knowledge and understanding, we can better recognise and challenge instances of bias and discrimination within our profession, working towards a healthcare system that truly embraces equality and justice.
How will we get there?
Taking an anti-discrimination approach is a journey not a destination. We acknowledge that there are areas where there have been gaps in our approach. As a union and professional association, we endeavour to listen to our diverse membership and staff, and it is through our engagement with our staff, our members, the wider medical profession, patients and public, that we gain a better understanding of the areas where we must make improvements.
In addition, actively listening to people who have the personal characteristics or circumstances of the groups that we know to have disproportionately negative outcomes, are marginalised and unheard is essential to give us the insight we need to seek out discriminatory practices. We will continue to engage with individuals and organisations who represent the views of those groups.
This statement sets an intention for an approach to anti-discrimination. We will engage with members and staff to build an awareness of this statement, stimulate discussion about what it means to have an anti-discrimination approach to our work and we will continuously question how we are progressing towards embedding this approach to become business as usual in all our activities.
More about our work
We have an ongoing, adaptable programme of work on equality, diversity and inclusion, highlights of which can be seen on our communications channels and by engagement through our representative structures.
More information on the BMA’s EDI work is set out in our corporate equality, diversity and inclusion strategy, our EDI webpages and our equality inclusion and culture policy pages.
Our corporate EDI team manages the BMA’s corporate commitment to EDI and promotes our internal commitment to an organisational culture that actively values and promotes EDI, can also be contacted at [email protected].
Our EIC policy team delivers the BMA’s external policy on equality, inclusion and workplace culture issues in England, and provides advice on all policy-specific equality and inclusion matters across the devolved nations. Please email [email protected] for more information about our equalities policy work.
All four countries in the UK have unique equality, diversity and inclusion considerations, for example issues around minority languages, and unique religious and political contexts. BMA Scotland, BMA Northern Ireland and BMA Cymru Wales each lead their equality, diversity and inclusion work at the national level.
Anti-discrimination activities are not limited to the work of these teams, and is present across all areas of the BMA. Some examples our work across the BMA are:
- The Less Than Full-time Training (LTFT) Forum and guidance on flexible training.
- Supporting organisations that address health inequalities through our BMA Giving programme.
- The Doctor magazine, raising awareness and reducing stigma and stereotypes, with features such as articles with autistic doctors and featuring LGBTQ+ pioneers.
- Written and oral evidence to the Covid-19 Inquiry about the disproportionate impact on doctors from ethnic minority backgrounds, with long-term health conditions and disabled people.
- Consultants contract pay negotiations to reduce the gender pay gap.
- Member Relations managing conversations at Local Negotiating Committees (LNCs) about the BMA’s Ending Sexism in Medicine Pledge and the NHSE Sexual Safety Charter.
- A toolkit for clinicians on how to reduce health inequalities.
- The BMA Scottish Race Equality Forum has formed a working coalition with the GMC and Scottish government.