International perspectives on positive action measures - European ...

innovative programmes, and at the
same time they were rather reluctant
to support existing services (for example,
Roma health assistants or Roma
teaching assistants).
As was seen in Hungary, attitudes of
the majority population towards the
4.6. Summary
Roma population have not helped to
foster positive relations between them.
Roma clients have often been blamed
for not wanting to collaborate with
service providers who have been quick
to label Roma as unreliable. A number
of well-intended programmes were
blocked by a very high level of rejection
4. Perceptions of positive action in the Europe Union
of the majority population in Slovakia.
This was notably most visible at a local
level, where the actions of a mayor
or an NGO have been opposed by the
local non-Roma population. However,
even at the national level, there is evidence
of low levels of political will to
engage effectively in Roma issues.
The comparative analysis of positive action as understood and implemented within the European Union has highlighted
a number of significant issues. To varying degrees, positive action has been welcomed as an effective means of
redressing disadvantage suffered by specific groups within society. Participants from many countries were opposed to
the prospect of preferential treatment and the notion had clearly caused resentment and hostility, rightly or wrongly,
towards the use of positive action initiatives. For those who were supposed to benefit from positive action, the perception
that they were being given an unfair advantage was also a cause for concern. In response to these kinds of tensions
some countries, such as Austria and the Netherlands, emphasised the importance of positive action measures
as part of a broader equality strategy rather than as a stand-alone measure.
Across the eight countries, positive action measures in existence tended to focus upon providing training and improving
employment opportunities rather than service delivery. In terms of outcomes, disabled people, women and
minority ethnic groups appear to have benefited the most from positive action, with legislation and social attitudes
playing an important role in promoting initiatives to benefit these groups. Increasingly though, in countries facing
demographic change, there were strong financial pressures and policy drivers forcing organisations to modify the way
in which they recruited staff and delivered services. In the case of some groups, this was helped by the availability of
grants but, generally, limited resources constitute a major barrier to implementation.
Despite support for positive action measures, progress in this area has been hindered by failure amongst organisations
to collect information to inform further work. For example, the fact that not all organisations are monitoring
their workforce by the different discrimination grounds means that the evidence base to underpin any strategy will
be weak. This is not helped by the fact that, as we have seen with grounds such as disability and sexual orientation,
some individuals might not be willing to disclose information in an environment where they might be subjected to
discrimination and made to feel different. This inability to collect and monitor data systematically was also noticeable
amongst organisations in which positive action schemes were operational. As a result of this, although organisations
were clear about the outcome measures needed for the success of their project, most of them were unable to provide
any quantitative evidence to reflect the level or indeed lack of progress made. Instead, organisations tended to rely
upon ‘soft’ measures, which indicated a general sense of improvement, greater sensitivity towards the needs of marginalised
groups and improved understanding of difference.
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