The Institute is the professional body of equality, diversity and human rights practitioners. It is an independent body, run by practitioners for practitioners. Membership is open to practitioners with a professional role or active interest in the equality, diversity and human rights agenda.

The Institute promotes excellence in equality, diversity and human rights professional practice. Activities are funded by individual and corporate member subscriptions.

Definition of ‘Practitioner’

The definition of ‘practitioner’ is a broad one. It includes (but is not limited to):

• specialist practitioners who work in the sector, for example as employees, consultants, trainers and academics
• Board members with an equalities portfolio
• managers who must deliver equality and human rights outcomes as part of their main tasks
• unpaid volunteers who advise public, private and third sector businesses on delivering equality and human rights outcomes

Associate practitioner membership

Associate membership is available to all equality, diversity and human rights practitioners.

Full practitioner membership

Full membership of the Institute is open to all equality, diversity and human rights practitioners who demonstrate the required level of competency against the Institute’s assessment criteria. The competency standards are now in draft form and are expected to be in place later in 2010.

Click here to apply for associate or full membership

Corporate membership

Corporate membership is open to corporate bodies who wish to be associated with the Institute, and that wish to:

• develop their own corporate equality and diversity performance;
• enhance the learning tools available to their organisations;
• keep up-to-date with the latest equality and diversity thinking;
• be more able to demonstrate their organisation’s commitment to equality and diversity.

Click here to apply for corporate membership

Other classes of membership

Other classes of membership such as Affiliate or Fellow will be developed in due course.