Welcome to the gender page of the NHS North East staff networks website. This is an innovative web page that has been developed to support staff wherever they work in the local NHS. We hope you will find this page useful as it grows and develops.

The NHS in the north east is committed to celebrating the equality and diversity of our staff and patients. As public bodies every individual NHS organisation has a legal duty to ensure that, wherever possible, all people can use or receive our services to the same standards regardless of race, disability, gender, age, religion or belief, or sexual orientation. As an employer we also have had a legal duty to ensure that all people have equality of opportunity to be considered for employment, training and promotion. We must demonstrate how we will promote equality and address the inequality, disadvantage and discrimination that people may face during their lives. This site is just one way in which we are actively working to promote equality and address inequality.

This section of the website is still to be developed once we have feedback from staff about what content this page should contain. We hope to get this feedback through the establishment of staff network groups which are linked to the gender of staff.

Staff network groups provide an opportunity for staff who share one of more aspects of their identity such as their gender, sexual orientation, race and disability status, to communicate, network, meet and support each other. We are currently exploring whether there is interest from staff in the creation of a womans’ staff network group and/or a mens’ staff network group.

This website has been developed to support staff in all of the NHS organisations in the north east of England. The site has been developed by the equality, diversity and human rights leads from these organisations, and is funded by the North East Strategic Health Authority.

If you are keen to see the creation of a womans’ staff network group and/or a mens’ staff network group, or if you have any questions please contact staffnetwork@northeast.nhs.uk