Age & Religion

• Dorset has a much greater proportion (29%) of the population aged 65 and over than England and Wales (19%)¹.
• Some of the former districts have almost one in three residents 65 and over¹.
• The five major non-Christian world religions Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and Sikhism constitute 1% of Dorset's residents' religious beliefs².
• Dorset’s main non-Christian religious groups are concentrated in Dorset’s towns. Weymouth has just over 300 residents of Muslim faith. There are also concentrations around military establishments such as Blandford Camp where the Gurkha’s and their families live who are predominantly Hindu in their religious belief².

Please note: Robust statistical data at a Local Authority level on Sexual Orientation and Gender Reassignment does not currently exist apart from data on couples living in a same sex relationship from the Census 2011 (see Headline Figures).

Ethnically Diverse Communities

• Dorset has much lower levels (4.4%) of ethnically diverse residents residents than the country as a whole (19.5%)².
• The highest proportion (41%) of Dorset’s ethnically diverse population are classified as 'White Other'². This classification includes people who identify as white but who do not have UK national identity (English, Welsh Scottish, Northern Irish and British). An example would be Polish or Irish.

Disability

• One in five of Dorset's population consider that they have a long term health problem or disability².
• Another method for looking at the number of residents with a disability is to consider those claiming either Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independance Payments or Attendance Allowance. 15% of Dorset’s residents claim a disability benefit compared to 13% in England³.

What are we doing about it?

The council is committed to equality of opportunity, promoting diversity and eliminating discrimination. The recognition and respect of differences, and appreciating different perspectives along with the valuable benefits they can bring to society is fundamental.

We believe that people have a fundamental right to fair treatment regardless of their age, disability, ethnicity or race, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief. We aim to support diversity by the way we deliver our services, employ people and in our role as community leaders.

We undertake research with residents to identify needs, so that, if necessary, we can tailor services to meet those needs. We also publish workforce profiles which provide an accurate picture of the makeup of the workforce within each local authority. It allows us to consider how our activities as employers affect our staff with different protected characteristics. It also enables us to identify future work which will assist us in continuing to support our employees.