The Equality Unit currently consists of an Equality Coordinator, an Equality Officer and an Equality Administrator.

Who We Are

Dr Anne Basten is the Equality Coordinator for the HSC Agencies and Special Bodies.  Through both her work in an academic setting before joing the Unit (on urban policy issues in Northern Ireland and Scotland) and her current role she has gained extensive experience in the field of policy analysis and evaluation.  She has conducted in-depth interviews, focus groups and surveys with a wide range of stakeholders, including the community/voluntary, private, and statutory sector as well as the general public.  She recently has developed an extensive expertise in EQIAs, both in theory and practice.  Anne was one of the authors of the study on labour market inequalities for older people in Ireland in 2002 and the lead consultant for the review of the implementation of statutory equality duties in the Western Health and Social Services Board Area in 2003.

 

Sandra Calwell works as an Equality Officer for the Unit, with extensive experience in implementation of the statutory equality agenda through her previous work with the ambulance service, and her current post with the Equality Unit.  She has a thorough working knowledge of screening and carrying out Equality Impact Assessments, and practical experience of conducting research through facilitation of focus groups and conducting interviews with the public, private and voluntary sectors.  Sandra also has 7 years experience working in research and development in the telecommunications industry.  She has experience of designing and delivering training in Equality Awareness.  Sandra is currently leading on the development of a regional diversity e-learning package, in collaboration with HSC Boards, Trusts and Agencies.