Det er nok mye vi trenger å vite som vi ikke vet at vi trenger å vite (ref. kommunal leder). En kvalitativ undersøkelse av offentlig tjenesteutøveres håndtering av likestillingsplikten og møter med skeive tjenestemottakere i Agder.

This research project aimed to examine how the public sector and public services work through the Equality Duty to ensure equality and prevent discrimination and harassment in their service delivery, with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ issues. The main research questions we sought to answer were: • How well known is the Equality Duty among municipal employees with managerial responsibilities, and how is the duty addressed at operational and managerial levels in municipalities in Agder? • How are LGBTQ+ service users met in municipal services, and how do employees handle various situations that may arise related to sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression? To answer these research questions, we conducted interviews with municipal leaders/HR leaders and service-level managers. We used semi-structured interviews, and to gain insight into how municipal employees think and act in situations involving LGBTQ+ matters, we used vignettes. We interviewed 25 informants across four municipal service areas in eight municipalities. This is sufficient to establish some overarching findings, but at the service level the data foundation is small, and we therefore recommend following this up as a separate, expanded project. Nevertheless, responses from the different services were largely consistent and thus provide clear indications of how situations involving LGBTQ+ issues are approached within the services. For those who wish to see a detailed presentation of the service-level data, see Chapter 6. The main finding from interviews with municipal leaders is that there appears to be little or no knowledge of the Equality Duty. Among leaders at the highest administrative levels in larger municipalities, the duty may be known—often due to information or training from central authorities. Participants frequently associated the duty with the Activity and Reporting Duty (ARP) and employer obligations, which seem to be more familiar and established among leaders. Our findings also suggest that there are few, if any, plans for service delivery in which the Equality Duty is incorporated. However, informants expressed that the principles underlying the Equality Duty align well with the values of the organization and services more generally. They also highlighted that, in their work, the principles of the duty are upheld through the professional competence gained from their professional education. It is important to note, however, that several informants pointed out that gender and sexual diversity and discrimination have received little attention in their education. Across all four municipal service areas included in the study—health and care services (represented by substance abuse and psychiatric services and elderly care), kindergartens, and child welfare services—informants reported lacking competence related to gender and sexual diversity. They expressed a need for more systematic competence-building on these topics, and when asked where such training should come from, some believed it should be initiated by municipal leadership or other state-level bodies. Responses to our vignettes, which illustrated hypothetical events involving LGBTQ+ issues, may indicate a sense of uncertainty regarding how to handle LGBTQ+ service users, something that can result in very different practices and create a risk of discrimination. Although the informants demonstrated a strong willingness to create inclusive practices, they lack tools for handling situations that may arise. Unclear guidelines and uncertainty among employees about confronting colleagues’ attitudes also appear to constitute significant barriers.