By Cheryl Madden – Organisational Development and Learning Consultant, and Chair of GC’s Health & Wellbeing EDI Network
During National Inclusion Week, it was a great opportunity to celebrate some of the positive work taking place at GC. I’m proud to work for an organisation where I can be myself, feel like I belong and get the support I need.
On Wednesday 27th September I joined Carla Nuttall – Executive Director of Corporate Affairs and Marketing & Chair of GC’s EDI Steering Committee and Billie Kemp – Partnership and Integration Manager, Restart - South Yorkshire & Co-chair of GC's LGBTQ+ Network, to host GC’s ‘Lunch and learn’: Let's talk about inclusion session. Thank you to the 150 colleagues who also joined this virtual event.
During the session we focused on dignity at work and inclusion in the workplace and it was really refreshing to see so many people engaging with the content. It’s everyone's collective responsibility from the top-down to create an inclusive culture. And one of the biggest ways an organisation can do this is by encouraging everyone to become an ally.
I'd like to walk you thorough some of the topics and the content which were presented and discussed.
Dignity at Work
Billie provided insight in how to recognise unacceptable behaviour in the workplace – and importantly – how to respond to it, and provided some practical examples. They included some ‘top tips’ on how you can navigate this interaction and how to report it. GC maintains a ‘Discrimination Tracker Report’ and Billie walked us some through of the key outcomes from this insight.
Billie also provided some advice on how to seek emotional support and how we can continue to create an inclusive culture – emphasising the importance of allyship.
Watch the video below to hear from Billie. You can also read GC’s Dignity at Work Policy and Dignity at Work Charter:
Our Annual Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Statistics
Carla talked us through our EDI performance headlines and highlighted our many EDI Accreditations and the Charters we’ve signed-up to here at GC.
Importantly, she signposted how you can get involved in GC’s EDI activities and how to join one of our EDI Networks. Billie gave us an overview of some of our LGBTQ+ Network's recent and upcoming activities – to give colleagues a flavour of the types of things and areas where they can provide support.
Watch the video below to hear from Carla and Billie:
Answers to some questions from our colleagues (including updates from two of our EDI Networks)
At the end of the session, I fed back with responses to some of the questions colleagues had asked during the call. This included an explanation on what ‘micro aggressions’ are, where you can find GC’s Dignity at Work Policy and Charter, and confirmation that our EDI accreditations are applicable to all sites across GC.
We also addressed that some activity is still to come – including taking a look at our EDI statistics and how they compare to the communities we serve and consider, plus how we can share some of the trends around any EDI queries and complaints we receive from our customers.
In this section, I also give a quick update on the activities taking place in the Health & Wellbeing EDI Network, which I chair, and Naomi Ilagoswa shared the latest activities from the Parents & Carers Network which she co-chairs.
Our commitment to you remains clear – at GC, we strive to create a more inclusive culture and diverse workforce. We’re always committed to providing equality of opportunity to all of our colleagues. All of our networks meet regularly and mainly online. They enable sharing personal experiences in a safe space whilst promoting diversity and inclusive practices across GC. By raising awareness of various issues they bring to light any areas of inequality that need to be addressed.
There are other benefits of joining our EDI networks. In addition to peer-to-peer support they’re also great opportunity to meet new people from across our business and be involved in the various activities and campaigns throughout the year – many of which can help develop your skills and build your confidence.
If you are interested in joining a network please fill in this form and send it to edi@growthco.uk. You can find out more about GC’s commitment to EDI on Our Working Way.
You can also view the slides form the 'Lunch and learn’: Let's talk about inclusion session here.
Also checkout our brand new 'Allyship session' will walk you through the purpose and importance of ally support, both in the workplace and in everyday life. You'll learn about:
- The concept of Equity, Equality and Privilege
- What Allyship is and why it matters
- How to use your privilege to be an Ally
- The roles Allies play
- How to call in and call out non-inclusive behaviour when you encounter it
Bookings for the training are open now for everyone and can be made via the PAL Learning Calendar (make sure you're logged into PAL before clicking this link).
You can also book onto the Let’s Talk Inclusion training for managers.