The main aim of the Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Steering Group is to foster an inclusive organisational culture for our existing and potential employees, where people feel valued and respected regardless of backgrounds, experiences and identities.
To help us do this and make meaningful change we are introducing EDI networks which will make up the EDI Steering Group. Each network has a lead to take ownership of the network action plan with a budget to help drive actions forward reporting to the EDI Board, including myself as the EDI SMT Sponsor and Vanda Murray as the EDI Board Sponsor, each month to make sure there is a cohesive approach. Meet the EDI network leads:
Anna Carson-Parker, Global Scale Up Programme Manager, GC Business Growth Hub and Gary Beasley, Integration Coordinator, GC Employment.
Anna and Gary lead the LGBTQ+ network (better name on its way) and the key objectives of this network are education, bringing people together and supporting the organisation to be a truly inclusive organisation. Open to everyone, this network will work across group and externally to celebrate all things LGBTQ+.
Matthew Richardson, Senior Business Advisor, GC Business Growth Hub.
Lead for the Age network which will be supporting all ages with particular interest on 16-25 and 50+ categories. We will be improving our people strategy both internally at GC and externally when working with clients, to help create opportunities through skills, training and employment alongside the transition phases of moving in and out of the labour market. This will include sharing best practice on volunteering, community and staff engagement, upskilling, mentoring and wellbeing (working closely with the health and wellbeing network).
Naomi Ilagoswa, Head of Strategic Partnerships & External Projects, GC Employment
Leading the Parents and Carers network, whose aim is to ensure parents and carers in GC are supported to manage their career and caring responsibilities.
Nisa Ahmad, Project Manager, GC Business Growth Hub
The Race and Religion network aims to introduce a series of initiatives (Two-way mentoring, Race at Work Charter, training, monitoring data, reviewing policies and others in development) that will promote and increase diversity within the Growth Company from a black, Asian and minority ethnic perspective. This network will also raise awareness via a knowledge sharing campaign and also celebrate key events and festivals throughout the year.
Shah Rahman, NCS Lead Advisor, GC Employment
Shah will be leading the Health and Wellbeing network to help create a fully inclusive approach to wellbeing at the Growth Company. There will be a focus on Neuro-Diversity, Disability, health and mental health as part of the action plan.
Last but not least, I will be leading on the Women network as it will be important for this to span over all the networks ensuring equality and equal opportunities. Keep eyes peeled for updates from each network and the launch of their names.
We are looking for more members to join the networks and help us create a more inclusive culture and diverse workforce. If you would like to get involved you can get in touch with the network leads or email EDI@growthco.uk.
As well as active members we will also need allies to support activities for each network. An ally is someone who is not a member of a network but who takes action to support that group. It’s up to people who hold positions of privilege to be active allies to those with less access, and to take responsibility for making changes that will help others be successful. We recognise the importance of everyone taking more responsibility and positive action to promote an inclusive culture across the organisation, if you would like to be an ally please email EDI@growthco.uk
For more information about the EDI board, networks and membership, please read our terms of reference.
Thank you for your feedback
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who provided feedback on our approach to EDI in our latest survey. We only had a 50% response rate for this survey and we would like to improve on this in the future. Here is a summary of some of the key messages that came through:
Whilst this has exposed some concerning numbers, it’s vital we understand the truth of how people feel in order to make real change. Each network has an action plan based on the specific feedback you provided based on that minority group but each will incorporate these general areas for improvement:
- Fair opportunities for all – we need to work with managers to help employees with their personal development, encourage Group moves and internal recruiting.
- Role modelling behaviours – training to be provided to the senior leadership teams to raise awareness of the EDI activities, how they can support the agenda and role model exemplary behaviours.
- Open conversation – reduce the stigma associated with equality, diversity and inclusion topics so that they are discussed at every level to help create an inclusive culture. This is especially important for mental health.
- Communication – address the concerns around recruiting the right person, the survey and the proposed actions being a tick box exercise and creating discrimination by working on equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Being more diverse – reviewing recruitment processes to attract a more diverse selection of applicants for roles especially for management.
If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to get in touch.
Carla Nuttall,
Marketing and Communications Director