A forum was convened at Gloucestershire Business Show on 22nd March 2023 to discuss aspects of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), the changes and trends which have occurred in the last 12 months and how small businesses can adopt best practice. It was my pleasure to chair this forum and to have 9 expert practitioners in the room.
This is a summary of our discussion.
Question 1
What have been the positive or negative changes towards equality, diversity and inclusion in 2022/23
There has been a move from ‘equality’ to ‘equity’ meaning a move from giving everyone the same thing to giving people what they actually need. This is seen as a positive step forward.
Progressive companies are starting to move away from just having gender equal pay audits to pay audits that cover other groups.
There seems to be a consensus that senior leadership are embracing more EDI conscious plans but that this is not translating in to culture change in middle management. There are still decisions being made on ‘unchallenged assumptions’.
We are seeing an increase in Equality, Diversity & Inclusivity champions which are spreading knowledge of legislation, sharing stories to breathe life in to the subject and having celebratory events.
Due to the hybrid working environment we are also seeing a growth in team away days bringing teams across the business together which means people are mixing with a more diverse group of staff members.
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion is being embedded within university degrees.
We have also noticed a change in the acceptance that staff may challenge authority and this is seen as broadly a good thing.
We would like to see more neurodiversity explicitly included in legislation moving forwards.
Question 2
Which areas of diversity are seeing the fastest change and which are seeing the least?
LGBTQ+ seems to be emerging has having the greatest exposure and increasing acceptance in the workplace. Least visible seems to be ageism. We heard stories of attitudes prevailing of ‘16 is very young, isn’t it?’ and that that age based assumptions are largely going unchallenged.
There is a growth of interest in financial diversity and wanting to understand the financial background and social budget of others. This fits with a broader acknowledgement that a lot of people are financially challenged and that the stress that this brings this impacts the workplace.
Cognitive diversity awareness is also on the increase which means hiring on the basis of ‘culture add-on’ rather than ‘culture fit’.
We acknowledge that for diversity to work we need to form a common communication and to understand ‘why we work the way we do’. To grow a consensus around working practices helps everyone.
We have a concept of what is ‘professional’ and maybe this needs to change with the times. Workplaces need to place themselves as where relationships grow for organisations to thrive.
Question 3
How can Small & Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) create and implement a successful plan for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion?
The forum acknowledged that people feel nervous about venturing into this space and fear ‘getting it wrong’. However, understanding that everyone wants to be recognised as an individual and asking ‘What can we do to make it easier for you?’ is a great place to start.
On the subject of recruitment, you can challenge yourself to change your job descriptions. What do you put in your job descriptions that doesn’t need to be there? For example – driver’s licence. Consider what and who you may be excluding.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Champions are a way to reach out across the workforce and to adapt your culture. These champions are leading the way in listening to your people and understanding what resonates. Making investment with time and money in these programmes to make them more successful is a start. Education is at the heart of these programmes and it is an opportunity to learn about the culture of others.
Gloucestershire Council has a Skills Hub with industry and is bringing together employers for a local forum to share best practice. Inclusivity Works was also mentioned. The quality of the conversation in this space is changing and the growth hub has different courses and signposting.
A consensus is that employing a graduate can be a start to bring in broader perspectives.
Another suggestion was to be proactive rather than reactive. Get educated and reflect on what you have learned and your current business.
We also noted that business owners in SMEs tend to write employee policies when they are needed for other business purposes such as applying for grants or tendering for work. However, the forum challenged whether the business owner is the best person to write these policies. The legal aspects need to be right but the cultural aspects of the policy could be written by your team. It gives an opportunity to get buy in and for everyone to set the culture through the policy for the policy to work. Too often policy is driven by law and a minimum requirement rather than an aspiration. But as an SME having an aspirational policy can give you an edge in attracting top talent. Interestingly the experience of the forum is that UK has a greater level of resistance to equality, diversity and inclusion than other places around the globe.
Thank you to our forum members
Chair: Sharon Critchlow – Discover Your Bounce
Jane Baalam – Pay and reward expert
Emma Fry – Pointer Consultancy
Tom Mayo – Gloucestershire County Council
Nicola Fellows – Gloucestershire County Council
James Hill – University of Gloucestershire student
Hannah Meek – Active Gloucestershire
Ben Caton – Wellmi wellbeing app
Joe Hill – Ultimate Finance communications manager
Clair Greenway – Senior Lecturer at University of Gloucestershire
Thank you to County Business Shows for asking Discover Your Bounce to chair this forum.
The next Business Show forum will be at Bath & North East Somerset Show on 27th and 28th June 2023
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