October 28, 2021 — It’s been a year since the UK Diversity, Equality and Inclusion action plan was launched. We would like to share what we have achieved, what we have learnt, and the way forward.
When we started the journey, we underwent the Talent Inclusion and Diversity Evaluation (TIDE) assessment which measures and benchmarks progress on Diversity and Inclusion using an external framework. We are pleased to share that our TIDE assessment score this year has significantly improved (doubled) from last year, with IRC UK ranking number 74 against 137 participant organisations, and in second place amongst participating charities. Key areas of progress were in the areas of DEI strategy and planning, communication and attraction and recruitment.
Today, 86% of the UK Management Team are women and 43% identify as BAME; on the UK Board, we have 46% women and 38% identifying as BAME, including Trustees who have lived experience of conflict and displacement. We believe our focus on attracting more diverse people into the organisation through targeted activities, such as using specific jobsites, blind recruitment, shortlisting and hiring manager engagement, is showing progress. In 2021, 35% of new starters identify as BAME compared to 16% in 2020.
We now have:
- An IRC global DEI Strategy and a UK specific DEI action plan.
- Focused and constructive opportunities to understand and discuss what diversity, equality and inclusion means within the IRC and how we, as a collective, can continue to impact and drive this conversation forward.
- Ethnicity data for 75% of our staff. Of the staff who have provided data, 24% of our staff identify as BAME.
- Budget allocated to our staff-led BAME and PRIDE Networks.
- Unconscious bias and race sensitivity training and had an opportunity to attend a decolonizing development webinar.
What we have learnt:
- Regular and open communication with staff has been received positively. We will continue to keep our staff updated on DEI progress and seek their input on how we are doing and what we can do better.
- We will continue to provide a budget for our staff-led networks to support their work and activities throughout the year.
- We need to take a more deliberate intersectional approach to our work, ensuring our efforts are inclusive and will identify actions we can take to improve this.
What is coming:
- IRC UK first-ever ethnicity pay gap report.
- Working towards achieving the Disability Confident Employer level 2 accreditation.
- Introduction of a Digital Comms apprenticeship established to attract more diverse candidates to our organisation.
- An organisation-wide DEI survey to better understand the make-up of our organization and where impact can be achieved.
The UK Management Team will be working on a longer-term strategy so we can continue to make progress on this important topic. We are not finished yet and know there is still more work to do to increase the diversity and inclusivity of our organisation, and we will continue to work with colleagues to hold us to account in achieving this.