Articles

As news of the coronavirus in the UK gets hotter I've been asking myself this week how this is impacting on diversity and inclusion within organisations.

Before I began working in diversity and inclusion I spent many years in technology working on systems integration for Accenture and Cerner and then as a project manager at the BBC. Much of the work that I do in diversity and inclusion now incorporates technology, user experience and design and innovation in order to scale up inclusive organisations. Cognisess is a software provider I am particularly interested in and featured the company as a case study in my book.

We don’t want the programme to be seen as just another HR initiative. Diversity and inclusion affects everyone and we don’t want lip service. A multi-disciplinary team is better aligned to achieve outcomes across the whole organisation

An example of using D4D internally is a recent office move. To align with D4D principles, the first step was to understand the needs of employees for their office space. Diversity and inclusion considerations arising from D4D was the need for gender-neutral toilets. ‘Understanding that it matters to employees is critical.’

To achieve cultural change, involve everyone, from the CEO to operational staff. People engage with the change agenda at various levels of the organisation, but all have a role. Loraine describes diversity and inclusion as being the conductor of an orchestra. Employees may play different instruments, but everyone is reading the same score.

I absolutely loved this conversation with Inclusion Architect and export Toby Mildon. In what was a hopeful, constructive and forward-looking conversation, we touched on inclusion, belonging, awareness, culture, leadership and so much more.