Almost half (46%) of those who took part in a recent webinar feel that their membership organisation is ‘proactive’ on the Good EDI Practice Maturity Matrix.

The ‘Creating a culture of inclusion’ webinar was held back in July by Diversity Marketplace’s Gamiel Yafai to allow people to confidentially give their feedback on their lived experiences as employees within the sector and what leadership could be doing to improve inclusion.

Mentimeter was used to collect feedback from staff and management anonymously, with over a third (36%) saying they thought their organisation was ‘reactive’ and 7% saying theirs was ‘inactive’.

A “gender balance”, a “diverse workforce” and a “representative board” were listed by participants as some of the hallmarks of an inclusive workplace. Others included where an inclusive culture and environment “is naturally embedded in the culture and not forced” and “recognising the value of diversity not just tolerating it’.

Driving EDI in an organisation can “fulfil skills gaps” and can improve “productivity” and “retention”, said participants. “It makes business and economic sense due to the knowledge and skills of a wide pool of people” and can “remove barriers to accessing the sector”.

Over two-fifths (43%) of those on the webinar consider themselves ‘active’ on the Allyship Scale, but over half (54%) are aiming to be an ‘upstander’. Suggestions for doing so included “continue to develop myself and challenge those around me”, “overcome my own discomfort” and “be an active listener”.

To drive inclusion in their organisations, participants suggested leading by example, being courageous in advocating for change, and creating the space and time to have the conversations. “Speak up more,” said one – and “influence policy change”.

Leadership teams can “lead from the front” and “demonstrate they prioritise diversity through their actions and behaviours”. Allocating a budget towards this was recommended as well as “communicating efficiently what they are doing”.

Participants also suggested recruiting through different channels, offering practical taster opportunities to people as well as more entry routes, and being accountable.