Equality, diversity and inclusion

I am pleased to announce NatCen is now a signatory of the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter. As an organisation, I am aware that we have not done enough in the past to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace. NatCen staff are a largely homogenous group, and this is something we need to work harder to change. Signing up to the Race at Work Charter means taking practical steps to ensure we tackle barriers that ethnic minorities face in recruitment and progression, and to ensure our organisation is representative of British society today.

While the Charter’s five calls to action focus on ethnic minorities, we at NatCen are committed to supporting staff from all marginalised groups. We are therefore adopting a pan-equality approach to the Charter’s actions. This has been driven by the work of NatCen’s staff-led Equality and Diversity Group and LGBT+ Staff Network, who have written a blog post about the work they are doing to ensure that NatCen’s approach to equality, diveristy and inclusion work is intersectional.

As part of our commitment to the Race at Work Charter, we will be reporting on our progress in the coming months. I am conscious that these planned actions are the first steps in our equality, diversity and inclusion work, rather than an end in themselves. I will be working closely with NatCen’s Leadership Team, Equality and Diversity Group, LGBT+ Staff Network and HR Department to adopt a pro-active, sustainable approach to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace at NatCen.

Guy Goodwin has signed up for the MRS Inclusion pledge, making five commitments listed in its Manifesto for Opportunity (pdf).