Data, Untapped Talent and Development - How to build a diverse workplace

On 18th October a number of organisations gathered in the Engine Shed for a discussion on why and how businesses should become more diverse. 

The event was opened by Nick Sturge, Director of the Engine Shed. Nick introduced the Engine Shed and their work with school children showing them an alternative to more traditional offices and employment. He went on the talk about why diversity is important, covering how if products are not designed by a diverse workforce, those products themselves can never be inclusive, and how important diverse leadership is. Businesses need good leadership, and this requires leaders from diverse backgrounds, who can then also act as role models to show other diverse staff members that leadership roles are achievable.

Richard Thickpenny, ACH Business Development, introduced the audience to why diversity is important, showcasing ACH as a living example of how diversity leads to business success, through gender balance and a high proportion of BAME staff. He discussed how to build skills in local communities to enable more people to access the high level jobs which are available in the West of England. ACH will be working with 25,000 people over the next 10 years, but we need more partners to come on board to help us bring those individuals into the labour market in a way which enables them to progress.

Dr Zara Nanu, CEO Gapsquare, spoke passionately about the importance of closing the pay gap, and introduced the work Gapsquare do providing pay transparency analysis for the public and private sector, specialising in pay gap and ethnicity gap reporting. As we advance rapidly towards a more technological future, Zara proposed a different working world - one that is fairer, more responsive to inequality and emerging pay gaps, one where employers are empowered and motivated by intuitive data. She demonstrated the value of diversity – sharing how companies will be more profitable, innovative and creative if they learn how to build a diverse workforce and she showed us how data can help employers achieve this diversity.

Patrick Alleyne, Public Sector Engagement Manager for Gapsquare, covered the story and challenges the Greater London authority experienced on their journey on pay gap and ethnicity gap reporting. The Greater London Authority being one of the first public sector organisations to report the ethnicity pay gap as well as the gender pay gap, Patrick had been at the forefront of a tipping point in how we understand pay inequality in the workplace. Patrick joined Gapsquare after finding that the reporting process was significantly simplified by using Gapsquare’s software solution, and shared how he believed that this level of simplicity could be crucial to moving the pay gap agenda forward. He also covered a range of business benefits of doing this reporting (see below).

Julia Palmer, ACH Career Advice and Employment Manager, ran through practical solutions for accessing diverse talent, showcasing the work we do with employers. This includes running bespoke courses for Starbucks, and our upcoming work with First Group and One Big Circle. She ran through how the courses work and the benefits for employers of working with us to develop the right solution for both them and local community candidates.

Carla Finch-Daniels, Team Leader at the Education and Skills Funding Agency, finished off the presentations for the day by telling her story of taking the year-long Crossing Thresholds career support programme, which aims to inspire women in the civil service to progress into senior management roles. 75% of participants get promoted or move to a more suitable job within 1 year of completing the programme, and she was no exception, getting promoted twice and also finding a positive impact in her personal life.

The evening finished with a short Q&A session, and networking, where a number of positive conversations were begun.

If you missed the event you can click below to download the audio recording (we recommend you listen with your headphones). https://page.gapsquare.com/diversity-as-a-business-solution

If you would like to find out more about our work with employers, visit https://www.ach.org.uk/businesses