In our summer 2020 statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement we committed to building a focus on health and cultural inequalities into our structures. We committed to ensuring our Board, employees, freelance contractors, membership and stakeholder groups are representative in terms of ethnicity, as well as Disability, socioeconomic background, sexuality, age and all recognised protected characteristics. We committed to amplifying Black voices and the voices of people of diverse heritages through our website, bulletin and social media.
In autumn 2022 we acknowledge again the long-term and current impacts of systemic racism across the UK and its recent shocking manifestations in violence including the recent fatal shooting of Chris Kaba, and the death of Oladeji Omishore. We note in particular the ongoing crisis in relation to mental health and Black people, who remain significantly more likely than white people to be detained under the mental health act and subjected to physical restraint.
We are focused on justice and equity.
"Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome" (Milken Institute School of Public Health at Washington University).
[updated September 2022] We are taking the following steps to becoming a more equitable organisation.
This is an ongoing process of gathering information, making changes, and assessing how we work – across both our structures and our programme. This work is essential to our vision, mission and values as an organisation.
Our full Equality, Diversity & Representation Policy and Equality Action Plan can be found here. These will be updated by the end of 2022.
Our analysis of our 2020 Equality, Diversity & Representation survey is here. You can also read a Director's blog referencing this for International Women's Day 2021.
We are not a funder, but as an alliance and a sector support organisation we have also found the Association of Charitable Foundations model of nine pillars (p.8) a useful way of thinking about the steps we should take:
- invests time and resources in understanding and defining diversity, equity and inclusion
- produces and reviews strategies that will implement DEI [diversity, equality & inclusion] practices
- collects, tracks and publishes DEI data on its own practices and performance
- has a diverse trustee board and staff team, both in terms of demographics and experience
- reflects and implements DEI practices in its funding activities
- expresses its DEI commitment, policies and practices publicly
- makes itself accountable to those it serves and supports
- uses its own power to advocate for and advance DEI practices
- collaborates with others to promote and implement DEI practices