Equality, Diversity & Inclusion: our progress so far

Last summer, in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, I committed to putting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) at the heart of how my company thinks about its relationship with the world around us, and the people it touches.

My goal is not just to do better, it’s to set a new standard for an industry that has been lazy about its responsibilities, and slow to use its considerable influence to effect meaningful, positive change.

Since then, we have committed…

• To delivering $1m in Clarity services, pro bono, to startups linked to diversity (please reach out if this applies to you). The first client we’re working with through this is the awesome Diversity in Music
• To joining the Diversity Marketing Consortium. The first business we’re supporting through this incredible initiative is Malomo
• To giving every member of staff two volunteer days annually to support any organization connected to promoting EDI
• To introducing blind recruitment to eliminate bias in our hiring process

These initiatives are underpinned by the implementation of some small but crucial operational changes to how we will do business, including:

• The introduction of a client and supplier vetting process to ensure we don’t partner with any organization that promotes discrimination in any form
• A biannual anonymous EDI staff survey to benchmark, track and report EDI progress internally (we’ll publicly publish the data)
• Upgrading the EDI policies in our staff handbook, and adding EDI requirements to all new business proposals, and client contracts

This is just the start: we know we still have a huge amount of work to do. Meaningful change in our business, in our industry and in wider society will likely take decades, not months.

In my view, the Black Lives Matter movement precipitated some kneejerk responses last summer from political and business leaders that were more performative than substantive.

And now, with the world’s attention diverted to other issues, I worry that the systemic racism of our societies will endure unchecked, until the next George Floyd gatecrashes the consciousness of those of us lucky enough to enjoy the comforts and advantages of the status quo.

The passions ignited by George Floyd’s murder and the injustices that led to that atrocity remain a daily experience for millions.

It’s therefore critical that we meet this challenge with an ongoing, steadfast commitment to make positive progress every, single, day. Even if it’s incremental. Even when it’s not capturing the current zeitgeist. Even when it doesn’t earn us attention and plaudits.

Black History Month is being celebrated this month — an event Morgan Freeman once famously described as “ridiculous” because “Black history is American history”.

Just as we should celebrate and learn from Black history every month of the year, we should also work continuously to dismantle the societal structures that have created such inequality — even when #BlackLivesMatter isn’t trending on Twitter.

I’m proud my company is contributing in a small way to this effort.

Photo by Donn Strain on Unsplash.