Impact Report 2020
Welcome
About
As the Head of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Stephen Frost witnessed first-hand the courage, creativity and talent of the diverse, 200,000-strong team that delivered the Games. They showed the world what real inclusion looks like. It was that impact Stephen wanted to capture, distil, and recreate when he founded Frost Included after the Games.
Today, we look back and we look forward. We look back on some of the inspiring stories we have had the privilege to be part of over the last decade, and the measurable impact they have created. We hope those who pick up this report, whether lay readers, D&I experts, or leaders of organisations, find encouragement and guidance within.
And we look forward. Today we launch our new identity: Included. Our look might change, but our values will not. We believe that diversity is a reality, but inclusion is a choice. We will continue working to help leaders, individuals and organisations choose to be inclusive.
Seen through a particular lens, the glow of London 2012 looks a long way away. We seem, in 2020, to inhabit a divided, damaged world. One beset by ongoing political strife, inequality, instability, as well as a global health crisis that has upended the way we live and work, perhaps permanently. In these chaotic times, inclusion has never been more important.
The Black Lives Matter movement has taken us forward, showing us the good and the bad. The bad being the ongoing structural inequality that permeates our world, and the ongoing resistance to shifting that inequality. The good being the bravery and commitment of those leading the charge for change.
The stories featured in this report come from Wellcome, the Bank of England, the International Paralympic Committee, Music Masters, Cloudflare, and AlixPartners. They show us what is possible when we make the choice of inclusion and take the practical steps to embed it, using strategy, data, and the power of inclusive leadership to create tangible change. Benefits such as more equitable health outcomes, stronger risk mitigation for the public’s financial good, debiased and deracialised tech design, expanded opportunity in the arts for those who have been denied it, and much more. Benefits for individuals, organisations, and the wider world.
Diversity and inclusion don’t have to be things we do just because we have to. They don’t have to be things we do just because we should. They become things we do because we want to – because we can see, hear, feel or simply experience the extraordinary benefits that inclusion brings to all of us.
The space required to show our appreciation to all of the friends, colleagues, clients and mentors who have supported and worked with Included over the years would represent another report in itself. But we would like to close this introduction with a word on the author of this Report’s foreword, and a flagbearer at London 2012, Baroness Doreen Lawrence. She is a woman who embodies and encapsulates fairness, dignity, equality and inclusion in the face of extreme adversity. She is an inspiration to the Included team and all who work in the field.
Stephen Frost, CEO and Founder
Nick Basannavar, Head of Impact
December 2020
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