Articles

Building Bridges: Reflecting on 2024 and Looking Ahead to 2025 As we conclude 2024, we have taken a moment to reflect. The landscape of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) has continued to evolve, with both setbacks and strides forward, and there are opportunities to make impactful progress in 2025. In the article below, you will...

A Year of Transformation for Included 2024 has been a landmark year for Included, marked by exciting changes in leadership and board composition. In March, our Founder, Stephen Frost, transitioned from his role as CEO, passing the torch to Michelle Sequeira. This leadership evolution was further strengthened in May with the appointment of Jen Davidson...

Predictions for EDI in 2025 Increased Focus on Pay Equity and Transparency With the increase in Directives, expect pay equity to be a major focus in 2025, with more companies adopting proactive measures to close the gender pay gap. Pay transparency laws are likely to expand globally, making it more difficult for businesses to overlook...

It’s ADHD Awareness Month! You know what that means, it’s a time to remind ourselves that people with ADHD exist… they could be in your family, right next to you, or even in the mirror! We want to challenge our readers to move beyond awareness, and into action. So, what can you do? If you’re...

At Included we’re committed to helping you make a real difference with our series of impactful webinars centred around this year’s theme: “Impact Matters”   Impact Matters: How to Measure It? This September, we’re diving into strategies for achieving measurable change in your Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) initiatives. Our webinar sessions allow participants to...

Included are collaborating with Legal Island, a multi-award-winning workplace compliance company that works across both the UK and Ireland, to deliver an 8-part Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace certification course. The certification course aims to provide a thorough understanding of the main components of diversity, equity, equality, inclusion and belonging, and is devised and...

Taking the time to focus on our mental well-being has never been more essential. We believe that sharing experiences and strategies can make a significant difference in how we manage stress, anxiety, and overall mental health. This week we’ve asked members of our team to share some personal insights and effective tips that have enhanced...

Diversity and inclusion can be another tool in your toolbox, and it can gradually become a natural habit by embedding it into your leadership practice. When we are able to do this as leaders, we enable those around us to be more open and honest. This in turn makes it easier to bring all aspects...

Has HR fallen out of love with Diversity & Inclusion? In January 2005, I led the team at Stonewall that launched the first Workplace Equality Index. We came up with the idea to frame diversity and inclusion (D&I) as an aspirational positive (rather than simply a cost of doing business), and benchmark companies on their...

Inclusive Communication: Overcoming Accent Bias in the Workplace Have you ever had your accent mocked at work? Banter isn’t uncommon in modern workspaces and can be playful when it’s reciprocated both ways, but don’t let your feelings become invalidated if you feel offended. Being made to feel insignificant and unimportant because of your accent is...

Stress and work-life balance: what companies can do to support their people Last month was Stress Awareness Month. How did it feel for you? At Included we advocate for an awareness and reduction of stress at all times – but today we are running with the theme and wanted to explore one area of our...

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is a time of spiritual reflection and growth for Muslims worldwide. During this holy month, many Muslims fast from sunrise until sunset, engage in prayer, and participate in acts of charity. As organisations and colleagues, it is essential to be aware of the unique needs of those celebrating Ramadan and foster an inclusive and supportive work environment.

Pharmaceutical companies have a huge role to play in our communities. Across the board, we know that accessible products and services are better for everyone. We also know that diverse and inclusive teams are happier and stronger performing.

What is cultural intelligence? To be culturally intelligent is to adapt and operate effectively in a range of contexts. These can be across national, ethnic, organisational, generational, and departmental settings...

Attracting diverse talent and building an inclusive recruitment practice is high on the agenda for many organisations.

Before the men’s World Cup began, a number of football captains had committed to wearing a One Love armband in protest against Qatar’s criminalisation of homosexuality and as a mark of allyship.

Included spoke to Marilyn Harris during Black History Month UK. Marilyn is a senior HR Business Partner at McLaren Group, a construction company. This sector is dominated by men, primarily white men. Marilyn shares her experience throughout her career in this context, as a Black woman, and how she has built her success.

Sports are a great opportunity to bring people together, and can improve health and self-esteem. Sports have a huge influence on our culture, from the positives we saw after England’s win in the Women’s EUROs to the racist backlash that was seen after the Men’s EUROs final in 2020.

Protests in Iran The killing of Mahsa Amini by the ‘morality police’ in Iran have sparked days of protests in cities across Iran. Amini was detained by the police for wearing a hijab in a way deemed ‘improper.’

D&I work is challenging, ever-evolving, and can be daunting. For those moving into their first D&I role, or taking a step up to a senior or global D&I position, it can be hard to find support.

What are the benefits for employers, candidates, and inclusion? Flexible working includes arrangements such as flexitime, compressed hours, and job sharing. From an inclusion lens, there are benefits to organisations taking a range of flexible working approaches.

It has been 10 years since the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Games illustrated an inspiring commitment to inclusion, which was espoused by the London Olympic and Paralympic Games’ Organising Committee. In order to truly deliver a ‘Games for everyone’, inclusion had to be embedded throughout each aspect of the Games, from recruitment to design to ticketing.

The fact that six of the ten initial candidates who launched formal bids to become leader of the Conservative party, and the next British Prime Minister, have Black or Asian heritage should be welcomed. On the face of it, this is a success story for ethnic diversity within the heart of the British establishment. And not an overnight success either. Most of the candidates have track records in cabinet or high-profile positions and are serious contenders for the role. Looking back to the 2019 contest, when only one of the ten candidates who made it to the MPs vote was from an ethnic minority, or 2016 or 2005 when there were no candidates from ethnic minority groups we could assume that in 2022 we have now levelled the playing field for leadership diversity within the Tory party. But is that true?

Age is a protected characteristic under the UK’s Equality Act, but it is often not discussed in the same manner as other characteristics. Older workers can be overlooked for training and development, or subjected to assumptions about their skillsets.

Recent news has covered the experience of Aviva’s CEO, Amanda Blanc, being subjected to a number of sexist comments during the business’ AGM. Additionally, new analysis by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has found that despite ongoing efforts towards workplace gender equality, there is passive and even active resistance to gender equality, particularly from male managers.

The theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week (9-15 May) is loneliness. One in four adults experience loneliness, and if experienced for a prolonged period of time, this can lead to mental health problems.

‘Greenwashing’ is the overstating or masking effect of climate advocacy, or the understating of a product’s negative impact on the climate. In response to rising popular interest in sustainability, some brands use environmental sustainability buzzwords misleadingly. Consumers are not exclusively purchasing based on price and quality, but are interested in who they are purchasing from. Therefore, positioning a brand or product as ‘green’ can be profitable. A UN group has recently been set up to tackle greenwashing and brands are increasingly being held accountable for their claims.

The financial services sector is uniquely placed to make a significant impact on D&I.

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, it puts the safety of Ukrainian people and their right to determine their own future at stake. Russian citizens are also isolated through travel bans, barred financial transactions, and being shut out of a range of world events. Impacts have been felt globally, especially in neighbouring countries who have been most affected by the refugee crisis and Russia’s historical actions. Stories of racism experienced by Black people at the border and antisemitism are showing further divisions.

This has been a tumultuous year – the first spent entirely in a pandemic in at least 100 years. For many of us, trying to find the silver linings in what has been undoubtedly a difficult time has meant trying new things or learning new skills – maybe we’ve really leaned into baking bread regularly, or finally decided to start learning a new language, or found that we really enjoy knitting!

We recently surveyed our newsletter subscribers to understand the pressing D&I topics at the top of our community’s agenda. Reviewing our practical experience, we’ve gathered guidance and insight from our team at Included.

World Mental Health Day is an international day for global mental health education, awareness, and advocacy against social stigma. Stress has increased since the start of the pandemic, while job insecurity and isolated remote work have provided additional challenges for mental health in the workplace.

On Saturday 10th September, Channel 4 broadcasted it’s ‘Black to Front’ project: a day to promote and improve Black representation both on and off screen. It’s 24 hr schedule featured a mix of new and existing programmes, created and delivered by Black presenters, actors, writers and experts, contributors, and programme-makers. Online audience reception of the project has varied; some have been impressed by the active effort and commitment and others have questioned the impermanence of the initiative.

A recently published report by the UK Home Affairs Committee into racial disparities in policing has found that “serious and deep rooted racial disparities” still exist in policing, over twenty years on from the seminal findings of the McPherson Report, published following the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence and its aftermath. The inquiry set out to examine the progress against Sir William Macpherson’s original recommendations, and concerns that progress had stalled in some key areas of policing. In the words of Baroness Lawrence, the mother of Stephen Lawrence, “things have become stagnant and nothing seems to have moved.”

South Asian Heritage Month in the UK runs from 18 July to 17 August. Beginning in 2020, it aims to provide a space for individuals to celebrate South Asian heritage and history, and to help others understand what this means in the 21st century.

The UK comes out of lockdown

I am exhausted, really exhausted. Not the kind of exhaustion that you can get from working out in the gym or even rushing to meet all the demanding work tasks that we must do. It’s that exhaustion that comes from being emotionally tired – weariness. That emotional exhaustion that doesn’t lift from a good night’s sleep….

Amongst the many issues that the Covid 19 pandemic has surfaced in the UK and in other developed nations, is the widening inequality gap. The inequality gap has always existed, but the pandemic has thrown it into sharp relief.

It is one year and one week since George Floyd was murdered by a racist police officer. The intervening period has seen large scale protest around the world and a long overdue awakening of white people to the injustices that people of colour are subject to. This has resulted in soul searching around the legacy of colonialism and slavery, and efforts by institutional bodies and other organisations to confront their own deficiencies that often result in an imbalance in power and privilege in relation to people from different ethnic groups.

The first quarter of this year has shone an unforgiving light on the endemic issues of racism, sexism and socio economic inequality in the UK. Whilst these issues have long existed, as a society we have, to all intents and purposes, colluded in accommodating them, by accepting them as just part and parcel of everyday life, but recent events are challenging this.

This week marks one year since the start of the official Covid lockdown response in the UK. It’s been the start of a new reality for everyone. Paradoxically, whilst it’s been a year of exclusion, we have also witnessed new forms of inclusion.

Diversity is about getting the right mix of people, with the right skills and competencies. Inclusion is about making sure the mix we have works.

It’s LGBT history month in the UK and Black history month in the US. Rather than seeing these as two separate events, how might we see them as related, whoever and wherever we might be?

Yesterday, the USA witnessed a peaceful transfer of power. The fact we even have to write this demonstrates the significance of the moment. After a violent mob stormed the Capitol building, yesterday witnessed the inauguration of Biden and Harris – as the first ever female Vice President.

Today is a big day for Frost Included. We are honoured to publish and share with you our first ever Impact Report. The report, with a foreword by Baroness Doreen Lawrence, reflects on some of the key themes, learning and success factors we have gathered in our global inclusion work over the last decade, and the measurable impact they have had.

As we come toward the end of this tumultuous year, the f(i) team has decided to reflect together on what has certainly been an historic 2020. This has come together in an article that we have co-created reflecting on the impacts of three key events of this year: COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, and the 2020 US Election. Below are some excerpts from the forthcoming article.