Equality Group Workshop
On the 20 January 2019, five Accord members along with our Communications Team attended an Equality workshop facilitated by Accord’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I)Officer, Chris Rimell. The purpose: to start the conversation about our ED&I strategy.
You may recall in November 2018, we put out a call for members that had specific interests relating to equality matters. Eight members registered their interest. This was the first opportunity for the new group members to meet, and get to know more about the Equality Group, as well as gaining some new skills and knowledge so that they can start to get stuck in to their new roles.
Overview of the day
In typical workshop style, the day started with the group introducing themselves to one another. This was a really important starting point for the group as they’ll be working alongside each other, not just for a day, but hopefully over a period of time, so it was great to have such an open discussion and set the tone.
“I found the workshop educational and really good to chat to like minded people with a passion to drive inclusion forward with Accord” Gary Wade, TSB
After the introductions, the group looked at how we create a friendly, supportive and safe environment through the use of some ‘house agreements’ that would encourage respect but allow us to have open discussions and debates.
In October 2018, we talked about inclusive language that we used when redesigning our membership application form. For the group, they need a broader understanding of the terms that they may encounter as we start progressing Accord’s ED&I agenda.
Although there wasn’t sufficient time to go into equality legislation in any great depth, the group did get an opportunity to understand the Equality Act (2010) — the Act replaced and simplified a multitude of other equality laws (the Equal Pay Act 1970, Sex Discrimination Act 1975, Race Relations Act 1976, Disability Discrimination Act 1995, Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003, Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 and the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006).
Later in the afternoon, the group worked on a role profile in order to start understanding the role better, and then started to apply their approach through some case study examples. Everyone left with a better understanding of what they were expected to do, whilst also having a fun and engaging day.
In the coming weeks, the group will meet (which they’ll be doing on a regular basis), to start applying what they have learnt and importantly using their experiences, to start shaping the equality agenda of Accord to achieve our overall aim:
It’s important for Accord as an organisation to be representative of our members, but to also look wider to our members’ employers. We must be inclusive, and diverse, and we need to ensure that we offer equal opportunities regardless of someone’s background.
“The workshop was very insightful. It highlighted the great importance of understanding the diversity of our membership whilst being fully inclusive of each and every one of our members.” Shasta Ali, LBG
If you’re interested in equality matters, want to know more, or want to pass on any ideas you’ve had — you can contact us at equality@accordhq.org
