EDI News

Category: Articles

Articles on Equality, Diversity & Inclusion topics.

  • Neurodiversity Celebration Week – 17th-23rd March 2025

    This week is Neurodiversity Celebration Week in the UK.

    Thankfully more and more organisations are realising the benefits of having diverse teams and diverse thinking. But what does that actually mean?

    “Diversity” is a frequently used word. People often only think about diversity in terms of visual differences like gender or ethnicity. However, it is also about invisible differences like our sexual orientation, disability, religion and belief, socio-economic background, our care responsibilities or home life (and hundreds of other things). All these elements impact the way we navigate the world and make each of us unique.

    The term neurodiversity refers to the different ways a person’s brain processes information. It is an umbrella term used to describe a number of these alternative thinking styles such as Dyslexia, DCD (Dyspraxia), Dyscalculia, Autism and ADHD. The term used to describe people who are not neurodivergent is neurotypical. It is estimated that around 1 in 7 people in the UK have some kind of neuro difference.

    We know that teams of people with differing views, experiences and approaches are proven to be the most innovative, productive, best at problem solving… and so ultimately the most profitable.

    So having people who are literally wired to process and think differently in your team can bring a range of superpowers that you might be missing.

    Historically, a lack of understanding and knowledge has meant neurodivergent people have been hugely disadvantaged by education systems and workplaces designed for neurotypical thinkers.

    Neurodivergence is not an indication of low intelligence (in fact, often quite the opposite). However, tasks that seem simple for neurotypical people (like sitting still when unstimulated) can be challenging and were often wrongly interpreted as behavioural issues. This lack of understanding this has resulted in disproportionately high numbers of neurodivergent people being excluded from schooling and struggling to find employment.

    Nic Lander, Founder of our Charity Partner, the Kimel Foundation said “Research suggests that 92.1% of people with significant absence from school are neurodivergent, with 83.4% being autistic. Many neurodivergent children are not getting the education and support they need, with one in four autistic children waiting more than three years to receive the support they need at school, so it is unsurprising this impacts young people’s employment opportunities too.”. According to the ADHD Foundation just 22% of autistic adults were in paid employment in 2021. 

    According to the CIPD, one in five neurodivergent employees has experienced harassment or discrimination at work.  Meaning once in employment, the experience is often traumatic or challenging.

    The Kimel Foundation’s mission is to “Nurture and incubate the unexplored talent of autistic and neurodivergent people.” They provide training and support for neurodivergent young people to help them into work. And CPD accredited Employer Solutions to help organisations build inclusive workplaces where neurodivergent people feel they belong and flourish.  

    The previous lack of understanding about neurodiverse conditions has meant some people haven’t ever been formally diagnosed, or receive a diagnosis later in life. Getting a diagnosis often helps people make sense of the issues they have silently struggled with for years and enables them to put in place effective coping strategies.

    For example, some neurodivergent people are affected by sensory overwhelm, where neurotypical people are largely unaffected by noise and lighting, they can be more sensitive to these factors and can find them debilitating. Simple steps like using noise-cancelling headphones help to reduce sensory overwhelm and make situations that were really difficult, manageable.

    One of our brilliant Community members, Lydia Charilaou founder of Labyrinth Consulting was not diagnosed with AuDHD until well into her successful career in HR. Having led global Talent Development & EDI teams and performed at the highest level, one could argue her diagnosis was irrelevant. However, Lydia sees it differently. She reflects, “Unlike other late – diagnosed neurodivergent people, I’ve met, I never felt ‘different’. My family origins are Greek-Cypriot, and Mediterranean families are typically large, loud, and deeply interconnected. There wasn’t much space to stand out or be seen as ‘different’. Even today, I hear comments like, ‘There’s nothing wrong with you’.”

    She adds, “For girls and women especially, masking starts young. Societal norms shape how we behave and show up. I just assumed everyone experienced the world the way I did. It was only later I realised my inner critic is significantly louder than that of neurotypical people.

    As a child, that inner critic often left Lydia feeling as though she wasn’t good enough. Comments like, “Stop procrastinating and get on with your work,” fed her self-doubt. So, she masked, spending hours in her room ‘doing homework’ to meet expectations. She reflects, “I was a good student overall, though some subjects, like maths, were painful. I’ve wondered about dyscalculia but have never pursued it. On the flip side, when I’m engaged by a topic that excites me or plays to my strengths, I show up differently. I hyperfocus, leave no stone unturned, and can’t stop sharing everything I’ve discovered.”

    In her career, this hyperfocus has drawn attention from managers, but before her diagnosis, she didn’t fully understand why. Now, she’s more aware of how comments, whether well-intentioned or not, have fuelled her Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD).

    As we mark Neurodiversity Awareness Week, Lydia shares this heartfelt wish: “I hope we continue to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions around neurodivergence.” She also offers this insightful analogy: “Imagine a gas cooker with multiple heat dials representing different neurodivergent characteristics. Each neurodivergent person has their own unique dial combinations. We’re as individual as any neurotypical person, no two of us are the same.”

    This Neurodiversity Celebration Week we want to improve awareness and kick-start the conversation in workplaces about the superpowers you’re missing out on! Did you know an autistic person correctly placed and supported within an organisation can be up to 140% more productive than their neurotypical peers?

    If you care about equality, diversity and inclusion in your workplace, do you have a neuro-inclusion policy or plan? Do you have neurodivergent staff who haven’t dared to show you their superpowers yet?

    Creating brilliant environments, where everyone belongs and can flourish as their true selves, doesn’t happen by accident. If you would like to know how becoming accrEDIted© can help you improve EDI for all your people, please get in touch.

  • What does your Pay Gap say about your organisation? 

    As we approach International Women’s Day it seems particularly appropriate to talk about the Gender Pay Gap.  

    In the UK, organisations employing more than 250 staff are obliged to report their Gender Pay Gap. The deadline for mandatory reporting is 4th April 2025 (30th March 2025 for public sector organisations), for the pay gap statistics calculated at the snapshot date of 5th April 2024 (31st March 2024 public sector). 

    Since mandatory Pay Gap reporting was introduced in 2017, the pay gap has declined from 18.4% to 14.2% in 2023 (ONS data for median gross hourly earnings excluding overtime) but reports from the World Economic Forum suggest it will take 132 years to close the gender pay gap worldwide if the current trajectory continues.  

    The intention behind pay gap reporting was clear. Organisations having to publicly report a pay gap, would surely feel compelled to address it and close it…  

    Based on the reduction achieved over 6 years, the name and shame strategy clearly isn’t working. 

    The public sector includes some of the worst offenders with almost nine-in-10 (87.6%) public sector organisations paying men more than women in comparison to just over three-quarters of private companies. 

    Other pay gaps for ethnic and disabled employees exist too. Whilst there have been campaigns to make this reporting mandatory as well, so far, they have been unsuccessful. However, data from the Office for National Statistics shows that people of ethnic heritage or those with a disability are paid less than their White, non-disabled colleagues, with Women in those categories the worst off.  

    So, if you are a small company, employing less than 250 people, do you even have to think about it?  

    If you employ less than 250 staff, it is possible you haven’t ever measured or analysed your pay gap or reviewed whether your pay structures and decisions are generating pay equity issues. This lack of data can exacerbate and perpetuate historic inequalities, which could lead to greater inequities in progression and pay as the business grows. We therefore encourage organisations to consider pay equity early on – especially those who care about equality, diversity and inclusion. 

    Andrea Rae, founder of Inspiring Reward Ltd, is part of our accrEDIted© Community and is committed to supporting organisations in developing pay and reward structures which are market competitive but also ensure fair and equal management of employee pay.  

    While the first step to addressing potential pay gaps is reporting on your data and analysing what it is telling you, Andrea stresses the importance of developing an action plan to reduce pay gaps and ensure equal opportunities for progression, development and promotion. An action plan may include: 

    • Introducing or reviewing job evaluation, to ensure jobs are sized correctly compared to each other and enable accurate pay benchmarking to the market. 
    • Putting in place a clear pay policy, which outlines how and when pay decisions are made and clearly communicates to employees which factors will affect their individual pay, reducing the opportunity for bias and inequal treatment. 
    • Reviewing barriers to progression in the organisation, such as flexibility in location and hours, to ensure that employees of all genders and ethnicities are given equal opportunity to develop and gain promotion to more senior roles. 
    • Assessing talent acquisition processes to remove any bias or barriers to recruitment of women into higher paying senior roles. 

    So, what does your pay gap say about your organisation?  

    If you don’t have a pay gap, well done! Keep up the good work and be sure to include this information in your recruitment materials. In terms of talent attraction, candidates (particularly women) will value an employer who places a high value on equal opportunities. 

    If it is lower than, or about the national average, are you already taking steps to address this? Make sure you have a robust pay and reward strategy and framework in place to continue to close the gap.  

    If your gap is higher than the national average, or you don’t know what it is, it is time to take urgent action. Inequality does not right itself without intentional effort. 

    At EDI Accreditation we believe a company that is genuinely committed to equality, diversity and inclusion will be striving to provide fair and equal pay for its employees.  

    Pay Gap statistics are therefore an essential measure within our EDI Accreditation Framework© and is analysed as part of the accreditation process. For an organisation to become accrEDIted©, they must prove they are committed to providing fair and equal treatment of pay. For companies with an existing pay gap, the accreditation process helps identify where this has arisen, enabling them to take steady, measured action, often with a specialist partner like Inspiring Reward Ltd, to address and reduce the gap consistently over time. 

    EDI Accreditation provides the first impartial, intersectional accreditation to provide a detailed benchmark of your current EDI performance and comprehensive report helping guide your ongoing journey of improvement. Becoming accrEDIted© not only reveals the essential insights (including Pay Gap data) required to create impactful change, but provides external, impartial validation and recognition of your current EDI commitment. To find out more about becoming accrEDIted© please get in touch.    

    In this article, EDI Accreditation and Inspiring Reward, discuss the gender pay gap. What it says about your organisation and how to do something about it.

    Read more >>

  • How to effectively address underrepresentation

    In Race Equality Week it seems particularly appropriate to talk about Ethnic underrepresentation

    Understanding the benefits having a diverse workforce brings to an organisation, shows it is an issue that shouldn’t be ignored by companies wanting to attract the best talent, to innovate and be market-leaders. Yet it is a complex and challenging issue, one that many organisations still struggle to address effectively.

    We are often asked if introducing quotas is the best way to address representation. The simple answer for us, is “no”. No-one wants to be hired because of the colour of their skin (or any other characteristic). People want to be hired to do a job well, because they are the best candidate for the job. We acknowledge hiring is just part of the solution, talent retention and development are also essential to address underrepresentation, long-term, but will save those topics for another day! 

    Many organisations believe they hire on meritocracy, but actually need to closely examine their policies and processes to understand the barriers to entry that often exist (unintentionally, or otherwise), which have created inequality in the status quo – and therefore underrepresentation. 

    Whilst we aren’t a fan of quotas, the first step to addressing underrepresentation is to diagnose who is missing from your workforce. Analysing your existing workforce, by level and job role is an essential starting point.  

    Considering factors such as location and industry are also important in understanding your talent make-up. 

    If an organisation is based in rural Cornwall the demographic of available, local talent will be very different than if you are based in central London and may require additional effort. 

    Historically many industries were dominated by a particular ethnic group or gender. Knowing your industry, the challenges or opportunities that brings, is also essential to successfully address representation.  

    Understanding how your workforce compares to the population helps you identify who is missing. You can then begin to identify why they are missing. This is rarely as straightforward as bias (unconscious or intentional) from hiring managers during the interview process.  

    Insisting a candidate has 10 years of industry experience, when historically the industry has been dominated by White talent, immediately eliminates all candidates of Ethnic heritage who are, otherwise, brilliantly qualified for the role. Likewise, requiring candidates to have a degree, doesn’t necessarily guarantee their suitability or aptitude for a role. 

    Often job descriptions, policies and hiring processes are outdated and need to be completely reimaged to attract and measure talent effectively for today’s workforce. Doing what you’ve always done, simply perpetuates the inequalities and barriers that have been created historically. Review what you are asking for in a job description. Is it relevant to the role? How could it eliminate some groups of people? Revisit your policies and processes to ensure they are fit for purpose. AI based recruitment and talent platforms are also prone to learning bias quickly, so ensure human and AI learning is unbiased and genuinely removing barriers for everyone.  

    Many organisations (if they monitor EDI data during their hiring process) often conclude the “diverse talent” they hoped to attract, does not exist if “they” don’t apply for a role.  

    Lack of applications is not usually an accurate reflection of the talent that exists – it simply reflects the talent that is attracted to your organisation.  

    Lack of attraction can occur because unreasonable hiring criteria eliminates the talent you want, as mentioned above. But is also hugely impacted by what a candidate sees when they look at your organisation. Does it appeal to them? Do they believe they would be welcome and enjoy working for the company? Seeing someone like you represented is powerful if you are from an ethnic or marginalised background. It sends a clear message, you are welcome, you belong and you can flourish here!  

    The challenge to attract diverse talent can be made harder when the route into an industry, as a whole, is also historically un-diverse (Construction, STEM, Financial Services etc.) and requires intervention much earlier. 

    So, what do you do if your organisation or industry is not diverse? The answer from an organisational perspective starts with more analysis. Review your messaging and imagery – does your website and social media appeal to your target audience? Does it signal to people they are welcome? Get external feedback from the audiences you want to attract. If changes are required, make sure they are authentic, not tokenistic.  

    If you are in an industry where ethnic talent is underrepresented, undertaking proactive initiatives that reach that audience and raise awareness of the routes into the industry is essential. Reaching and engaging young people in education and early stage career events creates pathways for fresh new talent, helping to level the playing field.  

    Publicly showing your support and investment in these initiatives and actively inviting young talent to your business increases your future talent pipeline and is a powerful tool for attracting all talent that exists now. By being a trailblazer in your industry, you automatically become the employer of choice, attracting both active and passive talent. 

    The Land Collective is one such initiative working to address the barriers that prevent young people from underrepresented backgrounds from accessing careers in the real estate and built environment sectors. These industries have historically relied on established networks and traditional recruitment pathways that often exclude those without prior exposure or industry connections. As a result, many talented individuals are unaware of the opportunities available or struggle to navigate hiring processes that don’t account for different starting points. 

    To tackle these challenges, The Land Collective focuses on both awareness and preparedness, ensuring that young people not only see real estate as a viable career option but also have the skills and confidence to succeed. Their programmes in partnership with employers provide structured routes into the sector, equipping early talent with industry knowledge, technical training, and professional development opportunities. By embedding employer engagement into these programmes, they help businesses build relationships with diverse candidates long before they enter the formal recruitment process, strengthening their early talent pipelines in a meaningful way. 

    A proactive approach makes a real difference, not just in attracting applications from underrepresented groups, but in ensuring long-term career progression. Many of the young people they work with go on to secure roles in the industry, and continued support beyond the initial hiring stage helps them to thrive. For employers, this means rethinking how they connect with talent, moving beyond passive recruitment strategies to actively investing in the next generation. 

    Employers who take a long-term approach to inclusion, supporting talent from the early stages of their career through to leadership, will be the ones driving real change across the sector. 

    As mentioned, attracting and hiring diverse talent is only part of the equation to improve representation. Like the proverbial leaky bucket, if you are then losing your diverse talent, it will be a never ending challenge to fill the bucket. This is where retention and development are crucial. 

    According to the Parker Review (https://parkerreview.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/The-Parker-Review-March-2024.pdf )  published in March 2024, depressingly there are just 12 CEOs of Ethnic heritage in the FTSE 100.  

    To tackle underrepresentation at Leadership level in organisations of every size, retention and barriers to progression (glass and concrete ceilings) must be tackled. Cultures and environments must be inclusive for everyone – allowing people to perform and thrive as their authentic selves.  

    EDI Accreditation provides the first impartial, intersectional accreditation to provide a detailed benchmark of your current EDI performance and comprehensive report helping guide your ongoing journey of improvement to address all the issues raised. Becoming accrEDIted© not only reveals the essential insights required to create impactful change, but provides external, impartial validation and recognition of your EDI commitment. To find out more about becoming accrEDIted© please get in touch.