Race Equality Week runs from the 3rd – 9th of February and is an annual UK-wide movement uniting organisations and individuals to address the barriers to race equality in the workplace.
This year’s theme is #EveryActionCounts, focuses on workplaces making tangible actions, change and impact, rather than just words and promises.
Leeds Women’s Aid takes various actions to tackle inequality the workplace, including:
Recruitment:
Leeds Women’s Aid work to promote equity starts at the very beginning in our recruitment process. In our adverts. we state:
“LWA is fully committed to the principles of equality of opportunity and applications are welcome from all sections of the community. LWA is a diverse and inclusive organisation, we would particularly welcome applications from women from Black, Asian or Minoritized Ethnic communities, who are currently underrepresented at senior levels.”
Our Values:
The five values of Leeds Women’s Aid are around being the best we can be as individuals, and specifically have value of being inclusive:
“Be Inclusive: We are diverse, welcoming, approachable & inclusive in as employers, service providers & people. We promote unity, fairness & respect”
Our values are displayed on the walls in our office spaces, so staff are consistently reminded of our culture and expectations.
Visit About Us to read all five values.
Training:
As part of their induction, new employees complete a mandatory training set including discrimination and equal opportunities. We also deliver mandatory training for Anti-Racism where an external party comes into the workplace to deliver a more in-depth session for staff.
Recently we delivered mandatory unconscious bias training for all staff and trustees, and following feedback, we are working on developing further, more detailed sessions.
Our Culture and Processes:
Leeds Women’s Aid has an inclusive culture whereby people can come to work and be themselves. We create policies which promote equity and are always shared with staff for feedback before being launched. Within these policies we reiterate our values and begin the policies to explain the purpose of each policy, to ensure transparency.
More information:
To learn more about Race Equality Week or get involved, visit: https://www.raceequalitymatters.com/race-equality-week/
To learn more about Equality and Diversity within Leeds Women’s Aid’s services, visit: Diversity and Inclusion.