The Inclusive Culture Pledge 2023: Our commitment to diversity
12 Jan 2023
The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) exists to create a socially and environmentally just society, where the potential of all people is fully realised. Issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion, therefore, naturally sit at the heart of SSE’s mission as we aim to empower and equip people with entrepreneurial ideas and solutions to grow the social economy. We also recognise at a very core level our work is driven by and determined by our staff, and the importance of ensuring we have a diverse staff team, who are invited to bring their whole selves to work and to do so in an environment that is respectful, embracing, and supportive. This, we believe, engenders inclusive cultures.
As part of this we are committing to the Inclusive Culture Pledge, a special initiative by diversity consultancy EW Group. We have previously signed up to this in 2020 – see 2020 commitments here. By signing up again, we’re joining leading organisations from a range of sectors, demonstrating our commitment to developing an inclusive culture. By signing up to EW Group’s pledge, we will benefit from EW’s diversity and inclusion expertise and resources. This will provide a focus for building SSE’s skills, awareness, confidence and maturity around workplace diversity over the course of 2023. As a learning organisation committed to creating more equitable and accessible social enterprise support, learning from external EDI experts will help us in this journey.
Our commitments as part of the pledge
This year we will focus on further developing our systems and capabilities with data and will ensure this is fully utilised in our strategies, planning and decision making. We will establish baselines for reporting on EDI to our senior leadership team and Board. We will maintain our focus on recruitment, reviewing our recruitment practices for staff, addressing where we can make changes to ensure greater equity of process, more diverse candidates, and inclusive experience. Also, this year for the first time, we will ask every member of staff to have a personal objective on EDI, and this will be measured as part of their performance reviews. We believe that inclusive cultures are a shared endeavour with everyone playing their part.
