WorkPride day three: panel recap and best bits

Day 3 of WorkPride 2024 saw a continuation of thought-provoking discussions and panels aimed at furthering diversity, inclusion, and equality in the workplace. With a focus on eradicating the Rainbow Wage Gap and ensuring equal pay for equal work, participants engaged in conversations surrounding the importance of fair compensation practices for all. 

In the session on Inclusive Marketing, participants explored strategies for representing diversity in advertising and creating campaigns that authentically reflect a range of backgrounds and experiences. Discussions revolved around the impact of inclusive marketing on consumer perception and brand reputation.

Eradicating Rainbow Wage Gap: Equal Pay for Equal Work 

This discussion emphasized the importance of addressing wage disparities based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Panelists engaged in conversations surrounding the need for fair compensation practices to ensure equal pay for all individuals, regardless of their identity. 

“The rainbow ceiling is not just created from bias from other people… quite often we can also self-sensor ourselves. It’s a combination of how we self-sensor and hold ourselves back, how our managers and others support our development and potentially inadvertently hold us back, and then all sorts of barriers in the actual application and recruitment process.” - Layla McCay, NHS 

“Ultimately you want to work at a place that values you and your talent. Make sure you are working in a place that values that, so you can grow and drive your career.” - Grace Winslow, Morningstar 

Inclusive Marketing: Representing Diversity in Advertising 

Strategies for authentically portraying diversity in advertising campaigns were focused on. The panel discussed the impact of inclusive marketing on consumer perception and brand reputation, highlighting the significance of representing a range of backgrounds and experiences in marketing materials. 

“Being inclusive is not just the right thing societally, it’s business critical as well. If you’re not inclusive, you’re alienating over a quarter of your potential customers.” - Paul Phillips, OMG 

“When you’re from a marginalized background and are underrepresented, there are a thousand papercuts that you experience throughout your life. And if you can’t find a product/service that is going to match, for example your skin tone or hair color, that creates such an othering of you that it creates a consumer inequality.” - Thanh Catachanas, JCDecaux 

Empowering Women in STEM Fields 

Panelists sharing insights on breaking barriers and promoting gender equality in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics industries. The session highlighted the importance of supporting and advancing women in STEM careers. 

“There’s a stereotype that women shouldn't be in these roles. This creates the feeling that women feel like they don't belong, we have that nagging imposter syndrome, questioning our own place in our roles. We have to be the ones that change that. We must change that narrative. We need to do it for ourselves, and we need to do it for each other as well.” - Louise Warner, Fitch 

“There was a little bit of research where they made children draw what a scientist looks like over a decade. This is an experiment going on for 50 years, and in the 1980s they drew maybe one female scientist out of 100. But by now, on average, the girls draw 50/50 these days. It's really encouraging to see that a changes in the mind of children that when they think about a scientist, they might actually think about one of us.” - Franca Klingler, Isomorphic Labs 

Cultural Competence in Healthcare 

Delving into the significance of delivering inclusive care that respects diverse cultural backgrounds and experiences, the panel addressed strategies for healthcare professionals to enhance cultural competence and provide equitable and respectful treatment for all patients. 

“Trust is really at the heart of a successful and inclusive healthcare journey. If you do not trust your doctor, if you do not trust the medicines, you're not going to go through the after journey, which will have of course devastating consequences for your health.” - Lea Futschik, Sanofi 

“Ensuring that we have representation of different groups throughout the journey in terms of drug discovery and the way we engaged with developing new therapies is profoundly important.” - Noel Watson-Doig, GSK 

Creating Inclusive Design 

Another vital discussion, this panel focused on the importance of designing products, services, and environments that are accessible and welcoming to individuals of all abilities and backgrounds. Participants explored inclusive design principles and practices for creating more equitable and user-friendly solutions. 

“Organizations need to share their successes in this space, but also share the failures. Because that highlights not only the fact that accessibility and inclusivity is important, it also highlights that we all acknowledge that this is an area of growth and that we're learning and that that learning is important to the organization.” - Tyan Hynes, Box 

“There's a lot of learning barriers around the accessibility pillar of understanding that needs to be addressed in learning topics out there and especially if you're in a space where you’re learning around topics - that's very technical. I think we can be more aware of different modalities.” - Michael Snellenburg, Amazon 

Addressing Age Bias 

A critical topic tackled during the day, discussions centering on recognizing and combatting age-related stereotypes and prejudices in the workplace. Strategies for promoting intergenerational collaboration and diversity were explored to create more inclusive work environments for employees of all ages. 

“Since I've taken up the position of leadership at such a young age, at just 24, I experience age bias so much when I speak up in meetings and I can see people immediately disengage, or if I go and ask for financial approval, and they say ‘I need to get your leads permission for this’. It can be so demoralizing.” - Matthew Eccleston, Raytheon UK 

“Age biases go in both directions. We have it for young people, and we have it for older people. We can see it in the very aspect of life and it's very dominant in the workplace.” - Moran Udi, Pfizer 

Inclusive Parental Leave Policies Support for All 

This highlighted the importance of inclusive parental leave policies that support a diverse range of family structures and caregiving responsibilities. Panelists discussed the benefits of gender-neutral and inclusive parental leave practices in fostering work-life balance and supporting employees at different life stages.

The Business Case for Diversity and Inclusion 

The panel delved into the tangible advantages and positive impact of fostering diverse and inclusive workplaces. Participants explored how diversity and inclusion initiatives can drive innovation, improve employee engagement, and positively impact organizational performance.

“It's really important thing to stay aware of what's happening in the broader ecosystem because we also as corporations and companies need to make sure that we provide a safe space for our people, as well as the clients and the customers that we serve. It's a moral imperative, but it's also an economic opportunity for us to be a good organization.”- Tony Marroney, Standard Chartered

“If you are an organization that wants to be here long term, this way of operating with a focus on DNI is just to be expected. By next year, 75% of the workforce is going to be made up of millennials. That generation has a completely different leadership role style and I think we have to bear that in mind that they have much larger focus on innovation when it comes to the culture of inclusion.” - Natasha Whitehurst, Rolls Royce 

ERGs Working Together to Enhance Inclusion 

Exploring the power of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) collaborating to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within organizations, panelists shared best practices for ERGs working in concert to create more inclusive and supportive work environments for all employees.

“It’s been a journey for me to realize how powerful bringing people across functional teams together is. How powerful that can be to drive change. And if the organization is receptive to that, how amazing that kind of relationship can be.” - Jamie Brown, Financial Times 

“ERGs play a critical role because they provide platforms, occasions, opportunities for offices to connect, to share experiences, and drive the diversity, equity and inclusion agenda.” - Mirko Profeti, VF International - Vans