Impact Report 2020

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Life Under Lockdown
Although ED&I has been high on our agenda for a number of years, George
Floyd’s murder on 25th May 2020 acted as a catalyst for us intensifying our
efforts. Over the remainder of 2020 we focused particularly on issues relating
to black people, who face not only discrimination, violence, and oppression,
but also systemic obstacles – including deep-seated and pervasive racial
prejudice – that can prevent them experiencing the security and success that
many others are able to take for granted. Practical steps we have taken include:
2020 was unlike anything any of us have experienced before. At Society, we
tried our best to transition as smoothly as possible into living life under
lockdown. But it was a jarring adjustment. After all, our London team had only
just moved into a shiny new office space, and was looking forward to a busy
period of meetings, socialising and exploring. Suddenly our existence was
sharply curtailed.
• all donations Society colleagues made to
Black Lives Matter, to other associated
organizations, and to the various bail
funds for those involved in the BLM
protests, were personally match-funded
by our Managing Director;
• we have begun making our Diversity
Monitoring Reports – previously an
optional bolt-on – available as standard,
along with more general reporting on
estimated racial/ethnicity data at each
stage of the appointment process;
• we have committed ourselves never to
hold an event with an all-white panel, and
extended that commitment to other choices
we make across the business;
• from our internal ‘Book Club’, to our
choice of weekly TED talk, we will become
much more purposeful in ensuring that
black voices are sought out and heard;
• we have hosted three free webinars
speciically about combatting racism
in recruitment;
• we have revised our Responsible
Procurement Policy to ensure that, where
price and quality are equal, preference in
future procurement exercises will be given
to independent, women, and/or
minority-owned suppliers;
• we have begun taking urgent steps to
address the lack of ethnic diversity in our
own Board and Senior Leadership Team;
• we have expanded our office library with
around 20 new books on racism,
white privilege, slavery, and the legacy of
colonialism;
• we have committed to offering any BAME
candidate who applies to work at Society
some meaningful and constructive
feedback on their CV and application.
Communication became very important, so we
put in place structures to ensure that we could
see other colleagues via video call several
times a day, and that we came together as a
whole team regularly to discuss the unfolding
crisis and our response to it.
We also found some ways to have a bit of fun,
amidst all the chaos, including:
• Zoom quizzes galore;
• an online escape room where two
opposing teams of colleagues had to
puzzle their way out of a ‘Witches Tower’
within a strict time limit;
• online yoga and meditation at the start of
our virtual Summer BBQ;
• snack boxes delivered by post to all
colleagues, with lots of delicious treats
inside for us to eat together online;
• a frantic, fun, and thoroughly silly
scavenger hunt at the start of our virtual
Company Away Day;
• a surprise delivery of gluten-free prosecco
just before Christmas, facilitated by
Thomson & Scott, a fellow B Corporation.