By: JurmoloyaRava
EVENT EXPLORES EQUALITY CHALLENGE
THE inaugural GG2 Diversity Conference, featuring an array of speakers from ethnic minorities and the military, took place in London last Thursday (26).
Hosted by the Asian Media Group (AMG), publishers of Eastern Eye and Garavi Gujarat newsweekly, the conference was attended by up to 150 guests.
They heard presentations by more than a dozen influential figures drawn from public life and the private sector. Speakers included Richard Taylor OBE, father of murdered schoolboy Damilola Taylor; the director of integration thinktank British Future, Sunder Katwala; and Wasmin Khan MBE, the chief executive of Leicestershire County Cricket Club.
The event, which took place at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, was moderated by BBC presenter Clive Myrie who was the chairman of the meet, with Conservative peer and politician Baroness Sandip Verma as the chief guest.
The conference was held prior to the GG2 Leadership Awards, which honoured the achievments of outstanding individuals among BAME communities, and the launch of the GG2 Power List 2018, which lists the 101 most influential Asians in the UK.
CONSERATIVE peer Baroness Sandip Verma said she entered politics as she did not believe politicians understood her needs as a young person of colour in business growing up in the UK.
Baroness Verma, who was the chief guest at the GG2 Diversity Conference, praised prime minister Theresa May for her determination to see change.
“[May] was determined to see the Tory party be much more reflective of what the country was beginning to look like,” Verma said. “I have to give credit to people like May who are determined that whatever barriers came, those barriers were removed.
“All critical parties are making an effort to ensure they are reflective of the people they are serving – and it is a service.”
The Punjab-born politician, who moved to England in 1960, commented how complacency cannot be allowed to take place “while we have too many young people who have huge amounts of talent but find it slightly more difficult to access those routes into some of our most senior roles in the country”.
She added that the world was changing and the “biggest” emerging powers are non-white.
“We want to see talent from all backgrounds, but we can’t exclude talent that give us a competitive edge. Reflecting talent must come from all parts of society – if we don’t have those gateways for everyone, we will miss out on potential,” she said.
DIVERSE teams have proved to be more productive and create more profit, Sanjay Bhandari, a partner at consultant company EY, stated.
Bhandari, who led EY’s participation as one of the principal advisory partners to the Parker Review on ethnicity among British businesses, said that in his own personal experience, teams that were more gender and ethnically diverse grew faster.
The businessman, who was also featured in the GG2 Power List 2018, led the case study as he explored the steps the company has taken on its diversity journey, highlighting challenges and progress along the way.
“[Within EY], our chairman set a target – 10 per cent, on a rolling three-year basis, that our new partners are from a BME background and we’ve met that target every year,” he said.
He added that there was support for new EY recruits from ethnic minority backgrounds.
“We created a mentoring network from our senior people,” Bhandari said.
INTEGRATION is about feeling like a vital member of the society you are part of, said Sunder Katwala, director of independent thinktank British Future.
Katwala, who is of Indian heritage, presented a talk on how British society needs to act in rebuilding confidence in a shared society and also in creating equal opportunities for all.
“Do I count equally as much as everyone else despite my parents not being born in the country or my religion or my social class and do other people recognise that?” Katwala asked.
“We are a much more anxious, fragmented, polarised society than we ought to live in and we want to improve that.”
British Future has published a wide range of reports on integration within British society, particularly after the Brexit vote.
Katwala commented how integration is an “everybody issue – it is everybody’s agenda, or it is not integration”.
“We should stretch in our organisation because diversity is rising,” he added. “Business has got a lot to do – one thing it needs to do is making sure it is talking about this issue.”
NEWS presenter Clive Myrie said the BBC respected him “not as a black journalist, but as a journalist who happens to be black,” in his opening remarks at the GG2 Diversity Conference.
Myrie, the chairman of the event, told the audience although some of those from ethnic minority backgrounds have become more prevalent in higher positions within society, they are the exception.
“We’ve come a long way in recent times,” he said. “The world we live in, without question, is now more inclusive. There are ethnic minority MPs, peers, judges, cabinet ministers, television presenters but sadly, those individuals are the exception.”
The 53-year-old presenter, whose Jamaican parents came to the UK in the 1960s, claimed the time was right to take the conversation of diversity further.
“[We need] to discuss why diversity matters and how a rich pool of talent can benefit everyone in society and the work place,” he said. “[In today’s conference], speakers will share key insights into their own experiences and hopefully give ideas and strategies for their own workplaces and businesses.”
DIVERSITY breeds innovation and innovation breeds business success, said Shailesh Solanki, AMG’s executive editor, as he addressed the GG2 Diversity Conference.
Solanki said AMG has been at the forefront of diversity and the events it hosts recognise the successes of minority communities.
“Diversity is now more important than ever,” he said. “We need to explore new ideas and exchange views – the GG2 Diversity Conference has been set up with this in mind.”
Solanki added diversity is “crucial to building an inclusive” society and for an organisation’s ability to innovate and adapt.
Referring to the recent racial audit released by the government earlier in October – which showed children from ethnic minorities do well at school and university and yet are unable to translate that into better jobs or higher standards of living – Solanki said senior levels of British society remain largely out of reach for minority groups.
“[Diversity] is essential to the growth and prosperity of organisations because a diversity of perspectives, experiences, cultures, genders, and age reap untold benefits,” he said.
AMG has been hosting the GG2 Leadership Awards for the past 19 years. Publishers of Eastern Eye and Garavi Gujarat news weekly, it is the UK’s largest Asian publishing house, founded in 1968 by Ramniklal Solanki CBE.
THE first female commander of RMA Sandhurst said leadership is about being authentic and true to yourself.
Lt Colonel Lucy Giles RLC, who has served in the army for over 25 years, spoke about the role of leadership and how it can set the tone for cultural change.
“Leadership involves doing the right thing on a difficult day, when no one is looking,” she said.
Giles has commanded soldiers worldwide including in Iraq, Bosnia and Afghanistan. At New College, she is responsible for up to 450 cadets and 80 staff at any time.
“We should look at the qualities and skills that are critical for effective leadership – developing individuals, building teams and achieving those tasks,” she said. “We should also look at the psychology of leadership – being an example, taking responsibility for the team and being in the right place to be an influence.”
Giles, who joined the army in 1992, acknowledged the way it has progressed, including the introduction of “fantastic” maternity policies, equal pay and the acceptance of gay people into the ranks.
“When I first joined, you couldn’t have children. Back then, being a homosexual would not only mean removal from the Army, they would also be disciplined for it,” she said. “I’m in a position now to give something back and I’m in an organisation that I am very proud of.”
THE commercial director of the BBC, Bal Samra, said there was a ‘direct correlation’ between the lack of diversity on and off screen and the company’s share prices, calling it a “missed opportunity”.
Having led negotiations for the BBC with the creative industries to allow ground-breaking changes in business, Samra said diversity is a source of “strategic advantage” that brings about “better ideas and more output”.
“Every individual needs to feel like they’ve got an important role because of who they are, not what they are. I’ve always have had that mind frame in my career.
“Every time I’m recruiting I’m thinking of diversity of thought, of opinion, of perspective… Who can I give an opportunity to? It’s nothing to do with hitting targets.”
He said diversity had to start in the boardroom, with the leadership showing that it could make a difference, if it was to be effective throughout the organisation.
THE founder and chairman of Restoration Partners, Kenneth Olisa OBE, described diversity as a “tool for competitive advantage” rather than a cause for “social justice”, stressing the increasing importance of the issue in a post-Brexit society.
“It’s not that more than half the population isn’t represented in the boardrooms of our great nation – it’s about the fact that our great nation hasn’t clocked on to the fact that diversity is a tool for competitive advantage. Once you start on that particular path, all the rest of the arguments fall into quite different sense of structure,” he said.
The son of a Nigerian father and British mother, businessman Olisa was appointed the first black Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London in 2015.
He said that a lack of reflection at all levels of the organisation would hinder its growth.
“If you don’t reflect your supply chain, customers and regulators, you’re going to struggle, especially in an increasingly liberal world. Which is why it makes sense from top to bottom of the organisation that you reflect the customers, your supply chain and your regulators.”
CLOSING the gender pay gap could add $12 trillion (£9tr) to global GDP, Pauline Miller, of Lloyds of London, said at the GG2 Diversity Conference.
According to Miller, the head of diversity and inclusion at the insurance company, 50 per cent of the world’s population is female, but they only contribute 37 per cent to the global GDP.
She added data is “critical” in tackling gender diversity and it is important to understand it.
“If we don’t, we won’t know what we are trying to achieve,” she said. “Once you know your data, you start looking deeper.”
At Lloyds, 40 per cent of the employees are female, while across the London offices, women CEOs make up five per cent of the work force. Miller said focus groups had been put in place across 19 different firms to find out what experiences female employees had had.
Miller, who has more than 10 years’ experience in the sector, added that CEOs said time is the biggest issue to work on diversity.
“They have the resources, they have the money, but time is an issue for them, so we need to make sure we make time to address this within our population.”
Miller advised women to “walk the talk” and recognise their “powerful” voices at an individual and organisational level. “Stories are powerful and don’t be afraid to share yours,” she said.
THE media needs to focus on success stories from the LGBT community, rather than sensationalise it, a transgender senior employee has said.
Anjeli Patel, senior consultant at EY, and Geoffrey Williams, the director and regional head of diversity and inclusion at EMEA Thomson Reuters, took part in a panel discussion about the gay, bi and trans community within business and the bias they face.
Patel, a transgender woman, said it is important to make sure employers are understanding towards individuals who are transitioning. “It’s about understanding when trans people take time off for surgical procedures. Be compassionate. Ensure they feel safe,” she said.
Williams, who has worked within human resources for the last decade, said that LGBT stories need to be heard – “real, on-the-ground stories”.
The pair agreed issues around trans employees must be explored and addressed.
“For instance, if you’re a male transitioning into a woman, which bathrooms do you use? We need to discuss these things to make sure trans people feel comfortable and safe,” Patel added.
THE director of strategic partnerships at the University of East London, Lord Kamlesh Patel of Bradford OBE, said governance and leadership were vital in tackling injustice and discrimination in the workplace and ensuring a diverse workforce.
Addressing the GG2 Diversity Conference, the former social worker said it was up to the leaders to make a difference in their workplace by embracing diversity and “leading by example”.
“When we see leaders treating people equally and with respect, no matter who they are, we will go forward,” Lord Patel said.
He highlighted the make-up of the country’s prison population – the highest in Europe – as partly a reflection of government policy and expressed his commitment to improving legislation as a member of the Lords.
“Successive governments of all parties are being harder on crime. But if you look closely at the prison population, they come from poor, disadvantaged backgrounds and those from BAME backgrounds who have faced a lifetime of discrimination, abuse and prejudice.
“Lives can be turned around when people are listened to and someone starts to believe in them – this is often despite, rather than due to, policy. We have to do what we can to make sure that everyone has the same opportunities in life.”
THE director of workforce management at HM Revenue and Customs, Ravi Chand CBE, said that a diverse workforce is necessary in seizing opportunities and delivering business outcomes.
Reflecting upon the key points made at the GG2 Diversity Conference, Chand said the success of an organisation relied on the diversity of perspectives.
“The greater the perspectives of the organisation, the more successful people are. Increase the diversity of the people around your boards; you increase your ideas and possibilities.”
The former police officer, who oversees a national workforce of 66,000 employees, said that gender diverse companies were 15 per cent more likely to bring about financial return and those that were ethnically diverse were 35 per cent more likely.
“People are more likely to trust your brand if they can see that your business shares their values. So if you don’t look like them or share their values in advertising and business, you won’t get the traction… Brand and trust are built around the diversity of faces.”
THE vice-president of sales at Mars Chocolate UK, Rez Hassan, urged industry leaders to “educate and integrate” their employees in order to overcome barriers in the workplace at the GG2 Diversity Conference.
As head of the company’s £1 billion UK division, he said that diversity was “an absolute must” for businesses to stay relevant and achieving business goals.
“It drives more commitment, more performance. I see it as my responsibility to continue that education and integration so that my children can come into the industry where they don’t have to overcome those barriers,” Hassan said,
He explained that the brand’s effort to embrace diversity included a campaign recognising the practices Muslims observe during Ramadan with its Celebrations product as well as award-winning adverts for its Maltesers chocolate to champion diversity and disability with Channel 4 during the Paralympics.
“I passionately believe we are leading the agenda in embracing diversity in the workplace and turning it into business goals. It is why our brands play a huge role in society,” he said
THE father of murdered teenager Damilola, Richard Taylor OBE talked about the work of the Damilola Trust since it was established 17 years ago, giving hope and support to deprived young people in south London.
Founded by Richard and his wife Gloria after the fatal stabbing of his son in 2000, the Trust has used its influence to bring together key players, including local police and politicians, to discuss solutions to major problems in the capital, including knife crime.
Taylor said: “When Damilola’s life ended, mine and my late wife’s life changed forever. We are left with memories of his pain and his dream. My son said: ‘I know it is my destiny to defend the world’, which I hope to achieve in my lifetime.”
Taylor said he and his wife set up the Trust to honour their son’s memory and fulfil his dream on his behalf.
With up to 1,000 people falling victim to such crime in the capital each month, Taylor made a TV appeal during the Bafta awards earlier this year, urging millions of young people to put an end to such violence.
The trust created the first access to medicine programme for young students in Southwark in 2001. It also set up the Spirit of London awards, which tackle the negative issues in poverty affected inner-city areas of London by celebrating the positive achievements of young people.
THE founder and managing partner at RimJhim Consulting, Rimla Akhtar MBE, said despite progress being made for women in sport, there was still a “lack of balance” and more work needed to be done in embracing diversity.
Speaking at the GG2 Diversity Conference, Akhtar said: “We’ve seen a huge movement with women in sport but it’s not the most diverse. We need to reflect on that and do better and find out why the issue around ethnic diversity isn’t as strong.”
Appointed as the first Asian and Muslim woman on the FA Council in 2015, she said as a young girl, the sports field was where she felt “included and accepted”.
“The sports field was the one place that nobody seemed to care about my colour, that I was a girl, the piece of cloth around my head. All they cared about was my ability on the pitch. That feeling is something I’ve carried with me throughout my life.”
Akhtar, however, also acknowledged that not everyone in sport had the same positive experiences as her and aims to tackle discrimination through the “power of sport”.
“I know through the work that I do today, that isn’t the story for everyone in sport and life – they have had to deal with institutional racism.
“I want to work in the unique intersection of sport, business and inclusion to see how we can be a more inclusive society within and through sport.”
THE CEO of Leicestershire County Cricket Club, Wasim Khan, stressed the importance of peripheral vision in embracing diversity in the workplace, while stating that leaders must create an “emotional connection” with their employees rather than see it as a “box-ticking exercise”.
“Once you go in one direction you need to see what’s going on around you. It’s a very similar thing around leadership and diversity as we’ve got to be serving the communities we represent.
“You really wonder how many (leaders) are doing it because they really believe in it or how many just think they’ve got to be seen to be doing it.”
The former England cricketer said diversity could not truly be embraced in organisations without “real belief” from its leaders but also highlighted the “critical” role of two-way engagement.
“When I was growing up, I heard a lot of ‘I didn’t make it because they were racist’. It can be used to mask insecurity and failure. It’s too easy an excuse – when I broke through, nine out of 10 people told me I wouldn’t make it. All I could see was a sport that was a gateway into mainstream society for me.”
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