At EIF, we are committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion, and to embedding it into everything we do.
Equality, diversity and inclusion are integral to our work, brand, reputation, success, sustainability and impact. These values ensure that what we say is aligned with what we do, and how we do it.
Our vision is that all children are able to achieve their full potential. To make this a reality, our work must reflect the realities of the society we live in. Recognising and understanding inequality in our society, and championing equality in its place, is therefore integral to our mission.
This focus is even more essential in light of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which both highlighted and exacerbated existing inequalities in the UK. Providing effective support to children and families to bounce back from the pandemic means we need to acknowledge and work to address the factors that led to the impacts of Covid-19 disproportionately affecting some families and groups in our communities.
Effectively embedding equality, diversity and inclusion within EIF enables us to develop and deliver effective programmes of work, increases the quality and impact of what we do, and attract and retain a diverse group of skilled staff who reflect the society that our work is focused on.
As an employer, we believe that equality, diversity and inclusion are about recognising people’s differences and treating colleagues fairly. We value difference as part of a healthy and effective organisation. We have made a commitment to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and respected because of their differences: a place where every member of staff can be the whole and best version of themselves, so they can reach their own potential and help us to achieve our goals.
We are on a journey of discovery and change. We recognise, both as an employer and a research organisation, that we have much more to do to ensure the values of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) are reflected and reinforced in everything we do.
We have taken the following actions to ensure that EDI is a key part of both what we do and how we work.
- An independent diversity and inclusion audit: This involved a thorough review of our policies, procedures, communications messaging and channels, as well as in-depth interviews with a number of trustees and staff. The audit identified a number of areas of good practice and some areas for development. These findings have guided the development of our EDI strategy and action plan.
- Understanding staff views on EDI: Each year, we conduct an annual people survey, and specifically ask for staff views on our approach and commitment to EDI. This feedback has informed the focus, prioritisation and direction of our work on EDI.
- Work to mainstream EDI in both in our work programme (what we do) and in our workplace policies and practices (how we work). This will enable us to develop and deliver effective research projects, and attract and retain a diverse group of skilled staff who reflect our society.
- Establishing a structure to drive change, including a steering group, to oversee strategy and progress, and a working group, to deliver our EDI action plan. Both groups include staff from different sections of the organisation, including our research, policy, operations and communications teams. The steering group is chaired by two trustees, and reports to the EIF board.
- Publishing our EDI strategy: The strategy sets out our principles, objectives and targets for change within EIF, as an organisation, employer and research charity. See below to download.
- Planning research to address inequalities in society: Through our research and our work to inform policy and practice, we have an opportunity to improve understanding of the inequalities that exist in society, in terms of experiences and outcomes, and identify approaches to help address these inequalities. In 2021/22, for instance, we have created a project focusing on minority ethnic families’ experiences accessing local family support services.
To ensure the work we do and how we do it reflects and promotes the values of equality, diversity and inclusion, we have worked to create and implement a comprehensive EDI strategy and action plan. This sets out our principles, objectives and targets for change within EIF, between now and 2027.
Our EDI strategy has been informed by developments and learning from the diversity and inclusion audit, our steering and working groups, and the lessons and experiences of other organisations like us, working in social research, promoting equalities, or supporting children and families.
Our strategy provides a framework for ensuring not only that none of our staff or anyone participating in our research are disadvantaged or discriminated against, but that we actively create an environment where everyone can thrive, and where our work contributes to promoting and supporting equality and diversity in society.
Our EDI strategy has the following key aims:
- Build an inclusive organisational culture: We will put equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of our organisational values. We will reduce the barriers to participating and contributing for anyone who is working with us, including staff, trustees and partners.
- Recruit, retain, develop and support a diverse workforce: We will support, develop, recruit and retain a skilled and diverse workforce. We will seek to bring under-represented people to our organisation, by identifying, attracting and retaining a pipeline of diverse candidates with a wealth of experience and talent.
- Develop work to engage and meet the needs of our diverse society: We will develop a work programme that meets the needs of a diverse society, so that all children at risk of poor outcomes can benefit from early intervention.
We aim to cultivate a diverse and truly inclusive organisational culture at EIF.
Our ambition is to be known as an employer of choice in our sector. We have made a commitment to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and respected because of their differences: a place where every member of staff can be the whole and best version of themselves, so they can reach their own potential and help us to achieve our goals.
We are doing this by reviewing all of our policies and procedures, including our recruitment processes, to ensure they align with our EDI aims. We are also committed to ensuring that our working practices and spaces are accessible for all, whether staff or visitor.
EDI training is a key aspect of learning and development at EIF, through our staff induction process and a mandatory training programme for all staff and trustees.
We will work to ensure that our communications activities and methods – including our websites, social media, events and publications – are accessible and engaging to as wide an audience as possible, and that our imagery and language is positive, inclusive and engaging.
In the 2020 staff survey, 74% of employees said they felt that EIF demonstrated a strong commitment to equality and diversity, which gives us a great starting point. As set out in our EDI strategy, we have a target for 90% of staff to say they have an inclusive experience of working at EIF.
Our vision is that all children are able to achieve their full potential. To make this a reality, our work must reflect the realities of the society we live in. Recognising and understanding inequality in our society, and championing equality in its place, is therefore integral to our mission.
To do so, we will develop a work programme that meets the needs of a diverse society, so that all children at risk of poor outcomes can benefit from effective early intervention and support.
Through our research, we have been able to highlight the role that socioeconomic inequality plays in perpetuating discrimination and holding people back through circumstances beyond their control, which can have a severe impact on life chances and lead to very different outcomes from individual to individual, family to family, or community to community.
In many cases, these economic or financial inequalities will intersect with other differences and factors, such as ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and disability. Our intention is to use our resources effectively, recognising that the wide range of differences that exist do not operate independently but can and do intersect and overlap. We will reinforce our efforts to acknowledge and address social disadvantage in all its forms, particularly through how we scope and frame our research activity, and how we reflect these findings in our policy and practice work.
Sharpening our focus on race and ethnicity
Data consistently shows that racial inequalities persist, including where other protected characteristics and other factors, such as education, are accounted for. This highlights the fundamental role that experiences of race and ethnicity continue to play in people’s lives.
We recognise the prevalence and seriousness of these impacts on children’s lives, and the intense public interest in addressing these issues. Therefore, as an important first step in shaping our research programme, we will prioritise new work on the impact of ethnicity and experiences of race and racism, over other protected characteristics and forms of inequality, such as gender, sexual orientation or disability.
In 2021/22, for instance, we have created a project focusing on minority ethnic families’ experiences accessing local family support services.
EIF is a proud member of the Future London network, committed to promoting diversity in public events.
