Inclusion at Look Ahead

A fundamental part of feeling at home in your career is knowing you can be yourself, whoever you are and wherever you’re based.

It’s important to us that our workforce is as diverse as the customers we support. Around 64% of our staff and 38% are from culturally diverse groups. Approximately 46% of customers we support are also from these groups.

In 2021 we were awarded the Inclusive Employers Standard Silver Award for our work in Diversity & Inclusion (D&I). This work includes a D&I strategy, based around five key strategic objectives:

Create and maintain an inclusive work environment for all staff - so everyone feels able to be themselves at work.
Attract, develop and retain staff from the widest pool of talent.
Make sure our diversity data shapes our annual priorities for inclusion work.
Ensure compliance with legal regulations and requirements relating to D&I.
Deliver accessible services and equitable outcomes across customer groups.

“At Look Ahead, we are continually striving to be as inclusive an organisation as possible. We want to build an environment that includes and encourages people from all backgrounds and where each and every staff member feels comfortable bringing their most authentic self to work.”

Ellie Edwards-Scott, Look Ahead Board Member

How we are embedding diversity and inclusion

Staff induction and training

We’ve introduced a greater focus on inclusion for all new starters and throughout our training programme, including mandatory D&I training for all staff including senior leaders and board members; unconscious bias training; and new trans e-learning developed with LGBTQ+ staff.

Staff Diversity Networks

Through our Culturally Diverse, LGBTQ+ and DisAbility at Work (Mental and Physical) groups people come together to discuss issues, raise awareness, educate and help influence our policies, systems and ways of working.

Gender and BAME pay gap report

Our 2020 Gender Pay Gap figures show a 0.8% median pay gap between men and women. The mean average is 3.3% difference in women and men’s pay (almost exclusively coming from our executive team).

Publishing our pay gaps

For the third year, we’ve also led the supported housing sector in publishing Cultural Diversity pay gap and CEO multiplier data.

In 2020, the median pay gap between our white and culturally diverse populations remains low at 5.0%. According to the Bank of England’s research in 2019, BAME averages sit at 10%. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in how we recruit and develop staff.

Policies and procedures

We’re working with our LGBTQ+ colleagues and customers to create a Gender Diversity Policy and adapt ways of working accordingly.

Staff development awards

Our Women in Leadership Award and Rising Star Awards both offer an annual award of £5,000 in career development funding, training and mentoring opportunities.

Staff and customer communications

We publish staff blogs, highlight key events and celebrations and regularly ask staff how we’re doing through staff surveys and feedback. We’ve also produced a new diversity and inclusion film, showcasing our people, their experiences and views.

Inclusion

Feeling at home in our team