Tag: EDI in HE (Page 3 of 5)

Posts related to EDI in HE

New Dharmic Prayer Room at King’s

March 25, 2021 / Tyler John

Former KCLSU Activities and Development Vice President (2019/20) and current final year BSc. International Management student, Nakul Patwa, pens a blog about the opening of the new Dharmic Prayer Room at King’s, and what it means to him and other Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist students.

I remember vividly my first day at King’s College London and, like everyone else, I was very excited, a little overwhelmed, and still getting familiar with the ins and outs of the enormous institution. It was only by chance that I came across the Chaplaincy at the Strand Campus. Tucked away under a staircase, it was almost as if it was a world of its own. Little did I know then that this space would become an inspiration for what I was going to achieve at King’s. I would later go there to meet fellow international students, over the “international lunches”, have numerous enriching conversations with the Chaplain, meet some of my closest friends – it almost became a sanctuary of sorts for me, as it did for so many students during their time at King’s.

picture showing the new dharmic prayer room

The new Dharmic Prayer Room which has recently opened at Guy’s Campus

My experiences with the chaplaincy inspired me to champion the cause of this institution that was a cornerstone of the essence of King’s. I wanted to give back in a way that would allow many more students like me to engage with the chaplaincy – that is where the idea for a Dharmic Prayer Room for students following Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist faiths was born. I felt the need for a dedicated space because of my conversations with student groups and hearing the challenges they faced while practicing their faiths.

It was one of the first things I wanted to achieve when I was elected as the Vice President of King’s College London Students’ Union. Having garnered widespread support of the student body and various student groups, I was optimistic that this was something that would provide a safe space for students whose faiths have not historically been equally represented. Despite the challenges that COVID-19 has brought about, I am delighted to have achieved this for King’s. I believe that this project will add more value to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion projects for the institution as well as the King’s Vision 2029.

I believe that this project is a milestone, not only in the illustrious history of King’s, but also in the history of UK universities. It is an important step towards honouring and fostering the diversity of our membership. I am extremely proud that I could turn my dream into reality, and my hope is that more institutions across the UK would take a cue from King’s to establish spaces that would enable their population to express themselves in a manner that enhances their vibrant ecologies.

Nakul Patwa, former KCLSU Activities and Development Vice President (2019/20) and current King’s student.

January 29, 2021 / Tyler John

This blog is part of a series from Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Sarah Guerra, where she will be addressing the ‘whole picture’ of EDI, why it is important, and how we go about making effective, systemic change.

EDI is underpinned and driven forward by good quality, broad and deep data. Data is the starting point and can often be the biggest barrier to progress – whether you have it or not.

The critical role of data collection and analysis is to understand current challenges and opportunities in terms of EDI across the organisation. Data helps us to address questions and look at how we should be planning for the future. It empowers us to understand what we don’t know and so encourages credible research to clarify and demystify the current reality. It also serves an important role in evaluating outcomes – is what you are doing making any difference? Are you being successful?

Getting and using data involves a variety of aspects:

Systems: having the ability to collect the data safely and efficiently. If you are a staff member at King’s, have you checked out our PowerBI dashboards?

Expertise: once you have it, being able to analyse and understand what it means. At King’s we have many amazing teams to help us do this – People, Data and Analytics and EDI in HR, our Business Analytics colleagues and the What Works Unit to name a few of the key players.

Disclosure – getting people to give trust you and give you their data. Check out this short video that helps you understand how and why we collect data at King’s.

Reporting – telling people what you have found out. The EDI team makes regular reports to Council, SMT and our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and Forum (EDIC & EDIF). Additionally, we also have our Annual Reports – check out our most recent one.

When pulling these together, it is important that we are clear about why we are collecting data and what we are going to do with it. Being explicit about our purposes means people are more reassured and trusting. We must show that we have learnt something from the data and importantly that we have done something. Feedback and communication are essential here.

The various charter-marks we use can seem unbelievably laborious and indeed recently, the government has called into question their ‘unnecessary bureaucracy.’ However, they help us gather relevant data, help us understand it and identify actions, and force us to assess what the impact has been. Charter-marks warrant a blog of their own, so watch out for that one!

My practitioner experience tells me that it is all too easy to put any number of programmes and initiatives in place to show that something is ‘being done’ by an organisation. Spending the time diagnosing the problems, thinking through options and designing solutions takes longer and is harder – but the focus and clarity it provides is worth it. It also requires patience and self-belief because it can feel like you are talking about the ‘doing’ for a long time. This diagnosis and design are so much harder without good foundational data.

It is critical to start by understanding where you are now – the baseline – to determine targets and areas to improve. This is why one of the first things I did when I arrived at King’s was work, in partnership with our amazing Business Analytics colleagues, in particular, Richard Salter, to create the PowerBI diversity dashboards referenced above. These dashboards capture and bring together all sorts of EDI data on staff and students, for easy comprehension and interrogation. It also collates data, such as who has joined us, either as a staff member or a student, when, to do what, under what terms, how successful they are and when they leave.

Diversity and Inclusion dashboard on PowerBI

Another element of data which provides insight is equal pay analysis and transparency on pay gap reporting. At King’s, as required by law, we report on our gender pay gap annually. Organisations are required to publish their gender pay gap analysis annually in the UK if they have more than 250 employees, concerning data collected in the same year. The requirement is to calculate and publish statistics on pay gaps between male and female employees, measured by hourly pay and bonuses, as well as the proportion of male and female employees in each pay quartile. In recent years, we have also chosen to calculate and report our ethnicity pay gap using the same method, as far as is possible.

Being transparent and sharing this analysis provides a clear measure of how fair our workplace is. Understanding whether the pay gap is rising or falling helps us determine whether our EDI programmes are helping to create a fairer, more inclusive workplace. Pay gap transparency is an opportunity to listen to ideas from across the organisation, hear about things people have learnt from elsewhere and enable our community to feel they are contributing to changes for the better.

Monitoring of starting salaries is a critical and straightforward tool in pay transparency. Most organisations, and certainly we here at King’s, have a minimum and maximum (or band of) pay rate for employees performing a particular job or function. However, as people join, local managers have some flexibility as to what rate of salary people are appointed on, often taking wider factors into consideration. There is quite a lot of research that shows women and people from certain cultures or backgrounds are less likely to feel confident to negotiate on starting a role. So, where there is discretion and flexibility, it is essential that what is happening is monitored.

The pay gap is not a perfect measure. There may be instances of the pay gap widening, or of no improvements being made across the year despite several activities being in place. This doesn’t mean they are the wrong actions, but perhaps that they need longer to take effect or they need more commitment behind them. It is critical to be open about pay gaps, where they are in the organisation and what causes them.

A critical area to capturing data in is recruitment. This provides a wealth of information, including: helping us determine where most candidates are entering the recruitment process; what job boards, social media sites, mobile hiring apps or referral approaches are the most effective; what resources are bringing a greater diversity of candidates. The introduction of our new HR Digital services has been a game changer for us at King’s in terms of being able to get this kind of information. Once we have had it up and running for long enough, we will have a veritable gold mine of data to access and learn from.

An example of the Equal Opportunities form through HR Digital Services

In addition, data collection during each stage of the recruitment process provides an in-depth look into the hiring process. Looking at proportions in terms of applicants from diverse backgrounds applying, compared to the number of interviews, or the number of interviews compared to the number of jobs offers across the organisation and within each function, highlights any issues that may be occurring in the process. If you read our Race Equality Chartermark application, you will see that we have a lot of improvement to make in terms of the noticeably clear and disproportionate reduction of BME candidates from application, to shortlist, through to appointment.

There are many different types of data and many ways to collect it. It is important to collect qualitative data through: employee feedback surveys; focus groups; 1 to 1 interview; competitions and awards; staff and student networks, as well as the quantitative methods described above.

The best EDI practice allows us to create a baseline and then carry out a review after programmes have been put in place to validate changes or improvements made. As I have outlined, getting good data is not easy. You need the technical tools and the expertise. You need good governance to ensure data integrity and protection. The main purpose of collecting data is to answer questions, so it is critical that the data is correct and reliable. One of the approaches we take at King’s is making use of a balanced score card, which utilises a wide variety of agreed-upon measures to evaluate organisational success, ensuring that it covers the right measures for the organisation.

Balanced Scorecard on PowerBI, which summarises KPIs and targets at King’s

Without a doubt, data is one of the most important tools we have for EDI. It helps us build understanding of the starting point, helps us measure progress, and brings greater objectivity when making decisions on where to invest time and action. However, we should not be fooled into thinking data is neutral. It is actually something that can be very emotive, easily manipulated and provide distorted perspectives (to think further about this, I’d highly recommend Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez).

In being a massive data advocate and always prioritising evidence-driven EDI activity, my toolkit includes 3 things. Firstly, with any data, notice what emotions it provokes, so you can be clear as to your own objectivity and bias. Secondly, examine the context – where has this data come from, from who, and why? Finally, be curious – what does it not tell you?

Please take some time to look at our dashboards and to fill in your own information on Core HR so that we have the most up-to-date and most reliable data possible.

The Significance of Sponsorship

January 13, 2021 / Tyler John

Senior level sponsorship, sometimes called ‘championing,’ is a critical step in ensuring sustainable change when working toward EDI goals; without this support organisations would not be able to sustain changes made in their behaviour.

A wide range of research  plus my personal experience tells me that is the number one indicator of the success of any equality, diversity, and inclusion activity in an organisation. The phrase can make some feel uncomfortable, with concerns of patronage or nepotism, but the reality is far from that. Executive sponsorship simply recognises that what those in charge of an organisation care about and put their energy into, gets done! This is because those across the organisation also then see the work as important, and that they will be rewarded or better regarded if they too care about it.

Executive Sponsors have several duties in demonstrating active support. They are people appropriately placed in an organisation, who have significant influence on decision-making processes or structures. They can advocate for, protect, and positively drive EDI activity, and act as inclusive role models for the organisation.

Executive (sometimes called Programme Sponsors) provide visibility and access to decision-making environments and reduce the risk that individuals from underrepresented groups face. Sponsors can provide challenging conversations to support new and progressive activity. A key part of their role is to demonstrate their belief in the potential of the programme outcomes and help build that belief in others and so act as ‘the face of change’ for the organisation. They will utilise their voice to champion the activity in question challenge bias, as well as shield those in less powerful or more vulnerable positions from harm or undue criticism. A Sponsor’s role is to demonstrate the case for change, and to always champion building a positive culture.

Sponsors can help ensure that the equality, diversity and inclusion activity relate to the organisation’s overall aims. They can help by helping others see the connection between the EDI goals and the organisation’s wider goals. They can use their personal skills, positions of influence and power to overcome resistance from others or to help unblock tricky areas. Sometimes it is a question of resources and sometimes it is a question of organisational culture or attitude.

At King’s we have a whole variety of sponsors and champions. Some of particular note have been: Prof.  Ed Byrne in his overall sponsorship of EDI;  Prof. ‘Funmi Olonsakin and Prof. Evelyn Welch, who have both taken positions of leadership for REC and Athena Swan;  Prof. Reza Razavi, who has really pushed to improve the work culture in our research areas. Recently, Prof. Richard Trembath has become the sponsor for our programme of work around disability inclusion. The work of all these as Sponsors has included: chairing working groups; advocating very powerfully across King’s to get things moving; working quietly behind the scenes to lend their expertise and knowledge; providing mentorship, coaching and importantly access to themselves as a means of opening doors for others. They and many others have demonstrated a willingness to speak out on issues and educate others. They consciously sponsor employees from different backgrounds and challenge their peers to do the same.

Programme sponsors at King’s, who sponsor a range of programmes, including race equality and disability inclusion

The heart of executive sponsorship is realising and taking the many opportunities you have to highlight issues - be it at team meetings, executive meetings or during one-to-one discussions - to help ensure actions are in place, to raise awareness, to support diverse progression, and to mentor and coach others.

Programmes for inclusion work well when they are driven by senior leaders and shaped by their people. A successful cross-cultural sponsor relies on mutual understanding on matters related to race, culture, and inclusion. Therefore, they need to be visible, and willing to have sometimes challenging conversations about race with honesty, understanding and courage. We are helping build our SMT’s capability to be great sponsors and champions with our Mutual Mentoring programme sponsored by SVP Operations Steve Large. I am planning a separate blog on mentoring and reverse mentoring, so look out for that.

On the flip side, it is important to remember that equality, diversity, and inclusion is incredibly people-focused, and can raise a lot of sensitivities. A Sponsor’s presence at programmes and events will not only attract more employees, but it also speaks volumes about the importance of the issue on the organisation’s agenda. However, they must be people who others trust and feel comfortable with otherwise their presence and sponsorship may not have the positive impacts that are needed.

I would like to thank all our Sponsors at King’s. They exist right across the gamut of King’s. I would like to urge all of those in a senior leadership position to consider – what are you seen as sponsoring? If you cannot answer that question, then let’s have a chat as I have a long list of ways in which you can help advance EDI at King’s!

The Demand for Difference

December 11, 2020 / Tyler John

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of opening our Network summit in partnership with Radius, and earlier in the week, the privilege of attending the launch of our new Mutual Mentoring scheme. In doing so, I was able to reflect on how essential building empathy and understanding are, and the role which staff networks play in EDI success. Celebrating diversity and difference and building community is a critical component of our EDI strategy here at King’s. It is one of the reasons we have made a conscious and proactive effort to develop and support staff networks, partner with KCLSU, broaden our development approach to More than Mentoring, and ensure that we continue to support network development and wellbeing via events like the Radius summit.

Celebrating difference is about recognising that each employee or student is unique and valuing that individual difference. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond tolerance, to fully embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions that a truly diverse community can bring. Celebrating cultural events across the year, whether it be Pride, Black History Month, Trans Awareness Week, or Disability History Month, which we are currently celebrating, helps to unite and educate, and allows us to better understand each other’s perspectives.

King’s College London’s Proudly King’s Network at London Pride

Through understanding a range of diverse backgrounds and experiences, we can all gain a sense of pride for the diversity of our culture. Celebrating and understanding varied backgrounds is crucial to personal and community growth.

There are so many benefits of celebrating differences and enabling people to be their true selves at work. For example, doing this helps us and our organisations overcome stereotypes.

‘A stereotype is an over-generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group’

Stereotyping, whether it be conscious or unconscious, is too commonplace. It has a negative impact on the way people see and behave with others who they perceive (consciously or unconsciously) as different. Stereotyping encourages us to make assumptions about others, which can be incorrect and hurtful, as well as hindering collaboration and teamwork. When an organisation celebrates differences, it encourages the dissolution of preconceived notions, breaks down stereotypes and helps us to see people for who they are.

Celebrating difference and counteracting stereotypes discourages racism, sexism, homophobia, and ableism, to name but a few key things we must combat. These are often borne out of fear and ignorance. In the workplace, it could be a subtle joke or simply leaving someone out; either way it is not something we want to persist. With increased awareness and appreciation of different cultures and races comes increased respect for other people and their differences. Prejudice and stereotypes are removed through education and celebration and their removal is a necessity to discourage the ignorance that supports these ‘isms’.

People tend to surround themselves with people ‘like them’, as it is familiar and safe. Therefore, it is important to actively build cultural awareness of difference. Encouraging working with different cultures and backgrounds not only helps to educate others and build appreciation of other cultures and their histories, but it can also prevent ‘groupthink’.

Groupthink is a phenomenon that occurs when a group of individuals reaches a consensus without critical reasoning or evaluation of the consequences or alternatives. Groupthink is based on a common desire not to upset the balance of a group of people.

It is proven that having a more diverse set of people in the room prevents groupthink, leading to innovation, which ultimately leads to better decision-making. Increasing openness to difference helps create new ways of working, improves current processes and gives people the ability to make changes in the way they work, for the better. Once again, I recommend my AKC lecture to consider this in more detail.

Groupthink can encourage harmful or detrimental ways of thinking

In seeking ‘unity’ we must, at the same time, remember and celebrate individual uniqueness. Without this we will not be enabling people to be themselves. We will instead risk forcing them to assimilate to ‘a norm’. Embracing and celebrating difference brings a greater breadth of ideas and solutions and builds a culture where everyone feels valued and appreciated. Developing this inclusive culture requires more sophisticated and capable managers, as increased diversity increases the perspectives and ideas that need to be reconciled and rationalised. One of the ways we are helping build this is via Cultural Competency, a set of behaviours which takes this thinking and embeds it into the curriculum and professional development for all students and staff.

I developed my own confidence and capability by learning about myself and my differences, and consequently, was able to move from feeling othered to feeling empowered and confident. This is why I believe that this celebration of difference and building of community is one of the most crucial requirements of being successful, and why I have embedded it within King’s overall EDI .

Disability Inclusion at King’s – How far have we come, and how far have we to go?

December 8, 2020 / Tyler John

Foreword from Professor Richard Trembath (Provost/Senior Vice President (Health)), John Darker (Access King’s Co-Chair), and India Jordan (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Consultant)

We are delighted to announce that Richard Trembath (Provost/Senior Vice President (Health)) has been appointed as the Disability Inclusion programme’s senior sponsor. Within EDI we have a variety of sponsors and champions –

Professor Sir Edward Byrne, President & Principal – sponsor of equality, diversity & inclusion across the College
Professor ‘Funmi Olonisakin, Vice President & Vice Principal (International) – sponsor of our work on Race Equality and the Race Equality Chartermark
Professor Evelyn Welch, Professor of Renaissance Studies, Provost/Senior Vice President (Arts & Sciences) – sponsor of our work on Gender Equality and Athena

We believe that sponsors are instrumental in driving institutional change. Having a senior sponsor and champion for this work demonstrates King’s commitment to improving disability inclusion.

We are very excited to begin working with Richard in ensuring that disability inclusion is included in decision-making processes and structures within King’s. He will be an advocate for disability inclusion, protect and positively drive disability inclusion activity, and act as a role model for the organisation for an inclusive workforce. 

Richard says: I am delighted to have the opportunity to act as senior sponsor for disability inclusion. It is timely to highlight and ensure that King’s is at the forefront on development and delivery across the breadth of disability inclusion, from policy to implementation. My professional background as a clinician within the specialty of genetics, has provided significant opportunity for me to learn much of the impact of disability and of the benefits of inclusion, as means of enhancing wellbeing and enabling achievement.

Alongside a senior champion for our program of work, Access King’s highlight the importance of senior sponsorship within staff networks. John Darker (Access Co-Chair) explains:

The role of a community network Senior Champion at King’s is a very important one, and includes being a strong advocate for the network, whilst informing senior colleagues about its work and the benefits it affords the University. This year, Access King’s, the Staff Disability Inclusion Network at King’s, was pleased to announce that Dr Renuka Fernando had joined the Network as its Senior Champion. Dr Fernando has proactively supported Access King’s, championing for disability inclusion at senior meetings including the review of Return to Campus policies. Dr Fernando works with the Network’s Co-Chairs and its Committee to help progress its aims and goals.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Consultant, India Jordan, provides us with an update on the disability inclusion program of work so far, and plans and ambitions for this work as our next priorities.

Disability Inclusion at King’s – How far have we come, and how far have we to go?

At King’s, we are committed to disability equality and inclusion so that people with disabilities and those with long–term conditions are included and feel valued, and so that barriers are understood and overcome. Over the last 3 years, we have been developing and implementing a programme of work to support this. India Jordan, Equality Diversity and Inclusion Consultant within the EDI Sub-Function, reflects on our progress so far and our plans and priorities for the future.

UK Disability History Month is in its 10th year this year and the theme is ‘Access – how far have we come? How far have we to go?’ These are useful questions to help us reflect on King’s disability inclusion journeys.

So, how far have we come?

Sarah Guerra, the Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, identified disability inclusion as a key priority when starting at King’s in 2017, and so work has been underway to develop this area since then. In 2018/19 a Disability Action Plan and Maturity Model were developed to prioritise and focus disability inclusion work within King’s. The plans were developed in consultation with the King’s Community and the Business Disability Forum (a membership organisation working to remove structural barriers for those with disabilities and long–term health conditions), as part of a Disability Self-Assessment process.

The action plan focuses on four strategic areas: 

Leadership, Governance & Culture 
Policy, Process & Procedure 
Local Experience 
Data, Outcomes & Evaluation

Each of these 4 pillars cover areas in King’s that we know need to be developed for structural inequality around disability inclusion to be addressed. We need to have a holistic approach to tackling the issues. We know we need senior leadership buy–in, effective processes, maturity around data collection and evaluation, as well as ‘on the ground’ knowledge, skills and experience for us to progress as an institution in supporting those with disabilities and long-term health conditions.  

Alongside the Action Plan, the King’s Disability Inclusion Maturity Model was developed. The model comprises four levels of maturity, from ‘basic’, ‘reactive’, ‘proactive’ to ‘innovative’ and includes the same strategic strands as the Action Plan. This helps everyone understand what best practice looks and feels like in reality and the action we need to take to reach the highest level of maturity.

In 2020 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Consultant India Jordan reviewed our progress against the maturity levels. From this assessment, it is clear we have made significant progress in areas relating to Leadership, Governance and Culture and Policy, Process and Procedure, moving from Level 2 ‘Reactive’ (based from our initial assessment in 2019), to Level 3 ‘Proactive’. Some of the improvements include:  

Under the Leadership, Governance and Culture pillar, we have appointed a Disability Inclusion Senior Sponsor – Richard Trembath (Provost/Senior Vice President (Health)). Richard’s role is responsible for steering, promoting and championing progress of this work amongst the senior leadership. He’ll be advocate for disability inclusion, protect and positively drive disability inclusion activity, and act as a role model for the organisation for an inclusive workforce.
There is clear ‘board-level’ – in our case that’s Senior Management Team buy–in and commitment through committees such as the Digital Accessibility Programme Board, the Digital Education Task and Finish Group, and through our governance structures. This means that now, disability is represented as a part of King’s diverse identity and there is a demonstrable commitment to inclusion.
Under the Policy, Process and Procedure pillar, we have developed our work on Equality Analysis. For example, the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Team recently reviewed Equality Analyses for disability-related impacts and considerations, best practice and areas for development, specifically in relation to the pandemic. This, alongside the Equality Considerations Report, is used and highly encouraged when considering all new projects across the university.
Under the Local Experience pillar, we have developed resources and guidance that is available for all, such as the Disability Toolkit and the Accessible Guidance for Content Creators.
We are working to go ‘beyond compliance’ using inclusive design principles in consultation with service users such as our Access King’s Network, on projects such as the HR Transformation.

Key to this progress, awareness and engagement of disability inclusion has been our newly formed Access King’s Network. Only 1 year old, Access King‘s has seen a huge increase in membership and engagement, running events throughout the year from a discussion panel on leadership, to online events on how to run accessible and inclusive meetings. Access King’s have recently fed into the Return to Campus work by developing the Inclusive Badges project, a great example of the power of networks and community in driving institutional change.

The value of our networks is more important than ever, at a time when we are more isolated from our peers – finding community to share experiences and support each other is crucial. To get involved with Access King’s and to find out more about their events being run over Disability History Month, head to our webpage.

…and how far do we have to go?

Given the unprecedented events of 2020, the Disability Action Plan has developed in many ways. Digital Accessibility has become a priority for the College, particularly within the learning and teaching sphere. This will continue to be a priority for us as we support through various boards and working groups and updating and developing our Accessible Guidance for Content Creators.

Alongside digital accessibility, our priorities are to work collaboratively and inclusively through forming a Disability Inclusion Steering Group. This, in collaboration with our senior sponsor, will create action and hold people to account, ensuring all areas of King’s take responsibility for embedding disability inclusive practices. It is crucial we have support from our senior leadership, we need clear accountability and governance of the Disability Action Plan; with leaders knowing what is expected and required of them, which is why it is very exciting to be working with Richard Trembath on this project.

Alongside the formation of a working group, we know from the work we have done that the following areas of work need to be a priority in the coming 12-18 months:

Improving our adjustments process, including the development of a Staff Passport Scheme
Building capability and confidence amongst managers through guidance, resource and training
Continuing to support HR Recruitment, working closely on the selection and onboarding processes
Ensuring our online and physical spaces are accessible to all

It is important to reflect on our progress and celebrate our successes, but it is also important that we recognise where we need to improve and plan for us to be able to effectively do that. We want to reach the highest levels of maturity, we want to be a leader of best practice for disability inclusion for HE and most importantly, we want our staff and students to feel that there are no barriers to their being their very best whilst at King’s.

It is hard to predict what the world will look like this time next year and undoubtedly we will face more change and challenges as we acclimatise to our new reality. However, we know that the changes and developments outlined above will enable us to move through and adapt to them more effectively and sustainably. The unique circumstances of 2020 have given us insight to a more accessible and inclusive world we believe is possible and we will continue to embed these practices, so they are not the exception, but rather the norm.

How can you get involved?

If you are interested and passionate about disability inclusion within King’s and want to make a difference within this area, join our disability inclusion staff network – Access King’s. They are hosting a range of events over Disability History Month and have regular monthly drop-ins.

Making Time for Talent

December 2, 2020 / Tyler John

One of the crucial elements of my EDI philosophy is helping people see that there is no single ‘right’ answer to achieving equality, diversity and inclusion – it takes a collection of concerted and connected activities to move in the direction you seek. Similarly, nothing stands still – you cannot set off on your strategic journey expecting there to be a fixed or distinct EDI end point – that we will reach ‘Diversity Nirvana’ so to speak. The world, society, and individuals are constantly changing and evolving, and we need to recognise and adapt to that.

That makes succession planning hard but also critical. By that, I mean thinking proactively about what talent, skills and knowledge you need now and what you will need in the future. This is important across any organisation and vital for key roles. What if certain people left at short notice? What if X or Y changes? How will the organisation cope and adapt? Can it handle changes without massive disruption or danger?

It’s timely that I write this blog, as recently I met with colleagues leading a project called the ‘Size and Shape refresh’ – this is King’s ten-year planning framework. It seeks to set out a series of projected endpoints for 2029 across a range of indicators. These were first developed in 2018 as the result of careful consideration around key issues related to education, research, finance, space and people. Size and Shape was designed to be a deliverable and balanced plan and emphasised the interconnectedness of different aspects of the strategy to be used in business planning rounds to inform annual targets, budget setting and strategic decision-making. This is a significant layer of information that enables succession planning.

I of course advocate that succession planning has the most value when it is implemented looking consciously through an equality and diversity lens. That means, leaders take a step back and consider the future needs of the organisation and build a broad-based plan that addresses these critical needs. Alongside this, they need to consider the whole workforce in terms of building greater diversity. That means understanding the different parts of the workforce, what the pipeline into them is and who is in the current ‘talent’ pool of the organisation. So, for example if underrepresented in certain areas or there are pay gaps – how does addressing these fit into the succession planning efforts?

This activity needs to have data – both qualitative and quantitative. HR needs to take an active role in ensuring the relevant data is shared and considered. That any stated objectives and KPIs that exist are examined and if necessary revisited and updated. These objectives need to be organisation wide and specific for individual units in the organisation – at King’s, our KPIs can be broken down by individual faculty and we look across Professional Services Directorates as a whole.

The balance scorecard/KPI homepage for King’s on PowerBI

Having a clear EDI strategy and our KPIs means we can all have a clearer understanding of what success looks like and where we want to head as an organisation. This should also be a key component of setting and tracking performance criteria which can help to reduce bias. Organisations should, for example, ask themselves: what level of diverse talent will be needed in the pipeline to create a difference in the next three to five years? What policies or actions are needed to improve diversity if there is currently will not meet future needs?

Succession planning also enables a proactive and focused approach to supporting employee progression and development. This helps address several issues such as increased turnover, fast-paced changes at work, and the challenge of ensuring meaningful diversity across the organisation. When diverse talent is identified, it is important to ensure these individuals are supported. This involves regular and active discussion, and the provision of guidance and coaching to ensure strengths and stretch areas are identified. At King’s, our PDR and feedback processes should ensure that not only are success and achievement recognised, but so too are behaviours in accordance with our Principles in Action framework and where necessary areas for improvement, so lessons are learnt and understood to improve overall performance and so maximise student experience and outcomes.

King’s Principles in Action

Performance appraisal should mean there are regular individual progression discussions. The outcomes of these should be regularly reviewed at leadership level across an organisation. This is yet another way of reducing bias and helping surface talent. By developing a more collective idea of individual strengths and available opportunities, it allows those with potential to be more visible and gain access to opportunities, and so helps with succession planning.

Critically, organisations need to recognise that where groups are underrepresented, they need to be intentional in providing opportunities to raise the profile of individuals and reassure them that their talents are recognised. This helps everyone better recognise individual talent and realise people’s potential. This provides a virtual circle of enabling informed and effective succession planning.

I’ll end where I started – there is no single ‘right’ answer to achieving equality, diversity and inclusion. It requires a number of concerted and connected activities which includes understanding where you are as an organisation, who you currently have and where you want to get to. In thinking about that, we all need to be able to imagine a future that looks and feel different. Whilst I can’t tell you what Diversity Nirvana for any organisation looks like, I know it looks and feels different to how we all currently are.

Seven steps towards Transforming Women’s Leadership in our Business Schools

November 23, 2020 / Tyler John

Writing for the Chartered Association of Business Schools, in this blog, Professor Sally Everett proposes steps to make female leadership more equal across business schools.

I was in tears on Saturday 7 November – moved by emotion, excitement and sheer relief. Watching the first woman ever to be elected to the office of Vice President of the United States of America was to me, one of the most momentous and important historic events I have witnessed in my lifetime. As Kamala Harris spoke, it gave me hope for women and the future of leadership (in all its forms) everywhere:

“Dream with ambition, lead with conviction and see yourselves in a way that others may not simply because they’ve never seen it before“ (Kamala Harris, 7/11/20)

Kamala Harris, who was recently elected as the first ever black, Asian, and female Vice-President of the United States of America.

It got me thinking; what might this ‘dreaming with ambition’ look like for women (and especially women of colour) seeking leadership in our business schools? How might women be able to lead with conviction and pave the way for future female academic leaders, history makers and ultimately help realise equity and genuine diversity within our leadership communities?

As a member of the Chartered ABS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee it seems an opportune moment to suggest some actions that might deliver improved female representation and diversity across all levels of leadership. At the time of writing, 43 business schools have a female Dean/Director (out of 120 Chartered ABS member business schools) and although 35.8% is perhaps a more encouraging statistic than some other faculties and schools, it hides some glaring inequalities in terms of equality of pay, opportunity, and recognition as reported in a Chartered ABS research reflection on HESA data and Hewitt for HEPI (2020).

I propose we consider seven areas of action that could make a positive difference and shift the dial towards greater female representation in all forms and levels of business school leadership. For ease, I have summarised these as ‘Seven Ts’ for transforming women’s leadership in business schools. I am most grateful to the Plus Alliance working group and work of the Chartered ABS EDI Committee for planting seeds in me; seeds and shoots that will continue to grow over time and inform my entire career.

I offer seven steps to gender equity in our schools: tone, transform, talk, togetherness, transparent, talent, and targets.

TONE: We need the ‘tone from the top’ and be convinced that our leaders care about this agenda and are prepared to act. Not because of how it might look, or that it might help secure research funding, but because they ‘get it’, understand the urgency of it and want to champion gender equity for the sake of the whole community. University and faculty leaders must set the tone through their actions, their language, and their policies. We look to our leaders for guidance and inspiration. Much like we know gender parity will not happen on its own in the boardroom (Thorne and Konigsburg writing in HBR 2020), leaders at the top of our institutions need to actively and visibly empower women. Who are they appointing to the executive council and board? Are they our school’s/university’s equality and diversity champions? Are they sponsoring female colleagues?
TRANSFORM: In reframing leadership we need to ensure invisible work (often unhelpfully called ‘admin’ or ‘service’) is valued. For many, academic leadership has become synonymous with invisible administration, long hours and under appreciation. Schools need to foster a culture where academic citizenship is rewarded and recognised in probation, promotion and professorial criteria. Female faculty will often take on a disproportionate amount of this work (see Guarino and Borden, 2017 who found women took on 30 more minutes per week of service than men and 1.5 more service activities per year than men). How are Business Schools complicit in this? For example, student support interventions at programme level that retain students can be worth millions of pounds in fee income, or the development of a new course can secure significant sums of recruitment income, yet an external research grant worth a fraction of this is often more openly celebrated and regarded as more critical for promotion. We also need to ensure there is parity in how we treat research and teaching – when a colleague secures a research fellowship or sabbatical, someone covers their teaching. Who covers someone’s research when they secure a teaching fellowship?
TALK: as we have seen in the recent Black Lives Matter movement, we recognise that silence is compliance. We all have a duty to champion our colleagues and ensure we call out sexism, address gender inequality, and expose misogyny where and when we see it. Many of us have seen committee papers and research written by female colleagues skilfully repurposed to remove their input; we need to expose such behaviour and start talking to others when and where this happens. It cannot be left unsaid. We need to be the cheerleaders of our female colleagues in our business school meetings.
TOGETHERNESS: we need to create ties and come together in networks. In developing a growth mindset where we bring each other along (and elevate up) leaders become navigators to those seeking guidance and support. Echoing Granovetter’s groundbreaking sociological study ‘Strength of Weak Ties’ work (1973), we know women generally develop deeper relationships and less ‘loose ties’. We need to develop communities of practice where we nurture links, share experiences, and build a sense of belonging. In my own business school, I was struck by some of the career isolation many of female colleagues shared with me, so developed ‘Women@KBS’ as a network of sharing ideas, support and reflections. It has become a place of nurturing and empowerment.
TRANSPARENCY: we need to reward and recognise where the work is happening and hold our schools to account by publishing data about equality performance. We need to go beyond traditional measures of leadership and be more transparent in what is measured, why and by whom. For example, perhaps we should openly acknowledge who is at the table in terms of equality and diversity at the start of our meetings, and report the number of women and faculty from under-represented groups in our annual reports and in our committee minutes.
TALENT: we need to identify talent, create a talent pool and sponsor the development of colleagues. How might we expose female colleagues to ‘doing’ leadership through vertical shadowing, peer mentoring, and bring women to the executive table as part of succession planning? The recent Chartered ABS mentoring scheme was an important step in this direction. By creating explicit pathways to leadership and recognising work with titles for their CV e.g. Director of X, Lead of Y we create opportunities for those around us to emerge and to excel. Consider having female colleagues shadow the Dean for a period of time in rotation, or think about what role titles could be used for colleagues involved in academic administration tasks that fall within the cracks of an ineffective workload model, e.g. Academic Lead for Community Engagement.
TARGETS: ensure equity-based KPIs are woven into performance reviews. Peter Drucker famously said, ‘if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it’. We need to be transparent in how we use data and be ambitious in the targets we set ourselves and our schools. We need to measure impact quantitatively and publish data at school level (as we see in the Athena Swan approach), but also ensure we capture impact qualitatively through personal stories, lived experiences and people’s reflections.

Equality in our business schools will not happen by chance –We need to be pro-active and fill the spaces where decisions happen in our schools with a dialogue of diversity and inclusion. As a Vice Dean of a business school I have a strong sense of responsibility to pay it forward and to create a ripple effect. We know that everyone benefits when women are included. It will be about evolution not revolution, but we need to commit to the the legacy we wish to build, and start now. As we look at female leadership, I am inspired by global figures like Kamala Harris, Michelle Obama, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Jacinda Ardern who have sought to advance others through strength and empathy and lead others through kindness, decency and respect.

‘Women belong in all places where decisions are being made’ (Ruth Bader Ginsburg)

References

Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American journal of sociology, 78(6), 1360-1380. Available from : https://www.cse.wustl.edu/~m.neumann/fl2017/cse316/materials/strength_of_weak_ties.pdf

Guarino, C.M., and Borden, V.M.H. (2017) Faculty Service Loads and Gender: Are Women Taking Care of the Academic Family?. Research in Higher Education 58, 672–694 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-017-9454-2

Hewitt, R. (2020) Mind the gap: gender differences in higher education, HEPI Report 2020. Available from: https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2020/03/07/mind-the-gap-gender-differences-in-higher-education/

Thorne, S. and Konigsburgh, D. (2020) Gender Parity in the Boardroom Won’t Happen on Its Own in Harvard Business Review 12 February 2020. Available from: https://hbr.org/2020/02/gender-parity-in-the-boardroom-wont-happen-on-its-own

World Economic Forum (2020) Mind the 100 Year Gap. Available from: https://www.weforum.org/reports/gender-gap-2020-report-100-years-pay-equality

Professor Sally Everett is a Professor of Business Education, and Vice Dean (Education) at King’s Business School, where she leads on the development, implementation and promotion of the King’s Business School’s education strategy.

The Power of Partners

November 17, 2020 / Tyler John

As I write this, it is not long after a surprise (well, at least to me) government announcement aimed at addressing needless bureaucracy that potentially significantly shifts the tectonic plates in HE around chartermark participation and value. This paper indicates a change that means NIHR funding will no longer be dependent on holding an Athena Swan silver award. The impacts and outcomes of that are not at all clear at this point, so this blog is more about my general opinion and knowledge of external forums and chartermarks. Later in the blog series I will dedicate more time to the chartermarks we participate in.

Getting involved with external forums and partners is a way for network leaders, organisation leaders, HR and EDI practitioners to gain and share good practice, and to interact with others to expand understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion issues across organisations.

There are many forums and organisations. We at King’s belong to several – Advance HE (who administer Athena Swan and the Race Equality Chartermark), Working Families, Stonewall (who create the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index to indicate how good an employer you are for LGBTQ+ people), the Business Disability Forum (who provide a self-assessment) and Radius. These types of organisations are collectively on a mission to drive inclusion investment, build expertise, spread good practice and ultimately, change mindsets and public policy through the gathering of sector-wide experts. They often commission research and seek to share knowledge.

External networks and forums which King’s belongs to

External benchmarking is an important step to understand how an organisation is performing in context, as well as identifying new opportunities for improvement. We at King’s, in common with many across the sector, have taken part in the Athena Swan Gender Equality Chartermark since 2007. We will shortly be submitting our 2nd institutional application, hoping to reach Silver level. We were also one of the pilot organisations to join the Race Equality Chartermark. We recently succeeded in renewing our Bronze level award.

Taking part in external forums and benchmarks helps demonstrate an organisation’s commitment to diversity, showing that they want to listen, learn and share, and that they are prepared to go beyond their own boundaries and personal interests. It is a way of showing a willingness and enthusiasm to be involved in both the research and embedding of activity that serves diverse groups. It also makes economic sense for many. For smaller organisations, the cost and risks of investigating and resolving EDI related issues can seem overwhelming and sharing this with others can make it more achievable.

I have found our memberships and partners a great way of augmenting internal expertise and filling knowledge gaps, by bringing leaders together with their peers for a shared learning experience.

Participating and collaborating with external organisations and undertaking benchmarks can, without a doubt, be time consuming. That is why I am very selective about which ones I work with and how I spend my time. (I get several emails every day and many calls a week trying to entice me into new relationships – on a strictly work-related basis!) I find it is important that I understand what I want to achieve, and so select the partners and events that can help with that. In times of limited financial resources and personal time, this becomes ever more critical.

An example of some of the resources and benefits you can make use of when you join an external forum. Here is a snippet from the Business Disability Forum website.

The other danger with external forums is you increase the pool of uncertainty. EDI is not a simple issue, and there is no one answer. It is possible for wider discussion across organisations to increase confusion and stagnation. Again, this for me is about choosing the right partners and investing internally in high-quality EDI experts who will not be waylaid like this.

Please do take some time to familiarise yourself with our partner organisations – most of these have access to membership areas which anyone with a kcl address can register for and access. They are a tool and resource available to people that can help development and delivery. I’d also love feedback on how much value people feel these offer as well as suggestions for new partners.

As I reflect on the years that have led me through public policy making, to activism and then to being an EDI practitioner, I have learnt that social justice change, which is what EDI is at its heart, doesn’t come easily. The ability to talk and learn from others, to share ideas and gain support, are all critical instruments in making change happen. The ability to measure and objectively understand how well you are doing (compared to others) is invaluable. Internal measures and judgements can be very narrow, and it is hard to break away from the status quo without evidence. So, I personally am a big advocate of careful and strategic participation in external forums and benchmarks, but also I recognise that to make that meaningful change, one must commit time and effort, and we should be under no illusions that these provide a quick fix – that elusive silver bullet!

Dignity at King’s – Bullying and Harassment Policy Published

November 11, 2020 / Tyler John

Dignity at King’s – Bullying and Harassment Policy Published

We have developed a Dignity at King’s – Bullying and Harassment Policy which supports the entire King’s Community. This replaces the previous Dignity at Work – Statement of Commitment and applies to the whole of the university. We are doing this because we know that, like all large institutions, we have problems with bullying & harassment at all levels. This new policy is designed to ensure we tackle this sensitively.

The policy has been developed based on wide ranging research of HEI and public sector best practice, alongside consultation with many across the College. It is now available and can be accessed in the Governance Zone.

This policy sets out the responsibilities of those within the King’s community in addressing inappropriate behaviour, clearly defines conduct that is not acceptable and outlines where to go for support for anyone who has witnessed or experienced bullying and harassment.

Importantly, it also makes clear that managers and senior leaders need to support our community and engage with and address behaviour and issues related to alleged bullying and harassment as they arise. This is key to fostering and enabling an environment free from bullying and harassment and ensuring that the policy is embedded within our ways of working and culture at King’s.

Bullying and harassment are organisational issues to be addressed. This can only be done when there is commitment from senior leadership. Our senior leaders have made it clear this is a top priority for them. Evelyn Welch (Provost & Senior Vice President (Arts & Sciences)), Richard Trembath (Senior Vice President and Provost (Health)) and Steve Large (Senior Vice President (Operations)) have identified this as a joint priority and are determined to ensure that the right systems, symbols and behaviours are in place so that the highest quality senior leadership around bullying and harassment is modelled and implemented within the university.

The development of the policy is only the start. Planning for a significant programme of work is underway, led by HR King’s senior leaders, with examples of work including:

Developing further guidance and resources for managers
Working with Vice Deans Research to embed further support within the research community
Developing a package of training, including being an active bystander for staff
Reviewing and updating subsequent policies and procedures related to this policy

These packages of work will also be informed by the practical, applied anti-bullying and harassment work within faculties.

Useful resources that are available now:

Bullying and Harassment Guidance for Managers – Bullying and Harassment Guidance for Managers is a comprehensive guidance document developed by the Organisational Development team. we recommend all managers, supervisors or those with responsibility for staff or students read and understand this as a first priority
Domestic Abuse Guidance for the King’s Community
Dignity at King’s Webpages
Organisational Development Leadership and Development Webinars for Managers
Our Principles in Action

Training

Below are some useful training resources available on KEATS. The following Skill Boosters videos are recorded for a variety of different audiences and environments. They are useful in considering the key learning points and approaches that provide support in any environment including our own University context.

Their content comprises of Short Films, Micro Courses and Courses, their respective lengths are outlined below. You will need to enroll via KEATS to access the courses.

Banter in the workplace

Short Film (10 mins)
Micro Course (15 mins)

Bullying and Harassment – Effective Interventions

Short Film (14 mins)
Micro Course (15 mins)

Creating and Environment Based on Respect

Short Film (14 mins)
Micro course (15 mins)

Understanding and Confronting Sexual Harassment

Short Film (13 mins)
Micro Course (20 mins)
Course

The full length course for this training is 45 minutes long. We recommend you complete this as a part of a group or in a facilitated session. If you would like support from the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Team in facilitating this, contact diveristy@kcl.ac.uk

Challenging Behaviour

Course (60 mins)

This course is 60 minutes long. We recommend you complete this as a part of a group or in a facilitated session. If you would like support from the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Team in facilitating this, contact diveristy@kcl.ac.uk

EDI: The Whole Shebang!

October 19, 2020 / Tyler John

I write a lot of blogs and it sometimes may be hard to see how all the things I talk about fit into a coherent whole. I have therefore decided to write a blog series that aims to describe how and why I take a whole systems approach to improving EDI in organisations. To do that I will produce pieces on why we aim to tackle EDI issues and what the individual components that have been proven to work are. I will then also examine the detail of these various elements.

So, first, the why?

The most basic answer is, it’s the law (The Equality Act 2010), and an organisation such as King’s doesn’t have a choice but to comply. However, that answer is not the reason King’s created the post of Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. If we look at Vision 2029 we can see that our ambition is to create a world-leading university in terms of education, research and service, and that we are already diverse. However, our intention is that anyone with talent can think of King’s as a place they can come to work or study that will nurture and develop that talent, enabling them to thrive whilst here and in their future. To really fulfil our mission, we need to be innovative and creative – which is something I truly believe comes from diversity of perspectives.

Sarah Guerra, Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

EDI helps us to innovate and create as well as inspiring and supporting everyone attached to King’s and beyond. To be successful we must be inclusive in our recruitment (of staff and students) – we have to create opportunities for all. I spoke about this in my AKC .

To achieve that, we must be a great place to work, and that means we must recognise and reward all people fairly. We must seek out and develop all talent – and not be prevented from seeing it by bias – conscious or unconscious. To do all that, we need great leaders and managers, and we need clear policies, processes and systems to aid us. We need to understand what makes us attractive as a place to study or work but also why people leave. When they do, do they feel that their have fulfilled their potential or has that been prevented in some way?

So, in the coming weeks I will look at ‘the business case’. Leadership, data (including targets and benchmarking), action planning and tracking progress, building trust, sharing success and challenges. I will look at the value of networks – internal and external; the kind of planning and thinking organisations that want to be inclusive need to do; the relevance of training, development and awareness; and no doubt more. I hope that, over the weeks, this will help everyone understand how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together and lead to an organisation, culture, systems and processes that include by design rather than exclude through carelessness and ignorance.

Dignity at King’s – Bullying and Harassment Policy Published

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