Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

People are at the heart of who we are and what we do, so we believe in embedding policies and procedures that foster an equitable and inclusive environment for our staff, expert volunteers, and the people we support.

Our ED&I working group, consists of various staff members across different departments. We often discuss important ED&I topics, educate, and inform staff and introduce initiatives that help us deliver our vision and mission in the best ways possible. This dedication to ED&I has led to some important and necessary changes at Orbis UK.

Our Board of Trustees are a vital component of our organisation. Their experience and leadership help guide our operations and practices. As such, our Trustees need to be diverse, come from different backgrounds and reflect the Orbis UK staff and the people we support. Since 2021, we have been excited to lead on recruitment which has resulted in 8 out of 14 Trustees being women – two of whom are from under-represented groups. The new board members will bring in fresh ideas and perspectives to help us deliver more success.

Additionally, we acknowledge and recognise the disadvantages and barriers people from under-represented and socially diverse groups face in the workforce. To address this, we implemented an anonymised CV process during the recruitment phase. This will help us to avoid any bias and encourage candidates from Black and Ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ and candidates with disabilities to apply for each vacancy at Orbis UK.

We recognise that everyone has some level of unconscious bias due to their background, culture, upbringing, and status. For Orbis UK to better support staff and the people we work with, the organisation needs to address, engage and work hard to minimise any biases we may have. Therefore, we regularly work with external facilitators to deliver all-staff unconscious bias training and to create open and safe spaces for colleagues to learn and grow – both professionally and personally.

Language is a powerful tool that helps us to communicate ourselves, our ideas, and our values. The words we use are important and meaningful but as society changes, certain words become outdated. At Orbis UK, we always strive to communicate about our organisation, staff, expert volunteers, and the people we support in a fair and representative way. As a result, we have worked on updating our language toolkit in line with the Bond guideline. The new guideline focuses on the use of clear and accessible language across all areas of our work. It also moves away from phrases and expressions that reinforce power structures and the use of negative terminology.

As we continue with our equality, diversity and inclusion commitment, we will highlight other areas of improvement we are proud to share.