Equity, diversity & inclusion

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is integral to the work that we do, and we are committed to achieving this at all levels of our organisation.

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is integral to the work that we do, and we are committed to achieving this at all levels of our organisation.

This work is very much in progress, and on this page we explain what we’re doing to get there.

In this article

Introduction

We support families, bring families together and help families take action for others. We are here for every family that need us, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, gender identity or any other characteristic.

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is therefore integral to the work that we do, and we are committed to achieving this at all levels of our organisation. This work is very much in progress, and on this page we explain what we’re doing to get there.

Leadership principles 

We sign up to ACEVO’s eight principles to address the diversity deficit in charity leadership.

These are: 

  1. Acknowledging that there is a problem with racial diversity in the charity sector and commit to working to change that.
  2. Recognising the important role leaders have in creating change by modelling positive behaviour and taking action.
  3. Learning about racial bias and how it impacts leadership decisions.
  4. Committing to setting permanent and minimum targets for diversity that reflects the participants, donors, beneficiaries and the population of the area that the charity operates in.
  5. Committing to action and invest resources, where necessary, in order to improve racial diversity in the charity.
  6. Viewing staff as the sum of many parts rather than a single entity and recruiting to build a diverse group of talented people collectively working towards a shared vision. 
  7. Recruiting for potential, not perfection. 
  8. Valuing lived experience, the ability to draw from one’s lived experience and to bring insights to an organisation that can develop its work.

EDI work plan

Our EDI work plan sets out our organisational intentions. Five key principles guide this plan, outlined below.

1. Prioritise equality, diversity and inclusion

We will invest time and resources to our EDI work so that this is integrated and embedded within our organisational priorities.

2. Understand lived experience

We will create opportunities for meaningful involvement from people with lived experience and endeavour to hear from a diverse range of voices.

3. Grow an inclusive culture

We are committed to creating an environment that supports and encourages positive, inclusive behaviours so that people can bring their whole selves to work.

4. Act to tackle inequalities

We will work to achieve a fairer society for all, by understanding the barriers faced by the families we support and committing to actions to overcome them.

5. Review progress regularly

We will regularly review our EDI priorities, measure our success and ask for feedback and we will hold ourselves accountable.

For each principle, we have committed to actions at both a central and team level.

“We have made a good start to support equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) at Contact, but it’s important that we carry on implementing our EDI workplan. Our next strategy will build on the progress made so far to help us go much further in delivering on our EDI commitments. Prioritising this work is vital, because enabling inclusion and learning from a diversity of views and experiences is fundamental to the change we want to see for families with disabled children.”   

Anna Bird, CEO of Contact