This case study attempts to use terminology that is acceptable to under-represented groups, but we appreciate that some of what is written may be problematic. For this we apologise. As with many others, we are on a learning journey and hope that you will bear with us as we move forward together.
Our Employee Communities;
Diversity and inclusion are woven into the fabric of who we are as a business, and this means it needs to be driven by our people and endorsed by our most senior leaders through their actions and our company policies.
One of the most successful ways we’re living this is through our Employee Communities. They represent a broad spectrum of what makes up our culture and help educate, nurture and support where we need to improve. Our Employee Communities play an important role in integrating a diverse workforce, creating an inclusive culture, and keeping employees engaged and motivated. They are also in a unique position to advise policy makers on how to recruit and maintain colleagues from more diverse backgrounds.
Embrace The Embrace Community raises awareness of and drives discussion on issues affecting colleagues from ethnic minority backgrounds, and of all religions. We are committed to developing a workforce that reflects the communities we serve, and Embrace plays a key role in helping to create an inclusive environment for all.
Women in Cadent is a network of colleagues of all genders from across our business, who are committed to creating equality and supporting women’s professional and personal development. We are building our network to ensure we include both women and men in the conversation, to drive a gender-balanced culture and address the underrepresentation of women in particular in the upper quartile of the business.
Pride at Work Our ambition is for current and future generations of LGBTQ+ employees to feel comfortable, safe and included at work. Our employee-led community, Pride at Work, is a welcoming and safe space where our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ+) and allied members can thrive and feel included. The group aims to provide informal support to LGBTQ+ colleagues and is run by employees for all employees.
Thrive! Our newest community Thrive! is an employee-led community created to raise awareness of and support people with disabilities within Cadent. Its community members share a common vision of focusing on ability and making our workplace accessible and supportive to all. Small adjustments can give huge benefits and Thrive! Are ensuring that colleagues with physical or neurodiverse needs can give of their very best.
Cadent Military Community We are proud signatories to the Armed Forces Covenant, and it is important that we demonstrate that Cadent is an Armed Forces friendly employer. We actively support service leavers entering the business, our current reservists and those that have previously served. We show our commitment to this is by participating in the Armed Forces Day and Reserve Forces Day events.
Our partnerships
We have several partnerships that enable us to collaboratively drive change, challenging ourselves to do things differently. These include the Women’s Utilities Network, Women’s Engineering Society and Energy & Utility Skills signing the Race at Work Charter and being a Disability Confident Employer.
Employee Community structure
Our Employee Communities follow a set structure with defined roles and responsibilities.
Each Employee Community has a sponsor from the senior leadership team who oversees the Community, providing direction and guidance on its mission and goals. A recent example of the success of having a senior sponsor for our Employee Communities is the support Pride at Work received when proposing to attend Birmingham Pride Parade 2021. Our Pride at Work Employee Community worked hard, with their sponsors support, to organise and attended our first ever Pride Parade as a company.
Steering Group and Working Group
We have both a dedicated EDI Steering Group and EDI Working Group. Steering Group roles and responsibilities:
- Provide the strategic direction on EDI with representation from across Cadent and from the Employee Communities.
- Determine and Sponsor Priorities.
- Challenge and improve the management of Diversity and Inclusion into companywide policy and practice.
- Track and measure progress against Diversity and Inclusion.
Working Group roles and responsibilities:
- In line with Steering Group, drive progress against identified priorities and measure progress;
- Support the Employee Communities;
- Create an inclusive culture and support practices that develop inclusive leaders;
- Provide focus areas and measure progress;
- Provide feedback, seek direction from Steering Group and highlight EDI issues;
The Steering Group also set formal Equality, Diversity and Inclusion business priorities that shape the focus areas for EDI within Cadent each year.
EDI Communications
We have a monthly EDI communications call where the communications lead from each Employee Community meet to discuss upcoming events/articles that are due to be published. This is to ensure we are all aware of the content being released and can make sure that no overlaps take place. For example, two events happening on the same day.
Non-Automotive Case Studies
