Equality, Diversity, Inclusion: Put your money where your mouth is
At a time when HR budgets and indeed wider organisation priorities are constantly under pressure, the ED&I agenda can sometimes seem to take a backseat. If not given the required level of importance there is always the chance that these kind of initiatives can be viewed as tokenism only, signs that an employer is well aware of the importance of looking like they’re ‘on board’, but not so worried about delivering on that promise.
The HR World’s webinar this week addressed ED&I and with a panel consisting of Sandi Wassmer, Chief Executive Officer at Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (enei), René Bujard, HR Director, EMEA at Sunstar, Laura Pettit, Chief Culture Officer at Snag and Cat Wildman, Founder of Powered By Diversity and the webinar’s sponsor.
The discussion was thoughtful, provoking and practical in equal measure. Each panellist gave examples from their own experience of where the ED&I agenda currently rests and the challenges of getting this agenda and related activities right as soon as possible. The webinar addressed questions raised by its audience in real time, including how HR should discuss and support DE&I initiatives – how these were valued by the workforce and should be supported in order to create an effective and productive workplace.
It was interesting to hear how the ED&I agenda has played out over recent years and the importance of organisations to ensure that these issues have a real impact and a real place within their organisations.
At the end of the day, ED&I doesn’t just play an important part in recruitment and retention for a business – which it undoubtedly does – but is also important in generating a world which includes everyone.
Sandi Wassmer is a seasoned leader with director-level experience across charity and commercial sectors. Renowned for visionary strategy and change management, she combines entrepreneurial spirit with a customer-centric approach. Sandi harnesses creativity, compassion, and ingenuity to drive innovation and continuous improvement. She excels at building and nurturing high-performing teams, cultivating cultures centered on exceptional service delivery.
René Bujard is a global HR leader with broad experience (corporate, non-profit, private equity and family owned businesses). In both his professional and volunteer endeavours, his focus is on partnering with boards and senior leaders to drive strategic direction, cultural transformation, and change management to create truly inclusive cultures that employees experience daily, contributing to higher engagement and business results.
Laura Pettitt, Chief Culture Officer at Snag, is dedicated to fostering a positive, inclusive, and high-performing work environment for employees and customers alike. With over fifteen years in people leadership roles, Laura’s expertise spans talent acquisition, strategy, reward, DEE&I, organizational design, employee experience, and relations. CIPD qualified with Level 7 in Organisational Design and Development and Level 5 in Employment Law, Laura is also a sought-after public speaker at events like the Culture First Conference and InHouse Recruitment Expo.
Cat Wildman, Founder of Powered By Diversity, is a scientist-turned-technologist, an equity, diversity and inclusion expert, an award-winning digital product person.
Cat spent two decades in global media companies, solving problems using technology and creating award-winning digital products before becoming a full time founder. Marrying her two passions; equity for all and digital products, Cat created her Diversity and Inclusion company, Powered By Diversity in 2020.
As Founder of Powered By Diversity, Cat is most likely to be found writing and speaking at events on her favourite topics; diversity, equity and inclusion (EDI), digital product, start-ups and working parents.
