As four organisations working closely with diverse community organisations across the UK, we are jointly and publicly committing to advocate for and actively effect a more diverse, equitable and inclusive community business sector, alongside our partners, Power to Change, Locality, Co-operatives UK.
Together, we provide support and funding to thousands of people in the sector every year, and influence government, which puts us in a position of power and privilege. Despite our good intentions, we have realised our organisations and the wider sector may inadvertently be excluding groups of people through unconscious bias and too many barriers to entry. This needs to change.
We’ve taken the first steps of acknowledging there is an issue, having difficult conversations and putting time and resource into taking action. We are starting to ‘get our own houses in order’ and looking at how we can positively influence and effect change in the sectors that we support. That’s why in 2020 we commissioned a joint review of our approaches to diversity, equality and inclusivity. We’re committed to turning those recommendations into action in 2021. Find out how each of our organisations are embedding equity, diversity and inclusion into our practices.
Vidhya Alakeson, CEO Power to Change
Tony Armstrong, CEO Locality
James Alcock, CE Plunkett Foundation
Rose Marley, CEO Co-operatives UK
