Overcoming unconscious bias for a more inclusive workplace
Helen Harrison, Head of Sales at Santander and Nick Piper, Senior Operational Mortgage Manager at Accord, share their opinions on overcoming unconscious bias…
October 16, 2024
Any dimension that can be used to differentiate groups and people from one another. It’s about empowering people by respecting and appreciating what makes them different, in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, education, and national origin. Diversity allows for the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It means understanding one another by surpassing simple tolerance to ensure people truly value their differences. This allows us both to embrace and also to celebrate the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual and place positive value on diversity in the community and in the workforce.
An organisational effort and practices in which different groups or individuals having different backgrounds are culturally and socially accepted and welcomed. Inclusion is a sense of belonging. Inclusive cultures make people feel respected and valued for who they are as an individual or group. People feel a level of supportive energy and commitment from others so that they can do their best at work. Inclusion often means a shift in an organisation’s mind-set and culture that has visible effects, such as participation in meetings, how offices are physically organised or access to particular facilities or information.
Everyone is welcome in the mortgage industry, and everyone should be able to be their true selves every day. Our future depends on this.
Find out what diversity and inclusion means to people working in the mortgage industry. Hear the real stories of people from all walks of life – how they found their way into the mortgage industry, the highs and lows of their careers and their lived experiences of D&I within the industry – in our new blog series Real People, Real Stories. Do you have a story of your own to tell? Get involved!
Helen Harrison, Head of Sales at Santander and Nick Piper, Senior Operational Mortgage Manager at Accord, share their opinions on overcoming unconscious bias…
When it comes to leadership, diversity in financial services is massively out of whack with the rest of the country, and the time is ripe for change…
How to approach the challenge of making the workplace consciously inclusive from Daniel Priest, Inclusion Manager at Principality Building Society…
The report shares the results of the extensive survey, conducted in July 2021, of people’s perceptions and lived experiences of diversity, inclusion and equity in the mortgage industry. It will give you an insight into how inclusive our sector is currently and highlights simple actions that we can all take to make a change individually, as well as more structural changes required at firm level.
Our work doesn’t stop with the publication of this report. We will continue to listen, share and work with the industry to drive positive change, to ensure that everyone within the industry feels that they belong, that bad behaviour is banished and that the mortgage sector is a fair and enjoyable place to work.
We have collated a range of tools and resources from across the industry to support you in your D&I journey, whatever stage of your career. Here you will find policies, guides, research and useful external content links that you can share with your employees, employers and colleagues. Many of these resources are currently in use by leading names in the industry, whose commitment to improving D&I across the sector led them to share their policies and procedures as examples of best practice. Click on the links below to view more.
We have recently developed a range of factsheets to help you understand the many types of diversities that exist, the obstacles facing people and what you can do to help make the workplace a safe and rewarding environment, whether as a colleague or leader.
There are many D&I events that take place across the industry throughout the year. It can be hard to keep track, but Your D&I have created a helpful calendar to steer you through. The calendar is available to download from their website and there is also the option to sign up for digital calendar integration, so that you are always notified if events are changed, added or cancelled.
We believe that fostering diversity and inclusion is not just a goal, but a journey we embark on together. Our Lunch and Learn sessions are designed to create an open and engaging space where we can explore, discuss, and learn about various aspects of diversity and inclusion. Through interactive sessions, thought-provoking discussions, and expert insights, we aim to cultivate a workplace culture that celebrates diversity, embraces inclusion, and promotes mutual respect.
We have a range of webinars, resources and learning & development opportunities to help you in your D&I journey.
The business case for making Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) a core strand of your business strategy is clear: companies with stronger gender and ethnic diversity outperform their competitors (McKinsey, 2017), and when employees ‘think their organisation is committed to and supportive of diversity, and they feel included’, their ability to innovate increases dramatically (Deloitte, 2013).
But what steps can modern business leaders take to build inclusive work environments, and reap the benefits of a truly diverse workforce? Our journey at AMI began with our D&I Viewpoint Report, which led to a broad range of actionable recommendations for business leaders and industry professionals alike to consider. But we knew our work couldn’t stop there. So to follow on from this, we have created a D&I Leadership hub, to gather together the latest thought leadership and actionable ideas to embed D&I principles into your business strategy.
Leaders at all levels determine the culture of an organisation, whether they are senior leaders and board members determining strategy or first line managers leading a team. Everything you say and do in a leadership position influences how employees behave in the workplace and therefore your role is critical.”
Knowing where to start when considering how to improve D&I outcomes and practices within your business can be a daunting prospect. To help you get started, we have extracted the key questions and action points from the AMI Viewpoint report to gather everything in one place.
This ‘cheat sheet’ represents a wide-reaching set of practical steps you can take in key areas such as complaints reporting, recruitment and retention, supporting those with caring responsibilities, data gathering and responding to issues, and much more.
Hear the real stories of some of the leaders in UK Financial Services today, interviewed by Alison Houghton Corfield, National Relationship Director at Master Private finance.
How did they become successful, and what advice do they have for those who are just starting out?
Find out…
