Pronouns – Why are they important?

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) is more than policies, company structures or employee numbers. Employers who embrace collaborative working benefit from unique perspectives and experiences and helps raise the potential of all members. A Diverse and inclusive workplace builds trust and allows individuals to feel supportive and allows them to grow, which can only benefit everyone.

D&I can easily be generalised to either ethnicity or gender. D&I conversations need to be inclusive of all forms of Unconscious Bias and raising awareness for everyone that doesn’t fit into the stereotypical male / female.

How firms communicate with their clients on all platforms – Conversations over the phone, Fact finds and even inquiry forms all need to be reviewed to keep in mind how client communicate with businesses. Prospective client are actively investing time to ensure who the deal with meet their values, this is in relation into a client ESG but also the D&I involvement.

Seven Principles

UK General Data Protection regulation (UK GDPR) has seven principles*:

Lawfulness, fairness, and Transparency principle
Purpose limitation principle
Date minimisation principle
Accuracy principle
Storage limitation principle
Integrity and confidentiality
Accountability principle

*https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/data-protection-principles-under-uk-gdpr

Within the principles there is further guidance to ensure GDPR is being recorded accurately. For Accuracy “to ensure the personal data you hold, or process is not incorrect or misleading” as well as for Lawfulness, fairness, and transparency “use data in a way that is fair, i.e., not detrimental, unexpected or misleading to the individual concerned.

This raises the question why we are asking for certain information and how this would impact the affordability of a client or the mortgage application.

The main argument is this is what lenders request as part of the application form. A separate topic which lenders need implement. But as a broker our role will be more vital than ever in representing the client and working with lenders more closely to interpretate the application to suit all parties.

As brokers we interact with all members in our community and society, making sure that our communication considers “All” and employees and clients are treated as equal is part of the D&I conversation.

Nicholas Mendes

I have worked in the financial sector for over 15 years, garnering experience in corporate, financial planning, commercial and mortgages. Currently I’m using my expertise to advise clients on specialist lending and to promote John Charcol and inform a wider audience about what we can do. Outside of work, evenings and weekends are devoted to my wife and our 2 children. My professional and personal passions are similarly aligned - to create opportunities, foster inclusivity and cultivate safe environments. I feel these are key not only to the progression of our industry, but our evolution as a society.