CA magazine: October 2022
By Sarah Speirs, ICAS Executive Director of Member Engagement and Communication
29 September 2022
Whilst the vast majority of business agree that diversity is a priority, inequality continues, with some leaders unclear about what more they can do.
Focusing on the theme of EDI as part of our Finance + series and Black History Month, this month’s issue of CA magazine shares a range of personal and professional experiences, highlights opportunities for progress and explains why social mobility will lift us all.
October marks Black History Month and this issue features an interview with Baron Simon Woolley, founder of Operation Black Vote, who talks about his life and career and speaks passionately about how business can do better in addressing EDI.
From our own perspective, this time last year we created the Black Talent Action Plan with a simple objective to forge an environment where black CAs and CA Students can access support and guidance, develop to their full potential and benefit from mentoring by black CAs.
With this in mind, do read the interview with Buki Ishola CA, who recounts her own experience in the world of accountancy, being aware of how different she was from her colleagues and how that briefly dented her confidence.
ICAS is two years into a three-year plan designed to place EDI at the heart of all that we do. This includes publishing information on the make-up of all our boards and committees about sex, race, age, disability, religion and gender identity. Far too often EDI programmes tend to focus on sex and race. A 2020 report by the Canadian Return on Disability Group revealed that 90% of companies say diversity is a priority, yet only 4% consider disability in their initiatives. Inside, we delve deeper into how companies could do better both in employing people with disabilities and in creating opportunities for them to progress.
Organisations and individuals have in-built bias, conscious and unconscious, which means people are often automatically overlooked because of their physical appearance. In turn, they miss out on working with the best talent. Read Jim Robertson CA’s insightful story about the reality of unconscious bias and how it affects us all.
Finally, we would like to congratulate Alison Cornwell CA on completing her bike ride from Land’s End to John O’ Groats and going the extra mile, or in this case 1,000 miles, to raise £25,000 for the ICAS Foundation.
Find out more about the Black Talent Action Plan