The National Centre for Diversity has officially recognised our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
We’ve been awarded Investors in Diversity – Bronze accreditation from the National Centre for Diversity. Find out what it means and what happens next.
Earlier this year we began working to seek Investors in Diversity accreditation with the National Centre for Diversity.
The accreditation provided by the Centre is an official way for organisations to show current and prospective employees that they’re committed to providing an inclusive workplace.
The Centre’s three levels of accreditation are based around their ‘FREDIE’ framework (Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement):
- Bronze (Committing) - The first of the three stages, it gives organisations a framework to put in place a strong foundation to embed FREDIE into their wider organisation.
- Silver (Embedding) – Building on the requirements of Bronze, this stage involves inviting feedback from the people working in the organisation.
- Gold (Leading) – This final stage is all about excellence and ensuring FREDIE is part of the DNA of the organisation.
This is a very welcome effort to sustain, celebrate, and most importantly, improve our workplace diversity in a way that helps us serve our diverse student and member population.
We’ve achieved Bronze accreditation
We’re proud to announce that we have now achieved Investors in Diversity - Bronze, the first level of accreditation.
“Achieving Bronze accreditation from the National Centre for Diversity is welcome recognition of our commitment to making ICAS a place where everyone’s treated fairly, equally and with respect,” said Helen Cardno, ICAS HR Director.
We also recognise that this is only the first stage in a longer journey. Following the framework provided by the Centre, we’ve already begun working towards achieving Silver, the next accreditation stage, on way to our eventual aim of Gold accreditation.”
Nifemi Tukur, ICAS EDI & Social Mobility Manager, also welcomed the news and encouraged everyone at ICAS to get involved in the next steps: "This is a very welcome effort to sustain, celebrate, and most importantly, improve our workplace diversity in a way that helps us serve our diverse student and member population.
I’d encourage everyone at ICAS to get actively involved as we move forward in our journey — especially colleagues who identify with different groups, including those living with long-term conditions, working mothers, and individuals from minority ethnic, religious, and sexual orientation groups. Participation in surveys, focus groups and other initiatives is crucial to embedding your voices in our efforts to enhance diversity and ultimately achieve Gold accreditation."
What it took to achieve Bronze
15 of our most senior leaders, including CEO Bruce Cartwright CA and all the Executive Team, attended a session on inclusive leadership.
We provided evidence that we have the necessary people policies and practices in place to raise awareness of the importance of EDI and ensure inclusivity in ICAS.
We also demonstrated good practice in EDI across our online presence. The assessors looked at icas.com, our EDI strategy, our job adverts, our social media, and sites such as Glassdoor, to see what we’re saying and what people are saying about us.
What’s next?
The National Centre for Diversity assessors were very complimentary about all the areas that helped us achieve Bronze.
They also gave us a few recommendations that will allow us to improve further and move to achieving Silver, the next level of accreditation.
Working together to reach Silver
All ICAS employees will soon be asked to complete a survey issued by The National Centre for Diversity. The survey will seek to understand how they feel about ICAS in relation to the six elements of FREDIE (Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement) and if they believe that these are truly embedded in everyday activities.
We’ll also be running a special series of focus groups and one-to-one interviews to further explore the survey topics.
