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The Guardian
26-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Firms ‘rebranding' diversity initiatives to avoid unwanted political attention
Senior figures in British business have described a chilling effect on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, saying they are being 'rebranded' to avoid attracting unwanted political attention. Five years after the murder of George Floyd in the US shone a spotlight on racial inequality, efforts to create a level playing field in the workplace are facing a rightwing backlash on both sides of the Atlantic. But experts say many organisations are resisting the attacks by reframing policies previously known as DEI in the US, and sometimes EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion) in the UK. Paul Sesay, the founder and chief executive of the National Diversity Awards, whose sponsors include Amazon, Auto Trader and HSBC, said: 'It's rebranded to 'wellbeing', 'belonging' and 'culture'. Even with roles, it's no longer heads of DEI, it's heads of culture, heads of people, heads of wellbeing. 'They're basically embedding diversity and getting rid of the word – I don't necessarily see it as a bad thing. When I first started, back in 2003, it was about diversity – and that was the main word – but then, as it progressed, it was inclusion. It's advancing now to culture, transformation, that kind of thing, as culture affects the whole organisation.' In the UK, the Reform party has vowed to scrap DEI initiatives from councils it controls, months after the Trump administration began sacking black public servants and ripping up fairness policies. Experts believe a full-scale rollback is unlikely in the UK, where the Equalities Act and the legal risk of discrimination cases present barriers to turning back the clock. But some companies, particularly US-headquartered firms, have already scaled back some commitments, and are less keen to celebrate inclusion work publicly. Sesay said US businesses were finding ways to disguise DEI work so they could still promote the best talent and address inequalities. 'American companies have had to change, simply to survive in America. They have to take the word diversity out of absolutely everything. I've heard a few firms that say inclusion is allowed within their policies, but the word diversity isn't.' Noreen Biddle Shah, who founded Reboot, a campaigning group of senior financial service professionals, to tackle racial inequality in the industry in 2019, said the 'landscape feels very different' now. 'DEI has become a politically charged term, and many firms are either stepping back from the work – a trend we saw coming from the US, but it is impacting UK financial services too,' said Shah. 'Not only do fewer organisations want to partner with us, but they're also discouraging their own employees from speaking out. In our latest annual Race to Equality: Financial Services report, we found that in light of the DEI backlash, ethnic minority professionals in the sector feel muzzled for speaking out – many expressed fear of losing their jobs if they raised race-related concerns. And sadly, 70% said there has been little progress since the Black Lives Matter movement.' Even before the retrenchment driven by Trump's return, there was concern companies were drawing back from promises made in 2020, when the Black Lives Matter movement sparked a conversation across the west about societal fairness. Nina Mohanty, a finalist in Veuve Clicquot's Bold Future awards 2025, which celebrates rising female entrepreneurs, and who is the founder of a tech startup, Bloom Money, said: 'In the world of startups and tech companies, you had a lot of VCs [venture capitalists] that were saying, 'we're gonna do special programmes for black entrepreneurs, we're gonna back more women and women of colour'. And there are a lot of initiatives and there's a lot of talk. Five years on, where are those things? The budgets are gone.' James Hockin, an employment law expert and partner at global law firm Withers who advises senior executives in New York and London, said Trump's unpopularity among some people also meant employees were exerting pressure on British employers to keep policies in place. 'We've got more people in the UK now saying, 'well, what are we saying on this? I don't like what Trump is doing on DEI',' he said. 'There has been for a little while, a bit of a temptation just to keep quiet and let it happen and just go, 'OK, let's just wait and see'. But I think increasingly, with pressure from employees, there is a desire for employers to be seen to be taking a stance.' Agreeing that DEI would survive but in a 'rebranded' form, Hockin said: 'DEI, for employers at least, started from a place of sorting out the culture in an organisation so that you weren't leaving yourself vulnerable to a [legal] claim against your organisation – employers were keen to mitigate their risk. 'Where employers are getting on side with the Trump agenda, inadvertently, what they're doing, is potentially opening themselves up to that risk.' Earlier this year, Shirine Khoury-Haq, the CEO of Co-op group, warned that a DEI rollback risked undoing decades of progress. Zahoor Ahmad, Co-op's head of social mobility, said: 'The key assumption is that if you didn't have [DEI], everything will be a level playing field. All of human history tells us that is not true. It's very hard to have a true meritocracy, when we are not born equal. What we are trying to do is eliminate inequalities.' A number of trade bodies have also doubled down on their commitment to inclusion in the face of the backlash. The Law Society's president, Richard Atkinson, said that while 'the current climate in the United States has made diversity and inclusion work increasingly difficult', the organisation would never waver from its 'wholehearted' commitment to a more diverse and inclusive legal profession. UK Finance, which represents the banking and financial service sector, said greater diversity was 'a driver for economic success,' while the Local Government Association said the case for DEI remained 'compelling'. Dawar Hashmi, a director at Penna, a leading recruiter for senior local government executives, said: 'There has been a noticeable pullback in the UK within some sectors – when the US sneezes, the UK catches a cold. This trend concerns me. But the public sector, our primary client base, continues to champion these values. Embracing DEI isn't just morally right, its actually a strategic advantage.'
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Town crier, former MP and veteran councillors set be honoured in borough
Great Harwood's town crier, Hyndburn's former Labour MP and an ex-political leader of the borough are set to be honoured this week. Rawden Kerr, Graham Jones and Peter Britcliffe are among 11 people due to be confirmed as new Aldermen and Freemen of the Borough of Hyndburn when the authority holds its annual council meeting on Thursday. To qualify for appointment as a freeman, the proposed recipient must be persons of distinction or persons who have, in the opinion of the authority, rendered eminent services to that place or area. The new Freemen are Hilary Austin, Stephen Hutchinson BEM, Rawden Kerr, Zack Kerr, and Anne Lincoln. To qualify for appointment as an aldermen, the proposed recipient must have rendered eminent services to the council as a past member of the council, but must not currently be a member of the council. The recipients are Peter Britcliffe, Graham Jones, Abdul Khan and Malcolm Pritchard. The report proposing their names says: "All have lengthy and distinguished former service with the council, or are former Mayors of the Borough, or have been leaders of an opposition group for the relevant qualifying period." It says of the Freemen: "Hilary Austin is the chair for the Church and Oswaldtwistle Royal British Legion Branch and the chair for Accrington and District Royal Air Force Air Cadets. "Stephen Hutchinson is Lieutenant of the Royal Naval Reserve and chair of Accrington and District Unit Sea Cadets. He was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2022. "Rawden Kerr is the Town Crier for Great Harwood and is often called upon to officiate at events, not only throughout Hyndburn, but also in other parts of East Lancashire. "Zack Kerr is a Changing Places ambassador who won the Positive Role Model for Disability Award at the National Diversity Awards in 2021. "Anne Lincoln is a pastor at Clayton Baptist Church whose charitable work supports struggling individuals and families across Hyndburn and beyond." Peter Britcliffe is a former Conservative leader of Hyndburn Council and former borough Mayor representing Oswaldtwistle on the borough and county authorities for many years. Graham Jones was Labour MP for Hyndburn from 2010 to 2019, serving as a party whip, and was leader of the Labour opposition group on Hyndburn Council from 2005 to 2010. Abdul Khan is a former Labour councillor who served as Mayor of Hyndburn in 2022/23. Malcolm Pritchard is a long-serving Hyndburn politician and former Mayor who has represented Labour and UKIP and been an Independent councillor. Each individual honoured will receive a commemorative badge and case at a cost of £393.28 each and be allowed up to eight guests at the Mayor Making event and dinner at a cost of £30 per head for the meal.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Yahoo
Accessible toilets installed at service stations
A man who has helped steer a campaign for more accessible toilets at service stations is celebrating as 54 new ones have now been installed on the motorway network in England. Zack Kerr, who has cerebral palsy, and his family have been fighting for facilities for severely disabled people known as Changing Places toilets (CPT) since 2017. It followed a "distressing" journey from his home in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, to south Wales when he made three stops at services and none had accessible changing facilities. Mr Kerr said he was "really proud" after the new CPTs were added to motorway services, adding they would "make a huge difference to people's lives". Changing Places facilities are designed for people who need facilities that are not provided in standard disabled toilets, and include equipment such as a hoist, privacy screens and an adult-sized changing bench. The new CPTs were funded as part of a £2m grant by the Department for Transport in association with Muscular Dystrophy UK. Mr Kerr, whose father is Ceri Davies the Changing Places Programme Officer, told BBC Radio Lancashire: "I am very happy about the success of my campaign and I am really proud of what I have achieved from starting out with my petition in 2017." The 29-year-old, who has won the positive role model award for disability at the National Diversity Awards, said: "It's been a long journey and sometimes I really can't believe what has happened." He added: "The [Changing Places] will all make a huge difference to people's lives." Speaking about the "distressing" trip that inspired his campaign eight years ago, Mr Kerr said: "We stopped at three service stations on route along the M62, M6 and M5 but none of them had an accessible changing facility." Mr Kerr added: "There were about 10 [Changing Places] in the whole country and none of them were north of Birmingham". The Department for Transport has been contacted for comment. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer. Country Park to get £75,000 toilet Larger loos for disabled people to be compulsory England to get hundreds of new disabled toilets Changing Places Toilets Muscular Dystrophy UK
