Action for Race Equality has today (Monday 3rd April 2023) released a brand-new film, the first of a three-part series specially commissioned by the Mayor of London, as part of a joint drive to encourage employers to advance equity, diversity and inclusion policies across their workplaces.
Watch now!
In particular, the film urges employers to take meaningful steps by using readily available tools and strategies found in a free, step-by-step guide, the Inclusive Employers Toolkit, to improve the employment outcomes for young Black men in London. This is a group twice as likely to be unemployed compared to young white men regardless of qualification level, and significantly underrepresented in London’s top construction, finance and technology firms.
The Inclusive Employers Toolkit has been co-created by the Mayor’s Workforce Integration Network and our Moving on Up programme – a ground-breaking employment initiative for young Black men aged 16-24 in the capital – to help companies increase the recruitment, retention and progression of young Black men within their workforces.
Dr Debbie Weekes-Bernard, Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice said:
“Young Black men currently have some of the lowest rates of employment in London’s labour market. The toolkit will help many of the employers – particularly in the construction and tech sector – to think practically about the ways they can encourage young Black men with the talent and aspirations to join their workforces: to consider construction and tech as viable careers and to really think about what they could do as employers that young Black men can really thrive in their workplaces.”
Jeremy Crook OBE, CEO of Action for Race Equality said:
“Organisations all across the country are looking out for sustainable and effective EDI practices. The Inclusive Employers Toolkit is a great place to start for employers in London who wants to be decisive in recruiting talented young Black men. Our message to Chief Executives is: read the toolkit, and use it to make a commitment to improving your company’s ethnic diversity”
Leigh Maxfield, Employment & Skills partner at Thames Water, one of the employers featured in the film, and a member of Moving on Up’s dedicated Employer Champions Group said:
“I just want to say to any company out there thinking about taking up the toolkit: why wouldn’t you? This toolkit will have benefits not just externally – to make sure you reflect the customers that you serve – but also internally: making it a more friendly, welcome and inclusive place to work for all your employees.”
About Moving on Up
Moving on Up has been working with a range of leading employers, including WTW, HS2, Lendlease, Veritas Investment, Keyhaven Capital Partners and Thames Water to find ways to support them implement better policies to attract talented young Black men.
If you’re an employer looking to find out more about the Inclusive Employers Toolkit; becoming an Employer Champion or what your workplace can do to support young Black men contact: Jeremy Crook OBE, Chief Executive or visit our Moving on Up pages.