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Despite widespread recognition of the importance of DEI, achieving genuine Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in various societal spheres, including workplaces, educational institutions, and communities, is an ongoing challenge. Barriers such as lack of education on diversity, not understanding target market and systemic inequalities persist, diminishing the efforts to create inclusive environments.
NextGen, in collaboration with Pinsent Masons held a panel discussion on 9 July, delving into the practices and strategies necessary to dismantle the barriers, exploring how initiatives from trustees in pension, and grassroots initiatives can foster a more equitable and inclusive society, especially in the pensions industry.
Read this article to find out why diversity in law firms remains a a key issue: https://thestudentlawyer.com/2024/01/02/are-law-firms-truly-embracing-diversity/
The panel discussion involved networking with individuals from across the pensions industry, and their perspectives on what is needed to overcome barriers to DEI. Four expert speakers including:
- Sonia Kaurah (founder of Tala Thrive);
- Michael Watkins (founder of NextGen);
- Michelle Darracott (retirement trustee and trustee executive); and
- Cristina Bowyer (Pinsent Masons pension services).
They all shared the experiences with DEI in the workplace and how to go about expanding it in different firms.
Read this article to learn about the importance of tackling gender disparities in the legal profession: https://thestudentlawyer.com/2024/03/20/closing-the-gender-gap-addressing-issues-and-solutions-in-the-legal-community/
In terms of diversity, what can be improved soon, or in the long term?
A good start would be to:
- encourage education in all aspects of DEI, including race, gender, age etc.,especially those in decision-making roles.
- To raise awareness and reduce discriminatory practices, as it is important to give cultural training and educate people.
- Hold leaders accountable for meeting diversity and inclusion goals through regular reviews and performance metrics.
There is nothing that can be changed about someone’s age, race, or gender, but there is a lot that can be changed about our perspectives.
Read this article learn about the importance of firms prioritising D&I: https://thestudentlawyer.com/2024/01/03/lets-talk-about-diversity-in-law/
The pensions regulatory is expecting change, and things have been put in place to encourage open dialogue about diversity and inclusion (D&I) issues, to be able to build a more inclusive culture within the sector and continuing to understand biases and working on them.
The Guardian has reported that the average pension pot for savers from minority ethnic backgrounds is £52,333, whereas the average white British saver has a pension pot of £114,941. This gap is highly influenced by socioeconomic backgrounds, income disparities, access to pension schemes and household responsibilities, as pensioners from non-white backgrounds often had more responsibilities to take care of compared to their white counterparts.
Cristina Bowyer and Michelle Darracott highlighted the importance of reducing and closing this gap. They emphasised the urgency of addressing these inequalities and the importance of ensuring that everyone can save adequately for retirement, regardless of their ethnic background. Bowyer points to the need for targeted interventions and policy reforms to bridge this gap and improve retirement outcomes for minority ethnic groups, recognising that systemic barriers and socioeconomic factors contribute to the current disparities in pension savings. She emphasises the need to address these issues by having trustees take part in diversity events to learn and understand the importance of this.
Read this article to find out about firms setting the standard for inclusion in the workplace: https://thestudentlawyer.com/2024/05/28/embracing-diversity-setting-the-standard-for-inclusion-in-the-workplace/
Points to consider
• Never think it is a ‘one and done’ situation, because it never is.
• Always keep underrepresented members in mind.
• Everyone has a role to play in terms of invoking change in society.
• If we do not question, nothing gets changed.
• It is important to track race in the workplace, because if we do not, how will we know to do something about D&I?
• Inclusion often means that everybody should be treated the same, when it should mean that everyone’s differences should be noticed.
• We should see colour when we look at people, so that we can know where to improve in terms of being inclusive to everyone.
• Try to shape and influence wherever you can. It will always make a difference.
Find out more at:
https://peoplespartnership.co.uk/mhub_topics/ethnicity-pensions-gap/
