Celebrating Race Equality Week 2024: SEL ICS EDI Committee’s commitment to #ListenActChange to foster race equality
This week (5th – 11th February) is Race Equality Week. Last week, Chloe Harris, Head of People and Culture for the SEL ICS People Programme and Rachel Clare Evans (CPO for Oxleas), SRO and Chair of SEL EDI Committee, explained how the ICS would be delivering on its commitment to deliver change with bold thinking to engage our community of staff and champion inclusivity in all our workplaces.
Race Equality Week (REW) is an annual nationwide initiative that brings together organisations and individuals, with the shared goal of tackling the obstacles hindering race equality within the workplace.
This year’s theme is Listen, Change and Act – #ListenChangeAct
The spirit of this is a threefold approach to:
- Listen to the concerns and challenges faced by our workforce,
- Actively engage with staff and leaders to identify actionable steps for fostering an inclusive workplace, and
- Initiate change.
By doing this, we not only demonstrate a commitment to improvement but also inspire others to follow suit, contributing to the collective effort we need to create a positive impact.
In preparation for REW 2024, the SEL ICS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee has been re-established with the aim of creating an engaged community that champions inclusivity. Our ambition is clear: to create a culture where every individual feels valued, seen, heard, and included. Beyond words, this involves making space for bold, ambitious and innovative thinking to address the systemic issues that we all know and face.
Acknowledging local efforts, the SEL ICS EDI programme seeks to share and build upon the existing good practice in the system, focusing efforts in the areas of greatest need. In creating a community, we will find those ‘moments’ that bring us together, using them to discuss and tackle some of these real and relevant issues.
Rachel Clare Evans (CPO for Oxleas), SRO and Chair of SEL EDI Committee, emphasises the role of organisations in fostering open conversations about race. “The committee is dedicated to creating safe spaces and implementing actions addressing systemic racism”. To translate these ambitions plans into tangible outcomes, the committee has outlined priorities and activities. This includes:
- Mapping existing EDI activity happening locally across SEL.
- Establishing close links with the amazing work already happening with the Anchor Alliance and Good Work SE London – Health & Care Jobs Hub, to ensure that we are responding to the needs of our underrepresented communities and workforce.
- Creating moments for us to come together, through events, staff network development and celebration of our diverse workforce – look out for more information on what will be happening in the coming months.
To mark REW 2024, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust will be hosting a webinar tomorrow, Wednesday 7th February from 12:00 – 13:00 with Roger Kline OBE, a Research Fellow at Middlesex University Business School. Roger Kline is known for his work on race equality in the healthcare and author of “The Snowy White Peaks of the NHS” (2014). The ‘Let’s Talk About WRES & Race’ event is open to all colleagues in SE London and you can sign up by registering here.
#ListenActChange highlights a powerful call to action, compelling us all to act decisively when it comes to these matters. Within SEL ICS People Programme, and through the SEL EDI committee, we are dedicated to fostering an inclusive workplace for all, irrespective of race, background or identity.