We value diversity, equity & inclusion
We believe that diversity is the essential foundation of strong, creative teams. When people with different experiences and viewpoints come together, they learn, innovate, problem solve, and thrive. In an environment where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued for their input, people do their best work.
We are committed to building a world where every single person can bring their authentic, fully human selves to work.
We have done our very best to embody the values of inclusion and fairness since Strengthscope’s inception, yet we recognise that there is always more we can learn and do as the world moves forward. Here are some of things we have been doing:
Our employees are now entitled to more time off at their normal pay beyond that outlined in UK legislation. This includes full pay for the first 10 weeks of maternity and adoption leave and 6 weeks paternity leave. We recognise that work is only a fraction of our team’s lives and want to support our people and their families.
Whilst we’ve had flexible working in place for the last 4 years, our policy has been updated to adopt a completely flexible model for all roles. There is no expectation of our employees to spend a specific amount of time working at the office and all meetings are virtual by default. Our people are trusted to make decisions on what environment and way of working suits them best.
As a result of several changes in our team and recruitment efforts outlined in last year’s statement, we have attained an equal representation of men and women in our leadership team. With research showing women account for only 21% of leadership roles in the UK, we are paving the way in terms of gender parity at senior level but recognise improvements need to be made when it comes to representation of different ethnicities (detail in Who we are).
In recognition of Black History Month UK and World Mental Health Day in October, we partnered with two important organisations to cover the costs of 12-week course of therapy with a certified Black therapist for 3 women of African heritage. It is vital for us to understand the impact of intersectional identities and support organisations working to help.
Utilising our dedicated internal learning sessions entitled ‘An hour with…’, several speakers delivered information on the experiences of people with diverse identities. In June, our Head of Sales Katy ran ‘Pride is a Protest’ and in October an external speaker Anthony Davis spoke about ‘mental health in the Black community’. To broaden the reach of the content presented, both were also recorded as The Strengths Guy podcasts with our founder Dr Paul Brewerton.
In addition to those mentioned above, several podcasts featuring guests were recorded and launched in the last year. One of these hosted Christian Bless, who spoke about his work with young Black people in the East London community and promoting women’s rights within the Congolese community (Podversation 14). The topic of empowering women by helping them develop gravitas authentically was discussed by Rebecca Newton in Podversation 12 and Charlotte Speak shared insights on supporting parents at work (Podversation 23).
We are championing an inclusive environment as we care deeply about our employee experience. Our strengths lie in our people’s experiences of Contribution to Broader Purpose, Growth, and Diversity. Overall, we are encouraged to receive results that are above the benchmark of other organisations and continue to strive to improve.
“I’m reassured by the results that we have seen with the survey as they demonstrate that we are living by our values and owning and challenging ourselves where this falls short. I look forward to us digging deeper into some of our results to move us further towards a culture which is genuinely equitable for everyone at Strengthscope. There is more work to do but I am pleased with what we’ve achieved so far.”
As we go above and beyond listening deeply to our team’s experiences, we respond by taking action to build a truly inclusive and equitable place of work.
View our values
The full Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Report
At Strengthscope, we are committed to transparency and share our yearly results and the work we’re doing to create a more inclusive and equitable culture for all. View the 2021 report here.
