As Key Fund reaches the halfway point in its latest 2 year Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan, it’s time to reflect on our achievements, and outline the next steps in our ongoing commitment to fostering a more inclusive and diverse organization.
A standout success has been our consultative approach! After completing the first year of our EDI Training Programme we asked the team about its impact and what they wanted to see next. Almost 70% of participants felt more comfortable engaging with people from different backgrounds as a result, and an impressive 80% report increased awareness of their personal biases. Additionally, strides have been made in understanding privilege, allyship, and managing defensiveness, with 70% expressing improved understanding. We are building on this learning in 2024 with Menopause, Neurodiversity, Faith and Transgender Awareness training.
We’ve incorporated EDI into the onboarding process for all new recruits, and EDI has become a standing item at all subcommittee and Board meetings, ensuring its continuous integration into decision-making processes.
To support our diverse range of clients, we are pleased to announce our website can be translated into over 100 languages, it has screen reading functionality and changes can be made to font size, font, and colour to make it as easy to navigate as possible.
We recognise that Key Fund has the resources to employ people to work exclusively on Diversity and Inclusion, and we want to share the knowledge we have gained with our clients. On our website our clients can find support with developing EDI action plans and policies, guides on diversifying their leadership and signposting to reputable trainers.
Our annual demographic and inclusion surveys revealed overwhelmingly positive feedback, reflecting high levels of belonging, psychological safety, and overall inclusivity amongst the team. We are fairly reflective of the population in terms of gender, age, socio-economic background but there is underrepresentation of different ethnic backgrounds and people with a disability. We will continue to encourage diversity in our people through targeted recruitment. As part of our commitments under the Disability Confident Employer scheme, we will be offering a disabled person work experience in the summer, to empower underrepresented talent and create pathways for career advancement. We are also currently trying to recruit a new Social Investment Assistant following the success of our first appointment who is now part of our finance team
While celebrating successes, we recognize areas that need reenergizing. EDI Subcommittee meetings have faced challenges in terms of attendance. We have already been bolstered by the addition of a permanent staff member on the Committee and with a positive spirit in the New Year, we aim to recruit several new Directors to the Subcommittee.
As part of our intentional systems change and commitments under the Diversity Forum Manifesto, we are reviewing our funding process from end-to-end with an EDI lens, centring the needs and experiences of our clients.
As we celebrate our one-year EDI journey, the commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive organization remains at the forefront of our mission. EDI is not just a commitment but a way of working for everyone at Key Fund. The journey continues, and we’re excited about the positive impact we can collectively make in the years to come. Cheers to one year of progress, learning, and embracing diversity!