The background
This section covers the theory and background of the research. It also outlines why you might want to take action, addresses some possible barriers to taking action and ways you might tackle them
Literature review
A wide range of employment literature is available, much of it online, dealing with embedding equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Much of this literature deals with specific diversity strands, for example, Opportunity Now research offers advice and guidance on gender issues. Stonewall offers advice and guidance on sexual orientation issues. Other literature is more general, covering elements of the recruitment, retention and progression process that are common to all of the six main diversity strands. Some of the more notable examples are:
The research provides evidence that the business case for diversity is strong and that many organisations in the UK are failing to identify certain pools of talented employees. Many of the reasons can be located in the status quo. This misalignment may be preventing equality and diversity becoming more effectively established in the workplace.
The research also offers recommendations for ensuring that diversity can be positioned strategically and sustain its objectives in the long term whilst contributing to the achievement of core organisational strategic objectives. The Professional Recruitment Guide provides recommendations and interesting practice, focusing specifically on recruitment, retention and progression into and through the professions.
The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) proposed that a range of professions identified in the 'Langlands Report' (PDF 668KB) (PDF, 668 Kb) should be contacted and interviewed to identify interesting recruitment practices at graduate level that enhanced diversity and inclusion amongst entrants to professions. These included: Accountancy; Architecture; Chemistry; Engineering; Law; Medicine; Nursing and Midwifery; Social Care; Teaching; and Veterinary Science.
Methodology
To carry out this research, PARN members who are professional bodies were contacted to see if they knew of employers in their field that were particularly proactive in diversity and inclusion. Concurrently, employers who had won awards such as The Times 'Best 100 Companies to Work For' and from Stonewall were also identified. Smaller Bristol-based (and UK) employers were also contacted.
Producing a well-balanced piece of research that has a variety of perspectives and multiple levels of diversity and inclusion in recruitment, meant that a variety of large and small to medium-sized enterprises (that were known to be proactive) needed to be shortlisted and contacted. Due to the inevitable time and space constraints of the research and this guide, the selection of professions and organisations was based on how useful and interesting their contributions would be to other employers.
