Birmingham Sign Up to Three Year Board Challenge
Let us take you back to July 2020 when a row broke out about the lack of diversity on the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Board, having only one black person out of 20 members. Given that Games were supposed to reflect the diversity of the City and regions, this definitely was not the case. This was not lost on Birmingham’s communities with 51 community figures from across the Black and Asian communities signing a letter demanding change at the top.
This community-led campaign also shone a light on Birmingham's public institutions, which overwhelmingly were found wanting (see Jane Haynes in the Birmingham Mail, reference below). In October 2020, BRIG issued the ‘Three Year Board Challenge’ to the city’s boards – they must reflect the city’s diversity, with 51.4% (2021 Census) of the population not being white and up to 70% of school pupils being of colour.
BRIG has now joined with Karl George of RSM to roll out a cross-sector “Three Year Board Challenge” to civic society, the NHS, educational and housing providers, and businesses throughout Birmingham and the West Midlands. The Challenge builds on the principles of RSM’s RACE Equality Code – a leading EDI tool designed to set tangible goals for organisations around equality, diversity, and inclusion.
Several early adopters have now accepted the Challenge, including Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Health Care Board, signing up with a pledge to roll out to linked NHS Trusts.
The Challenge is set out below. Essentially, there are three steps:
Take a Picture of Your Board and Executive Team and put it on your website and set race equality journey targets to be revisited annual during Race Equality Week;
Commit to the 12 musts from the Race Equality Code (see further reading for more details);
Measure and report on the 9 NHS Workforce Race Equality Standards developed
On registering for the Challenge you will be asked to complete an ‘Inclusion Support Questionnaire’, which will provide you with a report on areas of focus needed to make EDI progress.
To register for the Challenge drop us a line at 3YC@wearebrig.co.uk for the welcome pack, sign up details, and administration fee details.
The ‘Three Year Board Challenge’ will be formally launched during Race Equality Week on 7th February from 5 - 6 p.m. If you would like to attend, joining those committed to making a difference on race equality and equity let us know at 3YC@wearebrig.co.uk.