Recruiting for Difference

The Women in Business Charter team held their latest event on 20th September 2023, Recruiting for Difference, hosted by TLT Solicitors.

The event kicked off with a panel who shared practices that their organisations were spearheading to support the recruitment and retention of women. This was followed by a lived experience panel sharing their personal stories as women or, the impact of the intersectionality of being a woman at work.

Some of the key initiatives to improve the future outcomes for women in the workplace were in the following areas:

• Menopause Support. TLT have launched a new provision for menopause which includes free diagnostic testing, a line manager toolkit, and free access to the Peppy Health menopause app.
• Accessible Policies During Recruitment. TLT have ‘lifted the veil’ on their people polices, making them accessible during the recruitment stage.
• Promote Flexibility. TLT advocate trusting your staff to get the work done however and  wherever best works for them.
• Early Access to Interview Questions. Bristol University acknowledged the support for neurodiverse students is far better than that for staff. Staggeringly, 80% of women are not diagnosed by the age of 18. This is for many reasons, including women and girls are better at masking than boys and so symptoms often go unnoticed, and tests are based on male data from clinical trials, which skews the results. The university have been giving out interview questions to all candidates before the interview to help them to prepare.
• Helping Disadvantaged Mums Back to Work. Sixteen women who were on long term benefits and part of the Women’s Work Lab Scheme, were offered permanent positions at Hargreaves Lansdown.
• Workplace Culture. Gritty Talent have developed a product that supports companies build healthy workplace cultures by giving them a ‘tough love’ report.

Inequalities faced by ethnic minorities in Bristol
We want to showcase the shocking statistic that Sangeetha Wynter from Babbasa shared which is that Bristol ranked seventh worst of 348 districts in England and Wales for the multiple inequalities experienced by ethnic minority communities, with this situation worsening over time (University of Manchester CODE and Runnymede Trust, 2017). Clearly, there is a lot of work to be done in this City, not just around gender equality but racial equality and their intersection. Babbasa are involved in creating equitable opportunities for young people and the brand presence of their Company is so powerful that having the Babbasa logo on an employer’s company website, serves to help people
apply for that job.

Lived Experience Panel
The lived experience panel shared experiences of how disabled women are less likely to progress as far and how there is a need for more disabled women and STEM women as role models and mentors.
Lack of flexibility for working mums in the teaching profession, using gender neutral language for the LGBTQ+ community (e.g., partner vs boyfriend) and how sick leave related to an impairment is compounded if you are a woman due to pregnancy and menopause, were also topics discussed.

Bristol Women in Business would like to thank the attendees and panelists for your contribution and sharing your insights, organisational practices, and personal experiences to support the work of the Charter.

Further information:
https://babbasa.com/ https://www.burges-salmon.com/
https://www.womensworklab.co.uk/ https://www.bristol.gov.uk/
https://www.hl.co.uk/ https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-
defence
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/ https://www.grittytalent.tv/
https://www.tlt.com/
Social model of disability
BBC article about women and housework

Professional panel members: Sangeetha Wynter (Training and Inclusion Manager, Babbasa), Dr Caroline McKinnon (Equalities Charter Manager, University of Bristol), Karen Cooke (Head of Capability and Engagement, Hargreaves Lansdown) and Mel Rodrigues (CEO, Gritty Talent)

Lived experience panel: Trish Uwanogho (Senior Portfolio Manager, MOD Artificial Intelligence Centre), Amy Davies (Senior Associate, Burges Salmon), Louise Duggan (Talent Coordinator, the Women’s Work Lab), Victoria McCarron (Trainee Solicitor, Burges Salmon) and Megan Belcher (Equalities Support Officer, Bristol City Council)