South Wales Business Review Volume 6 Issue 3

Vol 6 Issue 3 2016

Adolygiad Busnes De Cymru

Fair Play Equality and Diversity in Wales’s Workplaces

Disability Inclusion Why Wales is Setting the Standard Jane Hutt AM on Equality

Swansea Business School Ysgol Fusnes Abertawe

inside | SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW

3 Editorial:

FAIR PLAY Equality and Diversity in Wales’s Workplaces

4 The Big Interview: JANE HUTT AM

8 Point Of View:

DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE

10 In Conversation:

WINTER 2015/16 Volume 6 Issue 3

14 Industry View:

DISABILITY INCLUSION Why Wales is Setting the Standard

16 Opinion:

HEN WLAD FY NHADAU The Power Vacuum, a Boardroom Bias

18 Point Of View:

20 News and Events 22 Book Review: DO MEN STILL RUN

THE WORLD?

24 Next Issue:

LEADING THE WAY New Ways of Thinking about 21st Century Leadership

THE BUSINESS OF ERADICTING POVERTY IN SCHOOLS

PETER TATCHELL ON THE ROAD TO EQUALITY

Alternative formats If you require this document in an alternative format (e.g. Welsh, large print or text file for use with a text reader), please email swbr@uwtsd.ac.uk Fformatau eraill Os hoffech y ddogfen hon mewn fformat arall (e.e. Cymraeg, print mawr neu ffeil tesun i’w ddefnyddio gyda darllenydd tesun), anfonwch e-bost i: swbr@uwtsd.ac.uk ISSN 2049-5544 Disclaimer: The articles in this publication represent the views of the authors, not those of the University. The University does not accept responsibility for the contents of articles by individual authors. Please contact the editor if you have further queries.

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Cover image: ©Gutzemberg/shutterstock

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Post:

Lucy Griffiths

South Wales Business Review Adolygiad Busnes De Cymru Swansea Business Campus Campws Busnes Abertawe University of Wales Trinity Saint David Prifysgol Cymru Y Drindod Dewi Sant High Street / Stryd Fawr Swansea / Abertawe SA1 1NE

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PRODUCTION TEAM Editor: Lucy Griffiths Editorial Board: Kathryn Flynn Christopher Thomas Jayne Woodman Steve Griffiths Design & Print: UWTSD TEL

Editorial: Fair Play

Equality and Diversity in Wales’s Workplaces

Selected Contributors:  Natalie Macdonald

Natalie Macdonald MA is a researcher with the Wales Centre for Equity in Education, looking at Policy, Practice and Research. With a primary focus on early years provision, pedagogy, additional needs, and the impact of poverty on attainment, qualifications and professional development for the childcare workforce in Wales. Natalie has over seven years experience of working within Flying Start and primary school environments, particularly in areas of multiple deprivation.

 Dr Christala Sophocleous

Through her research, Dr Sophocleous is currently exploring the ways in which families and communities support the education of their children. This work connects to an interest in place based policy, and the extent to which school / community partnerships can serve as the drivers of change, in terms of ‘closing the education attainment gap’ and contributing to wider anti-poverty policies.

 Dr Rhianon Washington

Rhianon is a Lead Tutor and Academic Manager at the Wales Institute for Workbased Learning at UWTSD. Rhianon is a specialist in mentoring, coaching and professional development with an MA in Professional Development, Education and Training, and a Doctorate with Coaching and Mentoring. She has worked in training and development roles for the NHS, joining UWTSD from a Senior Trainer role on a regional mentoring scheme in Manchester.

Lucy Griffiths Editor

The Equality Act has been in place for more than five years now, affecting how organisations handle equality and diversity in the workplace and protecting all of us from discriminatory behaviours or practices; but what has the impact been here in Wales and what still needs to be done to ensure quality of opportunity, representation, and treatment?

In this issue we hear the thoughts of those who have been campaigning for equality throughout their careers on the changes they have seen and the ground we still have to cover; and from those who are taking action to support employers to do more to encourage diversity in their workplaces.

Minister Jane Hutt AM speaks about the work Welsh Government is doing to promote equality, and Peter Tatchell gives a campaigner’s perspective ahead of his St David’s Day Lecture at Swansea Business School in 2016.

We also hear from Chwarae Teg on their project to support women in the workplace and Julian John on his work to make Swansea the UK’s first Disability Confident City, along with contributions from the Wales Institute for Work Based Learning and the Wales Centre for Equity in Education.

I hope you enjoy this issue. Our next edition will focus on leadership - please email us at swbr@uwtsd.ac.uk if you are interested in contributing.

Best wishes Lucy

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The Big Interview: Jane Hutt AM on Equality SWBR Reflecting on the time you’ve been in politics, how far do you think we’ve come in Wales in terms of achieving equality of opportunity and experience in our workplaces?

JH During the time I have been in politics I have seen substantial improvements and changes, but also setbacks, in a longterm campaign which I have engaged in, as a Councillor, Assembly Member and Minister in securing equality of opportunity in the workplace.

Prior to being elected to the National Assembly for Wales I was Director of Chwarae Teg whose main objective is to expand the role of women in the Welsh Workforce with rights and opportunities which break down barriers to women’s participation. These campaigns are ongoing and need to be sustained through legislation as well as political leadership in support of social justice and economic opportunity.

It has been a great honour and privilege to have the opportunity to play my part as a Minister in the Welsh Government to achieve gender equality in the workplace and to tackle the underlying issues which create pay inequality and limit women’s economic participation.

We have come a long way: • Our robust Public Sector Equality duty (equal pay duty) was introduced to tackle the occupational segregation which unfortunately still persists and to address gender pay disparities.

• We are challenging the gender segregation which exists and encouraging girls and women to consider more non-traditional career paths.

• We are committed to helping families in Wales where childcare is a barrier to employment, training, and/or education.

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As Finance Minister my Budget Advisory Group on Equalities (BAGE) now provides advice, support and challenge to improve equality considerations of our budget process. It is committed to assessing the impact of spending decisions and to continuously exploring, developing and improving our approach year on year. For the first time a Strategic Integrated Impact Assessment was published alongside the 2015-16 Draft Budget.

SWBR What do you think are the key challenges still facing us?

JH Recent research reports find gender inequality both inside and outside the workplace persists with women often seen as carers first and earners second.

We are committed to addressing the barriers many women face when in terms of their employment. We are also committed to challenging the societal norms and the status quo which may prevent women from working or progressing in the workplace.

SWBR Can you tell us about the steps Welsh Government are currently taking to help address these challenges?

JH We are committed to taking action to address the barriers preventing women from accessing quality, well paid and flexible employment.

The Welsh Government has been proud supporters of the Women Adding Value to the Economy (WAVE) project. During the 3 year WAVE programme (20122015), hundreds of women in West and North Wales and the Valleys received assistance to train for management and leadership roles and jobs in traditionally male dominated occupations such as construction trades and ICT engineering.

In addition, scores more were helped to

launch new businesses or grow fledgling enterprises through entrepreneurship training and systematic networking with other business women. Moreover, indepth research by the WAVE programme highlighted that four out of five Welsh workers are in occupations which are heavily dominated by one gender and that women dominated the lower-paying, part-time jobs in the economy while men took the big majority of better paid, higher-skilled roles.

We are also proud to support Chwarae Teg and their Agile Nation projects. In April this year, I announced a Welsh Government investment of £10 million, including over £8 million of EU funds, to help improve gender equality in workplaces across Wales.

The Agile Nation 2 project, delivered by Chwarae Teg between 2015 and 2018, will support 2,750 women and work with 400 employers to promote female career advancement and help reduce the gender pay-gap. The project will focus on nine key sectors of the Welsh economy, including advanced manufacturing, life sciences and health, and energy.

The project will support women in work to develop their careers by delivering accredited leadership qualifications and mentoring, and will support businesses to implement equality strategies and modern working practices.

It builds on the success of the first Agile Nation project, also supported by EU funds, which boosted the careers of almost 3,000 women and worked with over 500 employers.

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| SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW As a Government, we are also committed to the provision of affordable and accessible childcare which enables parents, particularly women, to work or access training, and supports our drive to increase economic growth, tackle poverty and reduce inequalities. For example, in October, the Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty launched a new £10.9m childcare scheme, PaCE (Parents Childcare and Employment), to help get parents into work.

PaCE will help economically inactive parents into work by covering the cost of registered childcare while they are undertaking training to gain the skills they need to get a job. It is hoped it will particularly help single parents who have told us they feel unable to get a job or undertake training as childcare is often considered to be inaccessible and too expensive.

The scheme will also encourage “second earners”, who currently stay at home to look after their children, to seek employment by showing them affordable childcare alternatives.

We are aware gender segregation in the workforce persists, with men and women concentrated in different sectors.

Men also continue to hold jobs in areas related to the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths) which are more highly skilled and more highly paid.

We are determined to support girls and women into education and the workplace and to support their progression.

We are encouraging girls and women into non-traditional, better paid careers through initiatives such as Girls Make a Difference conferences where we are encouraging girls to aspire and achieve in Wales.

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In my own portfolio area, I have encouraged substantial female representation on the Tax Advisory Group: Emma Watkins of the CBI, Victoria Winkler of the Bevan Foundation, Ruth Marks of the Wales Council for Voluntary Action, and Janet Jones of the Federation of Small Businesses.

In my preparatory work for the new Welsh Revenue Authority I plan to engage with under-represented groups to ensure a broad range of applicants to the positions of Chair, Non-Executive Board member and other senior positions. We are keen to learn lessons from others and so the Tax Advisory Group will be hearing from the Chair of Sport Wales in February regarding their experiences of board recruitment. I am really keen to ensure that we get a diverse range of people interested and engaged in our tax plans and developing tax expertise for Wales more widely.

SWBR What part can employers play? If you could urge employers to do one thing to address gender equality in particular in their workplaces what would it be?

JH We want women to have access to good quality well-paid and flexible employment so women can achieve and prosper in Wales. We want Wales to be a country where women are equally represented at all levels, where they receive equal pay and where there is fairness and equality for all.

The Welsh Government has signed up for the 50:50 by 2020 campaign which is inviting individuals and organisations to show their support and personal commitment to working towards equal gender representation for decision-making roles in Wales.

The Welsh Government pledge is to achieve a gender balance of 50% women in the Senior Civil Service in the Welsh Government by the year 2020. This is one way employers can show their commitment to achieving a level playing field for all.

Employers could also be encouraged to use the Gender Employment and Pay Analysis (GEPA) method developed by the WAVE team at Cardiff University.

Employers can use this method to identify where gender pay gaps exists and also look at ways in which gendered patterns, and ways of working could be addressed.

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image: ©Mathew Dixon/shutterstock

“We want Wales to be a country where women are equally represented at all levels, where they receive equal pay and where there is fairness and equality for all.”

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Point of View: Diversity in the Workplace Natalie Richards of Chwarae Teg, considers ways in which organisations can develop and implement approaches to diversity in the workplace.

Take a peek into many of today’s businesses across Wales and you will see a picture of differences.

Differences in commercial approach, people, the pace of business, drive, and inevitably, their appetite for change. Running alongside each of these differences is the organisation’s view on workplace diversity. Whilst for some Welsh businesses, the concept of workplace diversity is at the heart of their day to day life; for a number, it still remains a grey area - something that is not real; does not have a true connection to how the business operates or what may be the most pressing priority for the day.

I have recently spent some time in different organisations across Wales and when I asked employees and managers for their perspectives around the topic of workplace diversity I was met with a wide range of responses.

Some were positive and open – a desire to really understand how diversity can be applied on a real life basis. What does it look and feel like? How might it work for this business? Other responses were fairly blunt and still possess the scope to surprise in today’s modern society. They ranged from viewpoints that diversity is not really relevant to this organisation and a resistance as to why we should be giving it more attention than perhaps other areas of the business, as women could not and should not feature within a certain business or sector.

Workplace diversity is a topical and often divisive issue. But, if we break it down into its simplest terms, it is essentially based upon having an inclusive workforce which represents a range of different, individual contributors, irrespective of gender or other characteristics. Each contributor brings their own value to the table and in the most progressive organisations all contributors are welcome at the table.

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The role of Chwarae Teg There is some great support that exists across Wales to help SMEs tackle the issue of workplace inequality and to help further develop understanding and awareness and to bring change in this area.

Chwarae Teg or “Fair Play” is the leading gender equality charity in Wales. Our vision is to build a Wales where women can achieve and prosper. For example, we work to reduce horizontal gender segregation where men and women typically dominate certain sectors. Nearly half of all working women in Wales are employed in public administration, education and health compared with 20% of men. Whereas, 30% of employed men work in Construction or Manufacturing compared with 7% of women. In Wales, the sectors identified as a priority for economic investment are those in which women are under-represented.

In addition, we aim to tackle and reduce vertical segregation where women are under-represented in leadership or decision-making roles. Only 7% of women work in management and senior roles compared to 11% of men. In the private sector, only 2% of CEO positions or equivalent are held by women.

Research also demonstrates that many businesses in key sectors are struggling to attract and retain talent within the workplace. Where these typically male environments do not tap into the female talent pool of Wales, this is indeed a missed and costly opportunity for progressive employers.

One key strand of activity which Chwarae Teg is currently implementing, reaches out to support this very issue and is based upon working with relevant Welsh SME employers to create modern workplaces which are successful by harnessing everyone’s contributions. This is a very practical expression of true workplace diversity. A substantial minority of women (28%), especially those in lower level jobs and working part-time, feel that full use is not made of their skills and experience (Chwarae Teg, 2012). By equalising the participation rates of men and women, more than 10% could be added to the economy by 2030 (Women’s Business Council, 2013).

The recognition that tackling this issue within Wales is a key priority for Welsh economy is supported by the recent significant Welsh Government investment of £10 million, including over £8 million of EU funds, to help improve gender equality in workplaces across Wales.

This investment is being delivered by Chwarae Teg as a three-year project running from 2015 to 2018, under the project banner of Agile Nation 2.

During this time, we will work with 500 businesses and 2750 women across Wales to help improve workplace diversity, female career advancement and to reduce the gender pay gap.

This is the second phase of project delivery by Chwarae Teg in this field and builds upon the Agile Nation 1 Project’s previous successes. From an employer’s perspective, the project offers two specific strands to businesses that are keen to improve their workplace diversity and to build a modern and progressive workforce.

The Employers Programme welcomes eligible SMEs who recognise that their workforce is perhaps not as diverse as it could be, in terms of gender, skills and working practices and who understand and know that there is a clear competitive advantage in improving this. Attracting and retaining talent; the ability to offer flexible working practices; the value of promoting women into leadership roles and the opportunity to obtain honest feedback from employees and implement areas of change and improvement as a result should not be under-estimated in a competitive marketplace, where often in Wales, businesses are fighting to win business and talent from similar competitors.

The Employer’s Team at Chwarae Teg offers the expertise of ten Employer Partners who work on a one to one basis with employers who are accepted onto the project. Each of the Employer Partners brings strong business focused experience from a range of sectors and is experienced in many aspects of business change and consultancy. Employer Partners will work with businesses for a period of 12 months, supporting them through this change process with bespoke guidance and advice to help enable workplace change.

The Employers Team will also deliver a business benchmarking tool which enables businesses to take a “Health Check” on the business and to receive clear feedback from employees across key areas such as communication, performance management and culture, so that the business can be benchmarked at the beginning of the process and again during the later stages of the project so the impact of the changes can be reviewed.

The team will also assist in supporting employers to develop an Equality and Diversity Strategy that can be implemented to help support the required changes. This project represents an exciting opportunity for SME employers to bring further change to their workplace, embrace the concept of diversity and make it a way of life within their respective business. The project focuses on SMEs within the 9 priority sectors across Wales including Construction, Agriculture, Tourism, and IT. The Agile Nation 2 project also supports a second project strand, The Women’s Project. This strand aims to support working women and to develop their careers by offering an accredited leadership qualification and mentoring.

Both projects offer free advice and consultancy to SMEs. The work of Chwarae Teg is essentially a platform for SMEs within Wales to “springboard” their business into the 21st century and break down stereotypical attitudes and practices. By doing this we can all be part of the solution, to show that diversity in the workplace is by no means an academic topic.

Research shows that increasing women’s representation has a positive impact on economic growth and social responsiveness. Firms with two or more women board directors have higher returns on equity, higher marketto-book value (M/B), and improved corporate sustainability via higher social responsiveness (Catalyst, 2013).

Chwarae Teg encourages Welsh businesses and employers to grasp the change and ensure their workforce is as strong and diverse as it possibly can be.

To accept anything less does not make business sense!

To find out more about the programme visit: agilenation2.org.uk or call 0300 365 0445.

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In Conversation: Peter Tatchell on the Road to Equality UWTSD’s Jayne Woodman recently met up with Peter Tatchell, lifelong campaigner for equality and human rights, as he reflects on how far things have come and the road ahead.

JW How have things changed around the campaign for equality and diversity?

PT Over the decades, we have seen awareness, commitment and the law on equality matters steadily, if often belatedly, expand; from initially only covering race and gender to later also embracing religion and belief, sexual orientation etc. Moreover, equal opportunities policies have become increasingly inclusive, comprehensive and universal. That’s real progress.

JW What are the main issues now, as you see them?

PT One of the big issues of the last year has been recognition and rights of transgender people. This is an important advance; although more still needs to be done, such as reforming the limited, flawed Gender Recognition Act.

JW What do you think the impact of the Equality Act has been?

PT The Equality Act was a major advance in tackling discrimination and putting all equality issues on a level playing field. It ended the uneven patchwork of equality laws that separately covered disability, race, gender, age, sexuality and so on; bringing them together in a single, comprehensive legislative framework. This has helped create a more common and unified approach to combating inequality. The Equality Act also very importantly put an obligation on public bodies to proactively ensure equal treatment and end discrimination. They are no longer allowed to passively acquiesce to unequal treatment.

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image: ©Peter Tatckell Foundation

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JW What challenges do you think we still face at a national level?

What would you like to see done to address them?

PT More work needs to be done to eliminate discrimination against travellers, ex-prisoners, people with mental health issues and gender nonconformists. Low-cost universal child care is crucial to empower women with families to get ahead in business. The government also needs to provide more encouragement and resources to ensure that equality and diversity is central to the way all institutions operate - and not an afterthought or side issue. I’d like to see the creation of an Equality & Diversity Watchdog with statutory powers to monitor, promote and enforce measures to ensure inclusion and nondiscrimination.

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JW What about the role of education?

PT Legislation is important but so too is winning hearts and minds. Schools have a vital role to play in promoting equality and diversity. To combat intolerance, bullying and hate crime, education against all prejudice - including racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia - should be a mandatory subject in every school. It ought to start from primary level onwards, and continue throughout a pupil’s educational life. This would help promote understanding and acceptance of difference. The lessons should probably be subject to annual examination (otherwise they won’t be taken seriously), with the results going on each pupil’s record, and they should have to be declared when applying for higher education and jobs. Such schooling could help make equality and diversity the default norm.

JW Focusing on workplaces in particular, what do you see as the key issues today’s employers need to address in terms of equality and diversity?

PT More and more companies actively promote equality and diversity through staff training and through support for company networks, respectively for black, female, LGBT and disabled employees.

This sends a signal of inclusion. As well as being the right thing to do, equality and diversity is also good for business; helping to recruit and retain staff who would be put off by a prejudiced, exclusive workplace. Intolerance also divides and demoralises staff; creating a tense, unhappy work environment that undermines efficiency and productivity.

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“The Equality Act was a major advance in tackling discrimination and putting all equality issues on a level playing field. It ended the uneven patchwork of equality laws…”

PT It’s very important that employers not only commit to equality and diversity but show their commitment to it - through staff newsletters and workplace posters, promotion to senior posts, advertising in minority media, membership of the company board and through corporate social responsibility support for disadvantaged communities. I’d also like to see companies signed up to a nationally agreed Equality & Diversity Charter.

doing to address these issues?

PT Equality and diversity is vital for a cohesive, harmonious and productive workplace and society. We all need to make sure our employers, fellow staff and local communities make everyone feel welcomed, included and respected.

It starts with each of us. We can all be the agents of change. My motto: “Don’t accept the world as it is. Dream of what the world could be - and then help make it happen.”

Swansea Business School’s St David’s Day Lecture for 2016.

For more information see page 21.

Swansea Business School’s St David’s Day Lecture for 2016. For more information, see page 20.

For more information about the Peter Tatchell Foundation’s human rights work, to receive email bulletins or to make donation visit: www.PeterTatchellFoundation.org Petera will be delivering

JW What more could we all be

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image: ©Peter Tatckell Foundation

JW What more could employers be doing to address these issues?

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Industry View: Disability Inclusion - Why Wales is Setting the Standard Julian John, Managing Director of Award Winning Consultancy Delsion, gives a personal perspective on why disability inclusion is important and how Swansea is leading the way by becoming the UK’s first Disability Confident employer city.

In 1816 William Davies, a relative of mine opened a school in his barn on Cwmsaerbren Farm in what would become Treherbert at the head of the Rhondda Fawr valley. It was a first in the respect that its pupils included girls and a huge step forward in terms of the introduction of education for females within Wales.

I wonder why William made that decision? Did he just assume that women should be regarded in the same way as men and have the same opportunities?

And did he also understand the benefit to Treherbert of having an inclusive approach to education?

I’m proud that I can trace my family back to such an important moment for equality and diversity in Wales.

Back to the present, I’m also proud that my Human Resources and Learning & Development consultancy Delsion Ltd won the Disability Confident Award in this year’s Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative Awards (RIDI) – having been the only Welsh company to be shortlisted.

We were nominated as a result of our efforts that saw Swansea recognised as the first Disability Confident Employer City in the UK. Disability Confident is a Department of Work and Pensions campaign with the purpose of engaging employers around the inclusion of disabled people.

We had over 200 people attend our Disability Confident event, including 70 employers representing a significant percentage of employment within Swansea.

Although a Human Resources and Learning & Development consultancy we also specialise in disability inclusion and organised the event to engage the city around this subject. Swansea was nothing short of magnificent in its response.

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ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU | Moving on from that, our current work is around establishing a Welsh Disability Standard to support employers, disability associated organisations and disabled individuals in Wales.

But why have we decided to focus on disability inclusion?

I set up the business following a successful career as a senior Human Resources and Learning & Development manager for some of the largest and leading edge, people focused retailers in the UK and Europe.

However that came to a halt 10 years ago when I collapsed with brain damage that has left me disabled. I was left housebound for over three years and I’ve had to learn to stand, walk and talk again.

But however hard those experiences were, I also had to face the reality that as a now disabled person, my chances of getting back into employment were significantly reduced.

And the fact is that this was not due to my disability, but more the perception of my ability as a disabled person.

In my view and from the work that we do the barriers for disabled people getting into employment are; perception, accessibility and the need for flexibility and open mindedness on the behalf of employers. On top of that you can add implicit or unconscious bias, where a judgement is made because of the label ‘disabled’.

Until I was disabled I had no understanding of some of the barriers that disabled people face when trying to seek employment, but from my personal experiences I’ve had exposure to every one of the elements listed above on numerous occasions.

Employers understand the benefits of a diverse and inclusive workforce. They understand the need to recruit from the widest possible talent pool to get the best people into their organisations, but still, certain groups remain under represented.

Within the working age population 73% non-disabled people are in employment.

In comparison, this falls into 43% for disabled individuals and the size of that population is around 7 million.

And when we look at the experiences of disabled people within a recruitment environment, 37% of disabled candidates feel as if they’ve been discriminated against on the grounds of their disability.

However, one of the keys to a solution is through understanding that 82% of

disabled applicants feel that they’ve had a negative experience due to a lack of knowledge around disability.

As another example, if we look at apprenticeships in Wales the take up by disabled people is just 3%.

That’s why we are fulfilling the need to make a change.

We support organisations by looking at their business, performing a gap analysis of the understanding around disability inclusion and providing bespoke L&D solutions that fit specifically within that business.

Disability inclusion, in our mind, can’t be an ‘add on’ topic, it must fit seamlessly within the core strategies of the business to be at its most effective. It’s an Organisational Development approach to inclusion.

This is where, as stated previously, accessibility, flexibility and an open minded approach to facilitate rather than impede the recruitment of disabled people are essential.

But things are changing for the good, last year saw an additional 238,000 disabled people enter employment and it’s a clear indication that the message is getting out there.

Our Disability Confident event is testament to that and also testament to the people and employers of Swansea.

Our aim for the event was engagement.

We wanted employers to understand the benefits of employing disabled people with regards to what an asset they can be and what skill sets they can offer.

We also wanted to dispel the myths that surround disabled employability, such as increased absence by disabled employees or huge costs associated with making adjustments.

And finally we wanted employers to understand the support that is available, both to employers and individuals.

However, the organisations that support disabled people into work also have a role to play in better understanding the needs and processes of an employer.

It is vital that a closer link is formed to best support disabled individuals and employers.

Our hope is that the standard will boost engagement, allow for increased knowledge and present a more consistent and transparent approach to disability inclusion.

We believe that Wales can be the leader for disabled employability in Europe and make a step change in this area for others to follow.

So in conclusion, it’s the activities outlined above that have led us to win our Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative Award. We were listed alongside companies such as Marks & Spencer, Royal Mail, Eversheds and Lloyds Banking Group, so we’re in esteemed company of like-minded organisations that have done some fantastic work in the arena of diversity and inclusion. These organisations are also a lot bigger in size and resources than we are, and that’s the point that needs to be understood any individual and any employer has the opportunity to make a positive change in this area.

We’ve proved what Swansea can do and we’re about to prove that Wales can be at the leading edge of change.

It still seems strange to me that we have to be engaged in this area at all. People are people and that should be an end it to it, but my experiences and those of other disabled people tell a different story. But we’re getting there, positive change is happening every day and what we need to do now is keep talking about disability inclusion so that we get to the point that we don’t have to talk about it anymore.

“we are proposing the Welsh Disability Standard that will consist of an accreditation for employers, support organisations and a charter for disabled individuals”

That’s the reason why we are proposing the Welsh Disability Standard that will consist of an accreditation for employers, support organisations and a charter for disabled individuals.

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Opinion: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau - The Power Vacuum, a Boardroom Bias Dr Rhianon Washington

Lead Tutor and Academic Manager at the Wales Institute for Work-based Learning at UWTSD, Dr Rhianon Washington, considers diversity in Wales’s boardrooms and the role mentoring can play in developing leaders from under-represented groups.

The Institute of Leadership and Management also reported in 2013 on gender barriers preventing women from achieving senior management positions because they lacked the confidence displayed by their male counterparts to put themselves forward for such positions. This undermining of confidence is seated in the many limiting perceptions of gender stereotypes such as the unspoken assumption that women of child bearing age may disrupt business by taking career breaks even in the face of the advancement of paternity leave.

Flexible working requests also tend to be associated with women who are deemed to be the primary child carer.

This caring stereotype similarly extends to older women with elderly parents.

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Such unspoken judgements discourage ambition and hinder progression.

Male colleagues, bound by their own stereotypes are equally reluctant to seek flexible working opportunities to allow a more proactive role in caring responsibilities.

Mentoring offers a simple and effective solution to these problems. It is a proven, cost-effective method of developing individuals, delivering benefits for mentee, mentor and organisation alike provided business commits the relatively modest resources required. Mentoring offers the opportunity to address the inequity in the boardroom caused by the scarcity of executive level women.

There are some highly effective mentoring schemes for women in business which address career enhancement strategies, networking access and training, but an in-house approach will more likely garner results because of the organisation’s active commitment. One of the most significant benefits of mentoring is increased confidence and accessing a successful female mentor who can advise, support and challenge can prove very powerful. Having a role model by your side to discuss specific issues or merely just to inspire your journey will instil the confidence to seek those seemingly out of reach jobs.

It is every successful woman’s responsibility to take a moment to look over her shoulder and lend a hand to the women behind her. Mentoring, formal or informal, can make all the difference in convincing her that she is good enough to go for it and not allow societal stereotyping or lack of confidence to hold her back. It is also the duty of every business to support her in her progression, requiring both a commitment and a determination to remove the shameful reputation Wales now carries of being unwelcoming to the female boss.

Wales Institute of Work Based Learning Wales Institute of Work Based Learning delivers an integrated bilingual professional development framework programme incorporating accreditation of employers’ staff development programmes, accreditation of prior experiential learning, and delivery of a range of modules leading to an academic qualification in Professional Practice. www.uwtsd.ac.uk/wiwbl

Image: ©ADA_photo/shutterstock

In 2014 the Equality and Human Rights Commission decried the ‘lost decade’ in the failure to encourage women into high level jobs in Wales. The ‘Who runs Wales?’ report revealed negligible progress or in some areas even a regression with regard to supporting women into influential top jobs. Only 2% of women were represented at chief executive or equivalent level in the top 100 businesses in Wales.

The report urges business leaders to commit to finding solutions to increase female confidence and improve their prospects in the workplace.

Image: ©Gutzemberg/shutterstock

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Point Of View: The Business of Eradicating Poverty in Schools

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Dr Christala Sophocleous and Natalie Macdonald

Dr Christala Sophocleous and Natalie Macdonald of the Wales Centre for Equity in Education share their thoughts on the impact leadership to establish equity in the early years can have on educational attainment.

The impact of poverty on learners’ attainment has been largely evidenced and is usually measured in terms of tracking and comparing the performance of pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) and those who are not. The use of FSM or not as an indicator of poverty is not without its critics but is the most commonly used indicator. The current gap in attainment is significant, standing at 16.3 % points using the Foundation Phase Indicators (FPI) between FSM pupils and non FSM pupils for (Welsh Government, 2015). One of the key priorities of the Welsh Government is to eradicate child poverty in Wales by 2020 (WG 2014a). But how do we do it?

Research has shown that a key driver in reducing the impact of poverty is quality leadership (Egan, 2007); this is true for schools, pre-schools, the maintained and non-maintained sectors.

The new joint inspection framework for non-maintained settings recognises the quality and standards of leadership as a crucial element in running good provision. A third of the assessment is focused on this issue, with both ESTYN (Wales’ inspectorate for Schools) and CSSIW (Care and Social Services Inspectorate of Wales) placing emphasis on efficient and good quality leadership.

The draft ten-year workforce plan for the Early Years, Childcare and Play Workforce in Wales (WG 2014b) places

strong, expert leadership as a central element of improving the early years sector. It focuses on the qualifications, continuing professional development and career pathways of the early years workforce, stressing the critical importance of developing leaders.

Indeed, recent research has indicated that graduate leadership in early years provision has a positive impact on the quality of the provision, narrowing the gap in quality between areas of multiple deprivation and more affluent areas (Mathers and Smees, 2014).

relations and community engagement to provide an inclusive, productive and financially viable institution. Many aspirational teachers are now looking to additional Postgraduate qualifications to further their careers and skills such as the MA in Education and the MBA in Education Management offered at UWTSD; as well as the prerequisite leadership courses such as the NVQ level 5 in Children’s Care Learning and Development and the NPQH for teachers (National Professional Qualification for Headship).

This emphasis on leadership is echoed within local and government initiatives seeking to reduce the impact of poverty in education; strong leadership skills, pedagogy and a high level of education are essential. Within the Welsh Government’s Flying Start initiative, managers must be qualified to a level 5 Diploma in Children’s Care Learning and Development (WG, 2013a) and Continuous Professional Development over a wide- ranging area is mandatory.

Programmes such as Teach First and Initial Teacher Training recognise the need for developing teachers specifically trained to deal with issues raised by the impact of poverty. Teach First provide an intensive leadership development training programme for top graduates, designed to help place excellent, inspirational teachers and professionals in schools with the most challenging circumstances (Teach First, 2015).

As the Sutton Trust point out, a well-trained early years workforce is essential to closing the gap between children from poorer homes and their peers. The commitment to early years practitioners’ professional development and leadership skills is central to the Welsh Government’s aim to eradicate the inequity in education by 2020.

Effective leadership of any educational setting requires a multitude of skills, knowledge and expertise. Knowledge of education alone is no longer enough.

Leaders must be skilled in business, marketing, funding, diplomacy, public

For references, please contact the editor.

Canolfan Cymru er Cydraddoldeb mewn Addysg Wales Centre for Equity in Education

The Wales Centre for Equity in Education is a national policy and applied research centre, led by Professor David Egan. We develop knowledge and understanding of the extent, causes and effects of inequities in educational achievement and of how to tackle the challenges associated with them. www.uwtsd.ac.uk/wcee

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Image: ©goir/shutterstock

Securing equity in education has been a long-term goal of the Welsh Government evident throughout their policies, guidelines and initiatives.

Currently, around 20% of people in Wales live in deep poverty (Mathers and Smees, 2014).

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News and Events

Events @ Swansea Business School

For full details and booking for any of the below events please contact: Jamie Tavender (Faculty Marketing Officer) jamie.tavender@uwtsd.ac.uk

1st March 2016 at 3pm, Swansea Business Campus

St David’s Day Lecture - Peter Tatchell

Swansea Business School’s annual St David’s Day Lecture with human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. All welcome.

27 February 2016

Undergraduate Open Day

Open Day for Undergraduate programmes at Swansea Business School. Visit www.uwtsd.ac.uk/visitus to book a place.

Business Students’ Partnership with Uplands Market Swansea Business School students have been working with the team from the hugely successful Uplands Market this year to create a stall for the Market’s Christmas event in December.

Uplands Market is the brainchild of Dr Ben Reynolds and Gordon Gibson of Swansea based regeneration company Trilein. From the outset the pairing wanted to develop a sustainable social business that activated public space and engaged the wider community of Swansea.

Held on the last Saturday of every month, the market boasts an impressive range of stalls with the finest local produce, and also showcases some of the best live music around on its ‘Do Not Go Gentle Stage,’ managed by Pierre Donaghue.

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UWTSD Tops UK Global Entrepreneurship Week Activities List For the second year in a row the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) has topped the UK list of University activities during Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), which runs from 16-22 November.

Kathryn Penaluna, Enterprise Manager at UWTSD, said: “Entrepreneurship Week is a real opportunity for us to celebrate what we do here as an integral part of our mission. We are a connected University in every sense when it comes to be being enterprising; we connect with our learners, we connect with businesses and we connect with policy makers in a truly global way.

The fact that we were the leading University in this table has as much to do with our day-to-day experience as it does with the celebrations in Global Entrepreneurship Week.”

“We are a connected University in every sense”

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UWTSD Teams Claim First and Second Place in Startup Competition Two enterprising teams of students from University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) have taken first and second place in the Startup Weekend Swansea competition.

Startup Weekend Swansea gives students from UWTSD, Swansea University and Gower College Swansea the chance to make their business idea a reality, all in two and a half days. It is a high energy weekend, where participants meet new people, pitch an idea or join with someone else, and form a business.

During the weekend, the teams join forces with other entrepreneurs, developers, designers, marketers and technologists to build real solutions to the world’s most pressing problems in just one weekend. The Swansea competition is one of many startup weekends that take place across the world.

Professor Mike Phillips, UWTSD Pro Vice-Chancellor responsible for innovation and enterprise, said: “The University is extremely proud of its students and we congratulate both

Allergy Manager and Train Track.

We have an international reputation for policy development in the field of entrepreneurship education but that stems from the curriculum work that we have delivered across our programmes for decades. As a result, UWTSD produces more successful graduate startups than most universities in Wales and we see our students consistently deliver to a high standard in event such as Startup Weekend Swansea.”

Business School Welcomes Malaysian Visitors

A group of final year Business Students from international University of Malaya – Wales have been spending a semester studying at Swansea Business School before returning to Malaysia to complete their degrees.

This visit is part of a broader partnership with IUMW, with plans for further exchanges and joint research projects.

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Book Review: Do Men Still Run the World?

“Lean-in” by Sheryl Sandberg, WH Allen.

Reviewed by Sara Mills Sheryl Sandberg is Chief Operating Officer at Facebook; she is ranked on Fortune’s list of the 50 most powerful women in business today. Prior to working at Facebook she was Vice-President of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google. Her inspirational TedTalk ‘why we have too few women leaders’ now has an impressive 5.5 million views. Reason enough to read the book perhaps!

Be assured this is not a self-help book for women, or a book to be enjoyed only by women and it is not one of the greats of 21st century feminist literature. However, it is an honest, witty and at times inspirational portrayal of Sandberg’s journey to become potentially one of the most powerful female leaders in the world.

This is not a self-indulgent autobiography; Sandberg presents some insightful and practical solutions to overcome the barriers women experience at work in pursuit of their goals and ambitions. She reflects that despite much progress in the equality for women movement ‘men still run the world’, which means that when it comes to decision-making women’s voices are not being heard. She recognises the external barriers women face, such as sex discrimination and inflexible work practices.

Principally though, it is Sandberg’s analysis of how women hold themselves back which is truly insightful. How does this translate in the workplace? Sandberg describes many professional women as not sitting at the table, not taking risks, not asking for promotion, not raising their hands, and generally pulling back when they should be leaning in. She calls women to take action to address these internal barriers, which she argues are essentially within their gift. She uses personal anecdotes alongside hard data and credible research to build a compelling argument.

It is easy to critique Sandberg’s perspectives with her Ivy League education. This is a woman with choice and freedom, opportunities not always afforded to woman of different socio-economic backgrounds or cultures. In fairness to Sandberg she acknowledges her privileged situation and builds a convincing case for women supporting other women to reach their career goals, to collaborate and not to compete in order to achieve more for all women. She argues ‘if more women lean in we can change the power structure of the world and expand opportunities for all.’

At its best this book will challenge, inspire and empower women, men and leaders to take action and support women at work to fulfil their potential in order to create a more fair and equal world, ‘where half of the countries are run by men and half by women’. At a basic level, this book will make you think twice about telling your daughters or granddaughters ‘not to be so bossy’!

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Swansea BUSINESS School

LAW PORTFOLIO Programmes: CILEX Level 3 Law and Practice CILEX Level 6 Law and Practice CILEX Fast Track Graduate Diploma Law and Practice

www.uwtsd.ac.uk/cilex Vol 6 Issue 3 2015 | 23

Next Issue

Leading the Way

Out Spring 2016 To reserve a copy please visit www.uwtsd.ac.uk/swbr or email your name and address to: swbr@uwtsd.ac.uk

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New ways of thinking about 21st Century Leadership