A journey to inclusion: employers & young Black men

All young people deserve the chance to thrive in our global capital, with stable and rewarding careers no matter what their background or ambitions.

Yet, we know that too many young people from Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Mixed Heritage backgrounds face significant challenges in fulfilling their career dreams despite being a stone’s throw from some of the most exciting industries and companies London has to offer.

They are treated far more differently compared to their white peers even when they’ve found employment.

At ARE, through our Moving on Up programme, we have worked closely with the Mayor of London to address these inequalities. We’re proud to have jointly developed a practical resource, the Mayor’s Inclusive Employers Toolkit, and an additional bank of information, A Journey Towards Inclusion: Young, Black and Talented, to help every employer in London make their workplaces more inclusive and fairer for all.

Our goal is to ensure that the barriers that talented young Black, Asian and minority ethnic people face in accessing and thriving in the city’s dynamic jobs market are lifted – for good.

For the last 10 years, Moving on Up has specifically targeted the overwhelming and persistent disparities faced by one group of young people in particular – young Black men aged 16 – 24 in London.

In this decade, we’ve learned that repeated employer engagement with equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives, strong leadership and a collaborative approach across sectors makes a big difference to tackling the inequalities impacting these young men.

In the special online version of the resource, which accompanies the publication, we’ve highlighted some of these learnings with inspiring case studies & examples of good practice.

Also foregrounded are the first hand stories of young Black men who have shared with us the impact of tailored employer initiatives and their own thoughts on what has lead to their routes to success.

To see meaningful transformational change, leaders need to be braver and bolder in questioning, challenging and changing the status quo. Challenging the systems, processes, behaviours and relationships that inhibit or prevent Young Black men from entering and progressing in workplaces is part of the ‘Journey to Inclusion’.

ARE Learning & Training Associate, Tebussum Rashid said:

This supplementary resource to the Inclusive Employers Toolkit (IET) was designed by ARE and the Mayor of London’s Workforce Integration Team to provide practical tips, insights and guidance to create workplaces that are diverse, inclusive and equitable throughout the employee journey – from the hiring process to offboarding.

With this in mind, we’ve looked at every component of an organisation, and highlighted what inclusion can look like, when done right. We encourage all leaders to dip into the resource at a stage and pace that works best for you and your Inclusion roadmap, and use it alongside your existing practices.”

While the contributors to this resource are all drawn from the construction and technology sectors, where young Black men and people from diverse backgrounds are markedly underrepresented, ARE believes any organisation from any sector of the economy will benefit from the learning and good practice included in the resource.

Author: Payal Bhavsar, Senior Communications Officer & Tebussum Rashid, ARE Learning & Training Associate.

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About a Journey to Inclusion

The insights, reflections and advice this resource can be used by any employer, across all sectors. It can be used to cross reference against your own company’s journey at any point within the following four key areas of the GLA’s Inclusion Employer’s Toolkit:

• Commitment
• Engagement and Recruitment
• Retention and Progression
• Suppliers.

ARE would like to thank the following for supporting and participating in the Journey to Inclusion material.

Employers

• Balfour Beatty Construction
• Be the Business
• Canary Wharf Group
• Creative Assembly
• GLA
• HS2, Balfour Beatty Vinci Systra (BBVS)
• Informatech
• Jacobs Partnership

Funders

• Mayor of London
• Trust for London
• City Bridge Trus

• Lendlease
• London Legacy Development Corporation
• Mace
• Profusion
• Transport for London
• TfL
• Mindstream AI
• Homes for Lambeth

Original research & interviews

• Patricia Crampton
• Jackie Jefferson
• Diana Skeete

Resource production

• Tebussum Rashid
• Alex Louis
• Christine Bramble
• Payal Bhavsar
• Luke Agbaimoni

Keep reading…