Equality Diversity and Inclusion

The environmental sector is the second least diverse, after agriculture (The Race Report 2022). The ongoing effects of the pandemic, campaigns such as Black Lives Matter, and the cost-of-living crisis has meant that issues of inequality have become even more evident.

At the most recent survey of 63 employees at London Wildlife Trust, the following data was collated:

• Ethnicity: 73% white, 17% from Black, Asian or other minoritised ethnic backgrounds [compared to 46.2% of all Londoners], 10% not disclosed. There is room for improvement here, however, given the lack of diversity in the environment sector, these statistics are a relatively positive baseline to build upwards from.

• Socio economic (self-identified): 13% from lower socioeconomic background, 29% are not, 59% unsure or did not disclose.

• Gender identity: 68% female, 29% male, 2% non-binary [compared to 0.08% of all Londoners], 2% not disclosed.

• Sexual orientation: 51% heterosexual, 14% from the LGBTQIA+ community, 35% not disclosed.

• Disability: 14% living with disability [compared to 15.7% of all Londoners], 56% not living with a disability, 30% not disclosed.

Our Senior Management Team (SMT) has grown to six (previously five), increasing from one woman to two women, both of whom identify as being from under-represented backgrounds.

Over the year 2022/23 there has been a total of 17 paid trainees at London Wildlife Trust, the following data has been collated: 

• Ethnicity: 93% from Black, Asian or other minoritised ethnic backgrounds 

• Socio economic: 61% living in areas of higher socio-economic deprivation  

• Gender identity: 59% female, 28% male, 13% non-binary 

• Disability: 41% living with a disability  

Currently the Trust has a Board of 12 trustees. The Trust doesn't currently hold a full set of EDI data on the makeup of the Board, however in 2023/24 the Trust will promote take up of the Annual Staff and Trustee EDI survey, so that in future years there will be a baseline data set.

Some other steps we are taking:

• We support the aims on BITC's Ban the Box campaign, which is increasing fair opportunities for people with criminal records to compete for jobs. We will only ask about criminal convictions for roles deemed necessary, for example, where the role may involve working with children. We will only ask at conditional offer stage before conducting an enhanced DBS check. Criminal convictions will not automatically exclude someone from working with us; any previous convictions will be risk assessed depending on their nature and the position applied for.

• We are part of the Disability Confident scheme and working towards our next level of accreditation, which includes ensuring all candidates living with disabilities are given an interview if they meet all of the essential criteria within the person specification.
• We have signed up to Show the Salary scheme, which provides salary transparency for every role we offer.

London Wildlife Trust have taken advice from fair internships campaigners and we no longer accept unpaid internships, to prevent those who couldn’t afford to work for free from being locked out of the opportunity to gain essential experience with us.

The Trust’s Paid Traineeship programme has been running since 2018. In 2022/23 a total of 17 trainees completed the programme. 94% of our Trainees come from Black, Asian or other minoritised ethnic backgrounds, 59% living in areas of higher socio-economic deprivation and 41% living with a disability.

Alongside this, the Trust recruited 12 young people for a new Youth Board which launched in July 2022, with an associated mentoring scheme including Trustees and the Senior Management Team. 67% of our Youth Board members came from Black, Asian or other minoritised ethnic backgrounds and 33% are living with a disability.

The Keeping it Wild project received an award from the London Faith & Belief Community Awards and was highly commended by The Festival of Learning 2020.

Further reading:

News: Seeding Change Report

News: Keeping it Wild: changing the face of the environmental sector

Everyone at the Trust has a role to play in ensuring that individuals are valued, treated with dignity and respect and that discrimination does not occur. The inclusive working environment which already has a strong foundation in the values of our staff and volunteers will be implemented in relevant EDI policies, objectives and working practices.

London Wildlife Trust (the Trust) began its Equality Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) journey in 2011, a Diversity Action Plan was created and representatives from across the Trust began meeting regularly to progress actions. With the launch of our youth engagement project ‘Keeping it Wild,’ in 2016, a renewed approach to EDI was taken, the project acted as a catalyst. 

In 2021 the Trust worked with consultants from The Diversity Partnership to review (including interviews with key staff) our EDI journey to date, create a new strategy and provide two online training sessions to the whole staff team. The Diversity Partnership created an EDI Strategic Framework for the Trust which identified five key strategic areas: 

• 360 Ownership: EDI must be ultimately owned and driven by leadership, aligned to and a level of ownership felt by the broader organisation. EDI should be at the heart of the organisation and built into the way the Trust operates.  

• Culture of Allyship: The Trust should, and is, building an inclusive and supportive culture that supports all people from all backgrounds and characteristics. Activities such as training, education, socialisation and EDI supporting partnerships are required to drive inclusivity.  

• Process and Policies: The Trust to ensure that policies, procedures and processes across the business support diversity and drive inclusion to ensure consistent support and application.  

• Reporting and Accountability: The Trust to introduce, prioritise and share metrics that track progress over time, ensuring all employees are accountable.   

• Leading the Way: In a sector that struggles with EDI, once the Trust is delivering against its objectives, the Trust should be positioning itself as a leader in order to help others and improve the entire sector.  

To find out more about how you can support Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic led organisations, we've included a list of relevant UK organisations below to which we will continue to add.

StopWatch
The Monitoring Group
The Black Curriculum
UFFC
Kids of Colour
Black Muslim Forum
BLAM
Black Girls Hike CIC
Wanderers of Colour
Sustainably Muslim
Flock Together
Maslaha

London Wildlife Trust are keen to help promote Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic environmental organisations. If you would like to contact us about this, please get in touch by emailing marketing@wildlondon.org.uk