Mission Include applications open

There is no doubt that the case for DE&I has to be made again and again, in a new way. The sort of work that Moving Ahead is doing through the Mission Include programme is exactly what I think we at Change the Race Ratio have in mind when we talk about bringing a single, united solution.

We all have a role to play to ensure that the persistent inequities in business and our society are addressed and this programme, which is open to mentees from all under-represented groups, is a way for companies to do that.

Very often, underrepresented talent in organisations are blocked out of networks. They don’t necessarily have people who will advocate for them when they’re not in the room. And Moving Ahead, by doing this mentoring programme, allows us to correct that injustice.

Action on race equity doesn’t happen in isolation in the business. So we need to recognise that and work together with partners, with the wider business world, to achieve the difference that we want to see.

Mission Include is different because it is overtly leaning in to what a lot of organisations are already doing, but formalising it and really raising the game. When you drill down, I honestly think that each underrepresented community is facing the same challenges. So if you find that commonality - and that’s what Mission Include will seek to do - that’s when we’ll see real system change.

We’re now in a new stage where employers are going to have five generations within one workplace. And that’s a really hard dynamic to really think about how to manage. But the power of intergenerational conversations that comes from having all age ranges in a team is amazing.