Schroders LGBTQ+ network SchOUT named Most Innovative Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
Led by passionate people at Schroders, our LGBTQ+ inclusion network SchOUT has been named the Most Innovative Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Committee at the Harrington Starr Top 1% Workplace Awards.
These awards celebrate the most innovative and ground-breaking firms disrupting the FinTech space, with the judges finding our work to support LGBTQ+ employees “exemplary” and “innovative”.
The judging panel highlighted: “Colleagues are educated on how to be better allies and have a fantastic focus on the intersectionality which is so important and significant in driving DEI. The work of this Committee has a ripple effect across the entire company, and is one we are sure will inspire wider industry efforts.”
We caught up with Emmanuelle Mathey, Head of Credit Risk and Chair of SchOUT, and Daniel Wilson, Data Engineer and Incoming Chair of SchOUT, to find out more about how they’re driving LGBTQ+ inclusion through SchOUT.
Congratulations on the award! The judges were clearly impressed, can you tell us more about the work you have been doing?
Emmanuelle: In the last 18 months we have been very innovative in our efforts to deliver both inclusion and diversity at Schroders, with a focus on education, visibility and intersectionality.
We are particularly thrilled to be recognised for all the hard work and progress made this year in our mission to make Schroders a more inclusive place for everyone.
Daniel: We’re extremely proud of our recent fundraising event, which raised over £10k for LGBTQ+ homelessness charities thanks to generous employee donations and firm matching. It’s set a high bar for 2022!
How has SchOUT worked with HR and other business areas of Schroders?
Emmanuelle: We’ve been increasing recruitment from a diverse talent pool, and highlighting how to develop and retain our current LGBTQ+ talent. We’re proudly recognised as actively being LGBTQ+ friendly - which ultimately attracts more talent.
We’ve also been increasing our presence on social media to create more awareness globally.
How have you been reaching out to allies and why are they important?
Emmanuelle: This isn’t just about finding allies, but explaining what it means to be one - providing education and training, and practical tips. For example, a simple tip is not to assume the gender of people’s partners - this one action can have a huge impact on someone’s experience of bringing their whole self to work.
Daniel: We’re all part of many communities and want to be allies, so where we can we joined forces with other employee resource groups to host joint events focused on driving inclusion across our business.
It doesn’t matter who you are, you can still be an ally to everyone else.
What particular initiatives do you think resonated well with colleagues this year?
Emmanuelle: We want everyone to feel comfortable to be their true selves at work, so we launched our pronouns initiative to normalise the discussion around gender.
We actively encouraged colleagues to add their gender pronouns (she/her) (he/his) (they/their) to their email signatures and social media profiles. I still feel very proud whenever I receive an email from a colleague with their pronoun in it.
Daniel: We also hosted a number of workshops, including LGBTQ+ terminology 101 (because even those of us in the LGBTQ+ community sometimes get confused!) and a more focused Trans and Non-binary 101.
As a community we are very diverse, so we really try to make sure that everyone is represented and has a voice. A good example of this is that we source and post blogs or articles internally on LGBTQ+ topics to educate and share a variety of perspectives.
What’s SchOUTs vision for 2022?
Daniel: Our ambition for 2022 is to strengthen our community engagement through volunteering and fundraising opportunities, and to diversify our training options, focusing on less represented parts of the LGBTQ+ community, where education really goes a long way.
Hear from our people about how we are continuing to create a more inclusive workplace here at Schroders:
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