Press Release - 14 March 2006

Economic Development Charity urges voluntary sector to embrace diversity

A UK-based economic development charity is urging the voluntary sector to take steps to embrace diversity.

Quest for Economic Development (QED) is currently running a national initiative to promote the economic and cultural benefits of workplace diversity.

The initiative, Employer Diversity Project, is funded by Jobcentre Plus and helps organisations review their diversity policy in line with Commission for Racial Equality guidelines.

It also stresses current race equality legislation which requires all companies supplying the public sector to be able to demonstrate diversity policies that actively promote race equality. This is particularly relevant to voluntary sector organisations seeking Government contracts.

QED is also concerned that a recent report highlighted low levels of BME employment in certain charity sectors. The report, by social justice think tank Capacity Global, concluded that many organisations were afraid of doing the ‘wrong thing‘ when engaging with the BME sector.

Chief executive of QED, Dr Mohammed Ali OBE, says: “The Employer Diversity Project offers employers a vital opportunity to broaden their workforce diversity. Having a diverse workforce is a necessity for winning public sector contracts and opens up new sources of skilled labour. I would urge UK charities to sign-up for this free initiative and show their commitment to improving the sector’s diversity.”

Ethnic Minority Team Leader at Jobcentre Plus, Chris Wood says: “Jobcentre Plus is keen to promote the economic benefits of diversity. Employees from across the UK’s ethnic minority groups have a huge amount to offer. The Employer Diversity Project is an excellent free opportunity to help companies unlock the potential of having a diverse workforce.”

Organisations who sign-up to the free initiative can tailor the diversity advice to their needs by taking part in one of the following options:

• A short seminar covering the economic case for diversity, how to establish a diversity policy and good practice examples of other organisations’ policies;
  
  
• Assessment of an organisation’s existing diversity policies by a panel of experts. The results will be fed back to the company with suggestions for improvement where necessary;
  
  
• A confidential help-line giving one-to-one advice on specific diversity issues.

Employers who successfully take part in the initiative are awarded a certificate demonstrating their commitment to diversity.

All companies must sign-up for the initiative by the end of March 2006.

To register for the FREE scheme, contact QED by telephoning 01274 483267 or emailing m.ali@qed-uk.org. Alternatively sign-up online by visiting: www.qed-edp.org by Friday 31 March 2006.

For further press information contact or Simon Collister or Scilla Baldwin at Cicada Public Relations Limited on 01423 567111. Alternatively, email simon@cicada-pr.com or scilla@cicada-pr.com.