24 Jan 2020

Diversity Lens - Issue 10

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Jan 24

Diversity Lens - Issue 10

Diversity Lens

Welcome to Diversity Lens, the newsletter from BAME Recruitment and Diversifying.io! We’re excited to be bringing you all the latest news and opinions about recruitment and the world of diversity and inclusion.

Latest News

Lunar New Year 2020 - Year of the Rat
Happy New Year (Xi Nian Kuai Le) to all our readers! Wishing you all good fortune and prosperity in the New Year. This weekend many will be celebrating Lunar New Year, which officially begins on the 25th January 2020. The Lunar New Year falls between January and February every year, due to the Chinese traditional calendar being dependent on the Winter Solstice, which varies each year. The Chinese calendar follows a 12-year cycle with a different animal representing each year. This year is year of the Rat, which is characterised by intelligence, wit, alertness and flexibility. Some traditions of the Lunar New Year include:
1. Hanging decorations - red is the main colour for the festival, as red is believed to be an auspicious colour
2. Not getting a haircut or sweeping the house on New Year's Day - the idea is set around not sweeping or cutting away your new luck.
3. Eating dumplings, symbolising wealth
4. Giving red envelopes filled with money called Hong Bao
5. Giving offerings to ancestors at the temple.
Click on the photo below to read more.

Samira Ahmed Wins Gender Discrimination case against BBC
Presenter Samira Ahmed has won the employment tribunal she brought against the BBC in a dispute over equal pay. Ahmed stated she was underpaid by £700,000 for hosting audience feedback show Newswatch compared with Jeremy Vine's salary for Points of View. The BBC released the salary details of its top earners in 2017 and noted that only a third were women.
It has emerged that 120 female employees have also pursued gender pay gap complaints against the BBC. This is a significant victory for Samira Ahmed and an example for other women and allies to continue standing up for equality. Additionally, BBC presenter Sarah Montague has recently been paid a £400,000 settlement from the BBC who admitted that she was severely underpaid for many years.

Click Here to read more about the Samira Ahmed case.

Who is Your Inspiration?
At BAME Recruitment, we've created a series of short videos highlighting people that inspire our team members. This episode Senior Talent Acquisition Consultant, Andrew talks about his inspiration - Olympic Athlete Jesse Owens and his quote about #OneChance. Click on the video below.

Who is your inspiration - Andrew x Jesse Owens

Diversity and Inclusion Insights
Half of all FTSE 100 Executive hires must be women to meet 2020 target
To have more women in strategy and decision-making roles and ensure gender equality targets are met before the end of 2020, one in every two FTSE 100 executive hires must be women. The recommendations of the Hampton-Alexander review are that FTSE 350 boards are 33% female by the end of 2020, and 33% female representation across leadership roles including positions on executive committees and direct reports to the executive committee. Despite describing this as the “strongest year of progress” in terms of board representation, with targets likely to be met, the review has called for a step-change in recruiting women into executive roles. Although progress is being made, there is room for improvement to include more women of colour and women living with disabilities in senior leadership roles for businesses to demonstrate equality and diversity at all levels. It is encouraging to see that investors are championing and demanding the need for more diversity, as research has shown that diverse boards and management teams make better decisions, drive innovation and do better than their less diverse counterparts. Click the photo to read more.

Story of the Week

First African American FBI agent recognised 100 years after being hired
James Wormley Jones, who was the son of a slave, was the first African American agent at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and is finally being recognised for this achievement. Although there are no photographs of him there is a full record of his hiring and an archive room filled with numerous documents and a job application attesting to this. According to the documents, Jones started work in December 1919 as was hired as an undercover agent working in the black community directly under the then FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover was notoriously known for putting African American civil rights activists, such as Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X, under special surveillance. Although Jones has finally been recognised there are still less than 5% black FBI agents working today. The current FBI director, Christopher Wray has made recruiting people of colour a top priority and agrees that the FBI needs to be reflective of the community it protects and serves.

Click Here to read more.

Featured Video

Cumbrian woman powerlifts to improve mental health
Mary McCance started powerlifting two years ago at the age of 37 after she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and PTSD. In early 2019 she became the record holder for the heaviest deadlift by a woman in the north-west of England by lifting 29 stone (193kg). In March this year she'll take part in her first British Championships and hopes to come in the top five in the Masters age group. Hear more about her story in the video below.

Cumbrian woman powerlifts to improve mental health

Inspirational Person of the Week

Naomi Sumner Chan
Naomi Sumner Chan is a British playwright, dramaturg and theatre-maker. She began writing for the stage in 2013 and her work has been performed at venues across the North of England including York Theatre Royal and The Arcola Theatre in London. She formed her own creative company 'Brush Stroke Order. The name itself was inspired by Chinese calligraphy, which focuses on sharpening both art and skill. Naomi is trans-racially adopted, being adopted from Hong Kong to a white British family and grew up in a military family. She has used her experiences as an adoptee to inspire her theatre productions and a diverse range of actors to the stage. Her play 'SAME SAME DIFFERENT' was inspired by her exploration of her identity as an adoptee and has helped convey her messages of struggles and hope on her journey. In addition, her production 'Banana Split' explored her identity as a Chinese person in Britain. Click the photo to read more.