Thames Valley Police joins over 800 organisations by signing the Race at Work Charter

Thames Valley Police has joined over 800 employers in signing up to the Race at Work charter.

The Business in the Community (BITC) initiative encourages businesses to commit to improving equal opportunities for Black, Asian, Mixed Race and ethnically diverse employees in the UK.

Sign up to the charter reflects the ongoing work of Thames Valley Police to improve the trust and confidence of its diverse communities in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

Work is already underway on the Thames Valley Police Race Action Plan, led by Assistant Chief Constable Dennis Murray QPM.

Dennis Murray QPM, Assistant Chief Constable at Thames Valley Police, said: “Thames Valley Police has been and will continue to focus on these complex issues and through our localised Police Race Action Plan we will put in place demonstrable activity to ensure everyone internally and externally is protected, respected, involved and represented.

“Signing this charter helps show our officers and staff that we are committed to delivering sustainable change and equality of opportunity for all our ethnically diverse employees.”

Launched in 2018, the Race at Work charter builds on the work of the 2017 McGregor-Smith Review, which found that people from Black, Asian, Mixed Race and ethnically diverse backgrounds are still underemployed, under promoted and under-represented at senior levels.

Findings from BITC’s 2021 Race at Work Survey found that while 76% of employers said that race recruitment and progression was a priority, only 46% had set targets to improve the racial diversity of their boards.

The charter, Race - Business in the Community commits organisations to to improve equality of opportunity in the workplace in the following ways:

1. Appoint an Executive Sponsor for race.
2. Capture ethnicity data and publicise progress.
3. Commit at board level to zero tolerance of harassment and bullying.
4. Make equity, diversity and inclusion the responsibility of all leaders and managers.
5. Take action that supports Black, Asian, Mixed Race and other ethnically diverse employee career progression.
6. Support race inclusion allies in the workplace.
7. Include Black, Asian, Mixed Race and other ethnically diverse-led enterprise owners in supply chains.

RW

Notes to editor:

1. In collaboration with YouGov, the Race at Work 2021 surveyed more than 24,600 employees found there has been no improvement on bullying and harassment in the workplace or with customers, clients and service users.
2. After the first Race at Work survey in 2015, Business in the Community launched the Race at Work Charter. To date, the Charter has more than 800 signatories, representing 6 million employees across the UK. By signing the Charter, organisations have committed to improving equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Charter calls for employers to review their policies and for the government to consider strengthened protections against racial harassment for employees through the Employment Bill. The current Race at Work Charter signatories can be viewed online.

www.bitc.org.uk