As a healthcare organisation, social purpose sits at our core and we care deeply about addressing health inequalities and building an organisational culture that creates a sense of belonging for everyone. Our approach to diversity, equity and inclusion is to make it part of everybody’s everyday.
As part of our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy we run ‘Voices for Change’, a series of external and internal speaker sessions devised to spark conversations across the business and help to break down barriers on a range of topics.
Since launching ‘Voices for Change’ in 2020, we have hosted over fifteen speaker sessions. From mental health support, LGBT+ inclusion, to neurodiversity in the workplace, we have covered a range of topics with inspiring speakers.
These speakers have delivered key messages and advice that has provoked profound thoughts about what we can do to better Ascenti as an employer and healthcare provider. With continued great attendance by Ascenti employees, the series is a successful part of our engagement activities that are run by the Internal Communications Team.
One employee said: “I spend a lot of time mentoring and supporting employees so this session has helped me understand more about neurodiversity and shown me how I can approach situations to help neuro-diverse team members.”
Our Chief People and Communications Officer, Sophie Harper, commented:
“We started running ‘Voices for Change’ in 2020 as a way to engage in the active conversations and high profile news agendas going on in the world around us at the time, including Black Lives Matters and debates about mental health and isolation. Digital news and social media has brought so many passionate campaigners and new perspectives to the forefront of public debate, so it felt right to tap into this.
“Voices for Changes has since gone from strength to strength. By inviting speakers that aren’t afraid to challenge our thinking we can action meaningful, long-term change that creates a better and more inclusive future for everyone.”
You can find out more about the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy on our website here.
