Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion Policy (EDIP)
yello brick recognises that diversity and inclusion help to support creativity and innovation: they are an essential ingredient in a successful company. We are committed to encouraging diversity and inclusion and will continually work towards an environment open to all.
We hope this document will be informative for prospective employees, freelancers, clients and partners about our values and approach to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
We want our work to be truly representative of all sections of society. We want our company to be one in which every employee and freelancer feels respected and able to give their best.
We want to state clearly that we believe in Equality and Diversity and we wish to reflect that in both the internal and external aspects of our business. We recognise the importance of an intersectional understanding and that there are many things we will not experience or ever understand fully. We recognise that we have privileges and we commit to being open and to constant learning in the pursuit of a more equitable future both at yello brick and in the world.
We also feel it is important to use this document to clearly set out some values that the company believes in and would wish to see reflected in all those we work with.
Black Lives Matter. We recognise the systemic and structural oppression of Black and other communities who have experienced racism. We recognise the pain and trauma that structural racism inflicts. We recognise the urgent need for anti-racist action, for structural and permanent change and for processes of truth and reconciliation both in our industry and in society. We acknowledge that structural inequalities exist in our own organisation and across the arts sector in Wales and beyond. We strive to be better and be open to criticism and change.
Trans Rights are Human Rights. We believe trans women are women, trans men are men and non-binary identities are valid. We state our support for trans people’s right to self-identification. We recognise the ongoing fight for equality faced by the trans community, the additional barriers to accessing society equally and the often hostile attitudes that can be displayed in media and in government and policy.
We Shall Not Be Removed. We recognise the additional impact Covid-19 has had on people with disabilities working within the arts and cultural sector. We commit to ensuring that we are an organisation that recognises the importance of inclusion of people with disabilities within our work. We acknowledge the systemic barriers, derogatory attitudes, and social exclusion (intentional or inadvertent), which make it difficult or impossible for individuals with impairments to attain work in the arts and cultural sector. We are committed to continuing our learning and making necessary adjustments to ensuring we can include disabled creatives within the work we make.
We are feminists. We believe in an intersectional approach to feminism that is inclusive and respectful and does not exclude in its approach to fairness and equality for all.
This policy provides a framework of equality and fairness for all in our employment. It expresses our commitment not to discriminate on the grounds of age, disability, gender identity, marital status (including civil partnerships), race, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, national origin, religion, or sexual orientation
This policy applies to employed and freelance staff.
All freelancers and employees, whether part-time, full-time or temporary, will be treated fairly and with respect. Selection for employment, whether as a member of staff or on a freelance basis, will be on the basis of aptitude and ability. Access to opportunities for promotion, training or any other benefit will also be on the basis of aptitude and ability. All employees will be encouraged to develop their full potential and the talents and resources of the workforce will be fully utilised to maximise the creativity and success of the company and individuals.
The organisation commits to:
Create a working environment free of bullying, harassment, victimisation and unlawful discrimination, promoting dignity and respect for all, and where individual differences and the contributions of all staff are recognised and valued. All staff should understand they, as well as their employer, can be held liable for acts of bullying, harassment, victimisation and unlawful discrimination, in the course of their employment, against fellow employees, customers, suppliers and the public.
Take seriously complaints of bullying, harassment, victimisation and unlawful discrimination by fellow employees, customers, suppliers, visitors, the public and any others in the course of the organisation’s work activities.
Review employment practices and procedures when necessary to ensure fairness, and also update them and the policy to take account of changes in the law.
We will:
Actively seek to increase the number of people we work with who are from groups/communities that are under-represented in the creative industries as a whole, or in particular job roles in the industry.
We will do this by monitoring our freelance contracts year on year and identifying areas for improvement, reviewing hiring practices and investing time in seeking underrepresented talent. Ensuring that we are considering applications from the widest range of applicants. Furthermore by investing time into understanding the types of roles and jobs candidates would want to be offered so that when opportunities arise we know the perfect freelancer to contact
Ensure reasonable adjustments are made to enable disabled people to work in or with our company.
We will do this by ensuring that all new employees and freelancers are consulted on any particular needs and that we approach these conversations with an openness to make reasonable adjustments.
Actively seek to increase the diversity of our talent networks.
We intend to do this by seeking out new freelancers within the creative disciplines we employ the most and ensure we engage in conversation with freelancers taking the time to understand their work and their artistic practice. This will ensure we can build meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships based on shared practice. Through monitoring our employment year on year we can also identify successes and failures and reflect and improve.
Create an environment in which individual differences and the contributions of all our staff and freelancers are recognised and valued.
This will remain our aim and the environment in which we hope we work and create for our employees and freelancers. However, we must be aware that there will be moments and things that may be unseen to us and in order to highlight this we must create easy and simple ways for people to give feedback to us. We can monitor this through effective and open project debrief and allowing freelancers and staff to feedback on their experience of working with us.
Ensure every employee and freelancer is able to work in an environment that promotes dignity and respect for all. We will not tolerate any form of intimidation, bullying or harassment.
We will operate a zero tolerance for bullying, intimidation and harassment. Every project will have a designated member of staff in which complaints and issues can be made aware to yello brick. Should someone feel unable to raise a complaint with the designated member of staff an alternative contact will always be available. Any behaviour that can be deemed to have broken the law will be followed up with the relevant authorities should that be the desire of the complainant.
Ensure those in our employment and/or under contract with yello brick do not discriminate or spread views that are contrary to the company's values and take action if identified.
We categorically will not allow any hate speech or demonstration of views contrary to the company's values within the working environments we create. Outside of the working environment we expect employees and freelancers to approach their social media content with respect and equality for all. We can not control what people post on social media and no company should have this ability. Nevertheless, any content we become aware of that demonstrates hate speech or an attack on the fundamental human rights of any group or individual will not be tolerated and may see the termination of employment.
We have set ourselves the following diversity targets/goals:
- Improve the number of freelance contracts that go to people with protected characteristics as presented by Arts Council of Wales.
We are a small organisation but we reflect on the fact we have worked with a similar cohort of people for too long. The amount of contracts we have available will vary year to year but our aim is to consistently improve and to keep our records open and honest to reflect where change is happening. By printing our data we hope we can work openly and demonstrate our commitment to diversity, inclusion and equality. Publishing this data is to help hold us to account to the commitments we have made in this document.
2019/2020:
Total Freelance Contracts 2019/20 - 36
Total number of freelancers - 22
People of Colour - 2
People with disabilities - 4
LGBTQIA+ - 6
2020/2021:
Total Freelance Contracts 2020/21 - 7
Total number of freelancers - 6
People of Colour - 4
People with disabilities - 0
LGBTQIA+ - 2
2021/2022:
Total Freelance Contracts 2021/22 - 26
Total number of freelancers - 22
People of Colour - 2
People with disabilities - 3
LGBTQIA+ - 2
How We Look After You / Information for Employees and Freelancers
We are a very small team and not a large organisation and we hope a level of familiarity and openness comes with this. Nevertheless, on each project, we will dedicate a point of contact within the organisation who you can approach with any wellbeing concerns or for any complaint procedures.
We will listen. We hope to operate with an open approach to individual needs and to check in on each other and how we are feeling within each creative process.
Should you not feel you can speak to us then we would signpost all employees and freelancers to https://www.acas.org.uk as an organisation that may be able to help you with information on your working rights.
We want every project you work with us on to be an enjoyable one! We got into working in this sector because we love what we do and we hope working with us will be an opportunity for creative growth and exploration. At the end of each project we arrange a de-brief to reflect on the process for mutual creative learning and improvement.
We will monitor the success of this policy regularly and review our progress at least once a year, updating this page.
This policy is fully supported by the senior management of the company. Breaches of the policy may be regarded as misconduct and could lead to disciplinary proceedings or termination of contract.
We recognise and acknowledge that creating this document is not enough and we must be agents of change. Our actions will always be louder than the words in this document and we endeavour to hold ourselves to account when we make mistakes, reflect and adapt. Ensuring we create a working culture that is constantly learning, reflecting and changing.
Acknowledgements
We wish to acknowledge the shared resources and statements that helped us in creating this document. With thanks to:
https://gov.wales/written-statement-statement-support-wales-trans-communities
https://www.weshallnotberemoved.com/
https://disabilityarts.cymru/vision
https://arts.wales/news-jobs-opportunities/black-lives-matter-0