Equality, diversity & inclusion

We are taking actions to minimise our gender pay gap as part of our commitment to gender equality.

In March 2021 we celebrated International Women's Day (IWD), supporting the #ChooseToChallenge campaign. Read more about what we did here.

We take disability seriously and as an employer, we’re striving to improve all the time. We’ve also made significant changes to support our Independent Living customers, including the installation of Warden Call systems. 

As a disability confident employer, we want to create an environment in which all customers and colleagues are able to access our services, whether digital or physical. We aim to identify at least one action that we’ll carry out to make a difference for disabled people as part of our accreditation, as well as exploring other considerations to improve the way we do business.

We’re already doing a lot of the things listed as commitments, and by joining the Disability Confident Employers scheme we want to let everyone know that we’re serious about equal opportunities for disabled people.

Hidden Disabilities Sunflower

In 2016, the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower was designed and launched as part of Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme Limited, a private company based in the UK. A simple sunflower design on a green background for a lanyard was created as a subtle but visible sign to identify that the wearer (or someone with them) may require some extra help, time, or assistance. Since its launch in 2016, it has now been adopted globally. For more information, watch this animation or visit the website.

The BITC Race at Work 2018 Scorecard Report, in collaboration with YouGov, found that only 11% of employers were currently capturing ethnicity and pay data. We are working on capturing ethnicity data to establish a baseline, and measure progress, as well as enabling us to report on pay differences. There are also benefits to gathering ethnicity and other EDI data about you, our customers – we can use this data to improve and personalise services. If you would like to update the information we hold about you, please visit orbitcustomerhub.org.uk/myaccount.

We’re striving to make sure that our customers feel the presence of our diverse organisation. We want our customers to be confident in engaging with us no matter what background they’re from, and to see that we’re representative of the communities we serve.

We’ve also signed up to the Business in the Community Race Charter and are working towards completing actions that will improve equality of opportunity at Orbit.

To learn more about how we celebrate holidays and events at Orbit, read our employee stories about Vaisakhi, Ramadan and Easter.

In March 2021 we celebrated International Women's Day (IWD), supporting the #ChooseToChallenge campaign. Our vision is to lead in building thriving communities and that means communities which are fair and equal to all, with all the societal benefits that equality, diversity and inclusion brings.

We celebrated some of our many inspirational female colleagues who contribute so much to our communities, our homes and our workplace by sharing their stories and hopes for the future across our social media channels: https://orbitgroup.org.uk/news/2021/march/we-choosetochallenge/

Throughout Dementia Awareness Week our EDI Allies raised awareness and shared stories across our internal channels.

Our Independent Living colleagues at Tithe Lodge and Queensway Court shared the ways that they help their residents who are living with dementia:

• Get chatting!
• Help them relive cherished moments by sharing their life experiences
• Get motor skills going by knitting ‘twiddle muffs’, knitted hand warmers which act as sensory stimulation for someone with dementia
• Play their favourite songs and unlock precious memories through music
• Host a puzzle and games night!

Queensway Court also hosted a tombola and coffee morning, with all funds raised going to the Alzheimer’s Society.

Are you interested in becoming a ‘Dementia Friend’?

A Dementia Friends Champion is a volunteer who encourages others to make a positive difference to people living with dementia in their community, by giving them information about the personal impact of dementia, and what they can do to help. It's easy to get involved. Find out more here.

‘Becoming a Dementia Friend Champion has undoubtedly been one of the most positive and exciting things I've done.’ – Jane Gilby, Dementia Friends Champion

What’s next?

In the UK, nearly 1 million people with dementia and their families are struggling to get the support and care that they need and deserve. This Dementia Action Week, the Alzheimer’s Society called on the Government to increase support for carers with a petition: #CureTheCareSystem

It doesn’t have to be this way. With the right support people with dementia can live a good quality of life, doing what matters most to them for as long as possible without putting inexorable strain on their carers and loved ones. Find out more here.

As we kick off our Pride Month celebrations this June, we’re delighted to share that our February 2021 LGBT+ History Month campaign has been shortlisted in the ‘Most Inspiring Campaign’ category at this year’s Inspire awards! The Inspire Awards celebrate Diversity & Inclusion in UK Construction, Engineering & Housing, and given that this was the first time that we fully aligned our colleague, customer, and corporate campaigns, we’re extremely proud to be shortlisted for this award. The results will be announced in July.

This year, due to the recent success of LGBT+ History Month, we’re planning to celebrate and promote Pride on a larger scale, to encourage more learning and interaction. We will be reaching our internal colleague audience, our customers, and our stakeholders across a wide range of our communication channels, sharing different content to capture interest.

During LGBT+ History Month in February 2021, we announced that we had signed up to the HouseProud Pledge. Throughout the month, activities led by our EDI Allies focussed on four key aspects of Pride History, including; the Pride flag, Stonewall, other historic moments and June’s Pride celebration month.

In 2020 during Pride Month we hosted a talk by Daniel Brown, Chair and Founder of Warwickshire Pride. We also shared stories and information internally to raise awareness of famous LGBT+ activitists, writers, artists and actors, and encouraged colleagues to share who their LGBT+ Hero is.