Starter for Ten - Is your workplace inclusive?

The landscape of business founders across the UK hasn’t changed drastically in the past 50 years.?Recent research?from the British Business Bank found there was no improvement in the value of investment deals to all-female teams and a new report -?'Finding What Works: Pathways to Improve Diversity in Venture Capital Investments,?points out that women, people from Ethnic Minority and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds still struggle to access?venture capital investment.?So although Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) have become more prevalent as a topic of conversation, tangible actions and results are less apparent.?

This week's newsletter highlights EDI issues we're seeing across numerous reports and offers some strategies to improve them.?In order to support the next generation of founders, leaders and entrepreneurs, we all have a part to play. From local councils, successful entrepreneurs, large corporates and educators.

Have a great week,

Alison Dwyer

Head of Marketing and Communications

Finding What Works: Pathways to Improve Diversity in Venture Capital Investment

The Finding What Works report, the British Business Bank's latest diversity report, offers three pathways to enhance diversity in venture capital investment. These pathways aim to improve outcomes for underserved entrepreneurs and the wider UK economy. The report recommends that venture capital firms choose a pathway aligned with their goals, take consistent action, and monitor progress.

Joining industry initiatives like the Investing in Women Code and the Diversity VC Standard can provide support. For entrepreneurs, it is advised to seek venture capital firms that align with their business and actively seek feedback and referrals. actions.

Read the report →

How to strengthen diversity and inclusion in the workplace

Companies with the highest proportion of ethnic and cultural diversity are 33% more likely to outperform their competitors. The business case for diversity is stronger than ever – not to mention the moral and social responsibility, whether that’s in terms of gender, ethnicity, culture, disability, age or any other characteristic that might set you apart. You might think this is old news by now, but while lip service has been paid in abundance to the importance of diversity, the stark reality is that progress remains sluggish.

A CIPD survey from before the pandemic found that just 14% of employers put diversity and inclusion in their top three HR priorities, falling to a mere 5% one month into lockdown. While diversity and inclusion are undoubtedly a lot higher up the priority list now and progress is indeed being made, there is still a lot to be done. Progress has been made, but it’s slow and the pace needs to increase. Change needs to happen across all aspects of society, with employers playing a key part in that to ensure fair treatment and equality of opportunity at work.

Read the report →

Informing workplace mental health strategies

The cost of poor mental health is equivalent to around 5% of the UK's GDP, and the cost to UK businesses alone is c.￡56m. These figures are startling and are one of the reasons why organisations are spending more time and money on supporting the mental health of their workforce.

For organisations that invest in supporting their people’s mental health, the return on investment is anything between ￡5 and ￡11 for every ￡1 spent. According to a survey, these figures come from a combination of increased productivity, performance, and collaboration, and reduced presenteeism, absenteeism, and staff turnover.

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Are you working in an unhealthy way? An interview with Natasha Wallace and Rob Ashtiani

As part of our founder wellbeing content series, Natasha Wallace, founder and CEO of The Conscious Leadership Company, spoke with Ron Ashtiani this week, to understand what he has learnt on the topic.?

Having worked in the video games, film and entertainment sector for 25 years, Ron started out as an artist. When the company he worked for went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, he took the opportunity to take his team and start a new business. As a reluctant entrepreneur, at the age of 30, Ron built and then sold Atomhawk, an award winning international design company, and he has since gone onto support and advise businesses to achieve success themselves.?

Watch the interview →

More women on UK boards but number of female bosses flatlines

UK businesses have improved female representation on their boards, research shows, but two-fifths of FTSE 100 firms still do not have a woman in one of their top four executive roles.?The proportion of women on the boards of the 585 FTSE all-share listed companies has risen over the past year from 36% to 40%, according to the analysis of Companies House data.

However, the number of female bosses has flatlined, with just a tenth of executive roles occupied by women, excluding company secretaries. On a more positive note, the number of firms with all-male boards?has halved to just four.

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Is there a male friendship recession?

Do men have a friendship problem? When author Max Dickins got engaged, he realised he had no one to be his best man. In an excerpt from his book Billy No-Mates, the author explores why we may be experiencing a "male friendship recession" and shares tips for how to fix it.

Dickins attributes the gap in male friendships to the lack of "third spaces" – places that are not home or work – "like churches, rotary clubs, proper ‘local’ pubs". The author urges men to be a "sherpa" who takes the lead in organising meet-ups and to take the pressure off by spending time on bonding activities that you really enjoy.

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